On do women have a harder time securing strong teaching evaluations than men?
I was asked the question recently.
I responded - yes!
It was the fastest yes that I’ve given in years.
The evidence from many different studies confirms that students consistently rate women lower than men on course evaluations.
No, it’s not bc men are better instructors. It’s bc the way we evaluate teaching seems to lead to higher teaching evaluations for men.
My questioner, who is female PhD student, followed up.
‘What should I do?’
I had no glib or fast answer for my questioner.
I can’t pretend to know the challenge women face in the classroom - so my only advice were tips that I would give any first time instructor.
(1) find a mentor.
The mentor has hopefully taught the course.
(2) go early.
Show up to class early and greet students. Get to know them.
If students know you, and know you care, they do better in class.
(3) self-assess.
During the semester, solicit anonymous feedback on performance.
Use the feedback to correct problems.
(4) be inclusive.
Make students don’t have much to say - but want the option to talk - make sure everyone has a chance to participate.
(5) grade quickly.
Students really appreciate timely feedback. If you sit on grades for weeks, I predict poor evaluations.
(6) everyone plays by the same rules
Students like it when everyone has the same deadlines and assignments.
If you make an exception, make it for everyone - unless their is a pretty darn good reason.
(7) remember you are the boss.
You set the rules in class.
If you apply them fairly, they are clear, and students see their logic, they will usually listen.
I could also tell her that as a senior faculty member, I am cognizant that while I teach into the same classroom as my female colleagues, we do not have the same experience or receive the same reaction.
We could do the exactly same things & the evidence suggests the evaluations would differ.
To fairly evaluate all faculty, we all need to look beyond simple scores and look for additional evidence of high quality instruction.
We also need to update evaluations: https://lnkd.in/eTcfUNB5
I hope we all do & level the playing field for all faculty.
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