A few days ago I received an email containing an organized file of my students' reviews from last semester. For each class I was given two zip files. One file was the result of the students' 1-9 rankings of both my teaching and the class itself, in a variety of areas. The second file for each class contained the students' open response prompts about what they felt were the strengths and weaknesses of the course.
Overall, I was tremendously pleased with both my scores and the feedback, which was almost entirely positive. And I love that. I do. I can't front. I work hard to put together an entertaining and informative class, so I'm proud when my message hits its mark. I'm human and therefore subject to flattery as much as the next person.
What concerns me even more, however, is the constructive criticism. I have a particular, and sometimes peculiar, teaching style. I most certainly use humor to keep the classroom energy high and hold interest. I recognize that this style will not suit every student. It can't. No teaching style can. Therefore, it isn't surprising that a few students find my antics immature and distracting. While I lament this, even I am forced to forgive myself for 2 or 3 misses out of 300. Not much I can do there.
That said, there is another segment of my student population that both thoroughly enjoyed my class, and simultaneously has constructive criticism. They have feedback. Some of it is procedural stuff -- put your slides online, put your lectures online, put yourself online -- but other critiques are more substantive.
