The criteria listed in this document are considered by the ACC administration to be critically important to the performance of instructors in Computer Studies. The criteria are similar to those that you will be asked to consider the next time you participate in the evaluation of an instructor in Computer Studies.
The primary purpose of instructor evaluation is for you to provide information that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching skills. If you will give these criteria some thought before performing your next evaluation, your input will be more beneficial to the instructor. Remember, however, that the instructor does not receive the benefit of your evaluation until after the end of the semester. Therefore, you and the other students in your class derive no immediate benefit from suggestions that you make in conjunction with the evaluation process.
If you have specific suggestions as to how I can be more effective as your teacher, I would like very much to hear them. Those suggestions will be of more benefit to you and to the students in your class if provided directly to me, on a timely basis, outside of the evaluation process. That will make it possible for me to consider implementation of your suggestions while you are still enrolled in the course rather than after your course is complete.
Therefore, the purpose of this document is twofold:
The criteria are listed as sentence fragments in red.
Received copy of syllabus
All of my students are required to complete online orientation, which involves the reading and understanding of several documents. One of those documents is the course syllabus. Therefore, every student who completes the required orientation receives a copy of the syllabus and this criterion is satisfied.
Syllabus discussed during first week
I normally do a review of the online syllabus during the first or second class each semester, which is my way of meeting this criterion.
Purpose stated in syllabus
The syllabus contains a section entitled Course Objectives/ Learning Outcomes, which satisfies this requirement.
Course requirements stated in syllabus
The requirements for the courses that I teach are far too extensive to be stated in the syllabus alone. Therefore, I summarize the course requirements in the syllabus for each course and elaborate on those requirements in other online documents that are part of the required online orientation. That approach should meet this criterion to the satisfaction of all students.
Grading policy stated in syllabus
The grading policy is clearly stated in the syllabus and supplemented by the other documents that are included in the required online orientation. Therefore, I meet this criterion.
Oral presentations were well organized
I invest large amounts of time and effort to develop and to improve my lecture notes. I try my best to use those lecture notes and to present the material in a well-organized, clear, and coherent manner, and I believe that I satisfy this criterion. However, I am always open to suggestions from students regarding ways for me to improve in this area.
Professor clearly explained concepts
Again, I invest large amounts of time and effort in an attempt to develop lecture notes that will help me to explain the required concepts in a clear and coherent manner. Again also, I welcome suggestions from students as to how I can improve in this area.
Professor responsive to relevant questions
I try to be responsive in the classroom to those questions that I consider to be relevant. Not everyone will always agree as to which questions are relevant and which are not relevant. My test for relevance usually involves my opinion as to whether the question applies to the subject matter under discussion, and whether the question is at a level appropriate for the level of the course. Both are important.
Occasionally students ask questions that I do not consider to be relevant. Sometimes students ask questions that are too elementary for the level of the course, and sometimes students ask questions that are advanced beyond the level of the course. In my opinion, neither are relevant. Also sometimes students ask questions about apples when the discussion involves oranges. A question of that type is also not relevant, at that point in time, in my opinion.
In those cases where a student asks a non-relevant question, rather than to waste the time of the other students in the class, I attempt to dismiss the question in a courteous manner. Even in those cases, however, I am happy to discuss the question later with the student during the lab period or during office hours.
Therefore, I believe that I meet this criterion.
Instructor clarifies with explanation
I work very hard at explaining the concepts that I cover in the classroom. I do my best to come up with examples that help students to understand the concepts involved. Also, I attempt to ascertain that all students understand my explanations before moving on to the next concept.
I frequently solicit questions from the students in order to identify those areas that may still be cloudy. Unfortunately, if a student doesn't understand, and doesn't make me aware of a lack of understanding, I have no way of knowing that the student doesn't understand.
So long as the concepts that the students are having difficulty understanding are relevant to the course, I am willing to take as much classroom time as necessary to help the students understand all relevant concepts. Therefore, I believe that I meet this criterion.
If you don't understand something, please let me know. I will try to explain it either inside or outside the classroom Outside the classroom, I am happy to work with students on a one-on-one basis during the lab period or during office hours to help them understand all concepts that are relevant to the course. I will usually attempt to explain elementary concepts to students who don't understand them outside the classroom. Occasionally, I will attempt to explain advanced concepts outside the classroom as well but this is usually more difficult to accomplish.
Instructional activities are course related
The only instructional activities that I engage in consist of
I don't engage in field trips, group projects, or other similar activities. Given that, I believe that I meet this criterion on all counts.
Instructional materials related to course
I invest very large amounts of time and effort to develop and publish instructional material that is directly related to the courses that I teach. I frequently develop and publish new instructional materials designed to clarify concepts that may not have been as clear as I would like in the previously-published materials. I publish these new materials on my web site and make them freely available to all students. Therefore, I believe that I satisfy this criterion.
Tests/papers/other graded/returned timely
In my XML course, I require the student to turn in fifteen assignments and to take three online Blackboard tests. Students receive their test grades automatically as soon as they complete the online test.
Normally I have several classes turning in assignments during the same week. Grading assignments is a very time-consuming activity.
Even at that, I am usually able to notify the student, via Blackboard, of his or her performance on the assignment before the next two class periods have passed. I believe that this satisfies this criterion. Every student must decide for herself what constitutes timely, but under the circumstances, I consider this to be very timely.
Tests/papers/other include clear instructions
I work very hard to make certain that the instructions for my assignment problems are clear and understandable. This information is also included in the online orientation discussed earlier. However, there is always room for improvement in this area, and I urge all students who have specific suggestions in this area to pass them along to me. I also urge any student who may be having difficulty understanding the assignment instructions to let me know so that I can clarify the instructions for that student (and for all other students when appropriate). On the basis of this, I believe that I satisfy this criterion.
Instructor encourages student input
Several times during each class period, I solicit questions from the students. I always attempt to confirm that the students understand the concept under discussion before moving along to the next concept.
In addition, I am almost always accessible during the lab period, during office hours, and during many other hours each week. (I encourage students to visit with me in my office whenever I am there, even if the time doesn't coincide with published office hours.) I believe that I satisfy this criterion, but as before, I urge all students who have specific suggestions regarding improvement in this area to pass those suggestions along to me.
Instructor available during office hours
Except as a result of unforeseen circumstances (such as the day that I fell on the steps and broke my hand), I am almost always available during published office hours. Also, as mentioned above, I am also available during many other times as well. If I am in my office, you are invited to visit even if the current time doesn't coincide with published office hours.
Instructor provides individual instruction
Curiously, being an instructor during office hours at ACC is like being the Maytag repairman. It is usually the loneliest job in town. It is extremely rare that I am visited by students other than during the last few minutes before a class and the first few minutes after a class. I encourage students to visit with me during office hours, during lab periods, and during other times as well for the purpose of receiving individual instruction on topics that are relevant to the course in which they are enrolled. Therefore, I believe I satisfy this criterion.
The professor evaluates performance based on lab objectives
The standard procedure in my XML course is to assign fifteen take-home assignments during each semester. All of the assignments are provided to the students during the first few days of the semester, and they are due to be turned in on specified dates later in the semester.
The student's final grade is based primarily on the student's performance on the assignments and the online Blackboard tests. Therefore, I believe that I satisfy the criterion of evaluating the student's performance based on lab objectives.
Adequate instructions prior to lab
This is an area that tends to be a little murky and may be difficult for the students to respond to appropriately during instructor evaluation. Many of my XML students prefer to do their work at home. Therefore, I don't require attendance in the lab. In addition, it is my opinion that the assignments that I require my students to write are adequate for what we would normally consider to be lab work associated with the course. Therefore, in my XML course, your assignments are your lab work.
Students are free to do their work at home or in the ACC laboratory, either during the scheduled lab period, or at some other time in the open lab.
As mentioned earlier, I work very hard to make certain that the assignment instructions are more than adequate. Because I believe that the take-home assignments constitute the lab work for the course, and that the instructions for the assignments are more than adequate, I believe that I satisfy this criterion.
Lab exercises related to course objectives
There is no question in my mind that the assignments, which constitute the laboratory requirements for the course, are properly related to the course objectives.
The assignments were designed with the course objectives in mind. Therefore I believe that I satisfy this criterion.
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File: Itse1356InstrEvalCriteria.htm