Course evaluations and pedagogy

Behind every good questionnaire lies a theory. This is just as true for the questionnaires that we routinely use to evaluate courses as it is for our survey instruments. The form course evaluations usually take is one manifestation of a mechanistic pedagogy which pervades institutions of higher education; continued use of conventional evaluation strategies perpetuates a mechanistic pedagogy; and, contrary to most stated reasons for doing course evaluations, their use can contribute to professional stagnation. I will discuss a method of course evaluation consistent with a pedagogy that moves one step, albeit a small one, beyond the stance most of us assume toward students and education

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