Summative Evaluation

When you think of evaluation of teaching, you probably think of end-of-term or year-end questionnaires which are distributed to all the students in the class. You have likely completed a number of these for your own professors. The main purpose of such a summative rating of instruction is to provide information on your performance as a teacher. This type of evaluation is useful for both you and your supervisor to examine. It gives an overview of the students' impression of the entire course, their learning, and your teaching. The feedback you get from these questionnaires may help you prepare for the next class you teach. However, you do have to wait until the end of the course, and the questionnaires usually ask very general questions - in other words, they are not tailored to specific classes. What do you do if you want feedback on your teaching now so that you can continue to do what works and modify what doesn't?