Tonight I watched a webinar by Dr. Bedelia Richards entitled “How to Challenge Race and Gender Bias in Student Evaluations” and available through our institutional subscription to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) and part of the RED Teaching Certificate. This hourlong webinar was truly eye-opening, and I have recommended it to our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. Dr. Richards presents a strong argument based on data as to why student evaluations should not be used and how biased and stereotypical responses negatively impact the health and promotion of women and marginalized faculty. I had not considered the repercussions of “color-blind” interpretations of student evaluations by chairs and supervisors that undermine and stress those marginalized! Richards presented moving personal examples of biased review processes and their effect on the promotion and tenure process. Toward the end, Richards listed several approaches to “deal with” student evaluations as best as possible including educating students to provide instructive feedback, distributing the load of educating on bias to non-marginalized faculty across the curriculum, having equity experts ir those knowledgeable in the issues of student evaluations/bias help interpret evaluations, continuously reflect on teaching to improve without relying on likely biased student responses, and more critical and constructive peer observations. The message was strong. It is saddening to realize the levels of bias and racism that are at play, often without us realizing. Nevertheless, Dr. Richards presents a thought provoking webinar I highly recommend. I now have more to think about when reading and reporting student evaluations… and will continue trying to be a reflective teacher.
