COLUMN: The value of student feedback

From Karen Pasternack's, "Effective Immediately," Fall '98 From Karen Pasternack's, "Effective Immediately," Fall '98I still remember when Mrs. Pozzuoli read my story about a hot air balloon trip over France out loud to my third grade class. Afterwards, she took me aside and told me I should never take my writing ability for granted. That day marked the first time I was ever conscious of my enjoyment of words. And when I later visited her, I told her that her encouragement all those years ago was perhaps the catalyst for the creative path I have pursued. There were no scantron evaluation forms in the third grade. But nowadays, filling out teacher evaluations provides an opportunity for important critical feedback. An article in the January 16 Chronicle of Higher Education, however, casts doubt upon the value of student evaluations of professors by questioning whether evaluations encourage "grade inflation and triviliazation of courses." The piece begins with a quote from a professor at the State University of New York College at Oswego who declared, "If students come to my office, I have to make sure they walk out happy." His attitude is an apparent response to losing a job three years ago after students gave only fair ratings to his teaching. If, as studies show, evaluations encourage faculty to ease their grading standards and make course workloads lighter, then professors are obviously missing the point. When students are stimulated in the classroom, they are less likely to complain about a heavy workload. After all, most people aren't enthused about writing papers and studying for exams. But many of my peers say that work becomes compelling when the professor displays a sense of urgency about the material. According to the Chronicle, our generation of students is so glued to MTV that professors feel responsible for providing similarly constant entertainment. One professor said colleagues encouraged him to take his classes on field trips polished off with a pizza dinner if he wanted to receive positive student evaluations. But enrichment activities outside the classroom shouldn't necessarily be seen as a bribe. Especially at a large school like Penn, where classrooms can often take on an impersonal feel, meeting students for dinner or taking a field trip can instigate broader class discussion. In my four years here as a student, I've often been disappointed when certain professors expect a total commitment from their students without giving much in return. Professors don't have to bring Entemann's to class, but he or she should be responsible for directing an interesting and challenging lesson plan. Most students would probably say a good teacher is not synonymous with an easy grader. That doesn't mean professors should withhold high grades simply to prove the difficulty of a class, especially in a system where everything we do eventually amounts to a number. But my own experience as a student shows the enjoyment of a class usually extends beyond the grades received. For example, my favorite class at Penn was a class in Modern American Poetry that I took freshman year. I knew practically nothing about poetry going in and thus worked extremely hard. That class challenged me to deconstruct everything around me -- including the notion that I would always get As in English classes. But I didn't care about that grade, and I never will. And on the final course evaluation I had nothing but positive comments. Perhaps the debate should focus on finding a more comprehensive way of evaluating professors. After all, various student groups are constantly striving to encourage open discussion about subjects such as alcohol and sexuality. Likewise, the University should instigate more formal debates about what students value inside the classroom. As we head toward a time when our classrooms are defined by cyberspace, we should first examine our literal classroom experiences.