EMBRACING STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF TEACHING: A CASE STUDY*

Student evaluations of teaching are central in the teaching evaluation process. Well-constructed teaching evaluation instruments render valid and reliable information on teaching effectiveness. For this reason instructors, especially early in their careers, should view teaching evaluations as an opportunity to develop as teachers. Cooley's theory of self-formation frames an understanding of the importance in taking an active rather than passive approach to the teaching evaluation process. This framework provides an approach to one's own teaching, as a case study. In this paper, the author examines his own teaching evaluations in an attempt to understand what they measure and how they may be used to make changes in his own classroom performance