Each time I teach a class for Lancaster Bible College, there is a course evaluation. It’s not just my classes. Every LBC class includes an evaluation. Here’s how it works: all students in the class are sent an email with a link that they can click on to evaluate the course. In my experience, about half of the students complete the evaluation. But I don’t blame those who choose not to. If they are full-time students, they fill out 4, 5, or 6 evaluations every semester. Given that these evals take place near the end of the semester when life is extremely busy for students, I can understand why many choose not to complete the evaluations. Still, I wish they did.
From a professor’s perspective, I both do and do not want to hear their feedback. I want to hear good feedback, and I am nervous that I will hear negative feedback. No matter the feedback, I need to be evaluated. So a few days after the evaluation period closes, the evaluation company compiles the results, and sends me an email with a link to the results.
I then find out what the students think of me. First, they answer 21 questions about me and the course, with a ranking on a scale of 1 to 4. As I review the results, I can also see how their rankings of me compare to the college average. I really want my rankings to beat the college average. Second, there are 34 open-ended questions to which the students can type any response they want. What will they say? Did they think I was a good prof? Was I boring?
This past fall, the evaluation period ended while there was still a month of class to go. I learned through the evaluation that at least one student wished there was more variety in my instruction method. I found that very helpful. I was a bit embarrassed to read it, of course, but I needed to hear that. I needed feedback. I need to grow, learn, and change.
We all need feedback to help us grow. We especially need feedback to help us become more like Jesus. This coming week on the blog, we have the final sermon in our Advent series looking at a variety of genres of psalms. This one, Psalm 49, is a wisdom psalm. Psalm 49 is like my course evaluation, helping us evaluate our lives. Perfect for New Years Day. Check out Psalm 49 ahead of time. I look forward to walking through Psalm 49 with you.
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 