Teaching Resources

Evaluation of student work is often emotionally charged. Most feminist teachers can recall instances of students who were angry, discouraged, or elated in response to feedback about their work. What are the most effective strategies for evaluating student work and enhancing student learning? What specific concerns, challenges, and opportunities arise when evaluation occurs in the context of a feminist classroom? In what ways can and should feminist course content, learning objectives, and pedagogy influence evaluation of student work?

In her entry on Feminist Pedagogy in Women's Studies Encyclopedia (1999), Cheryl Scarboro argues, "Feminist evaluation draws strongly on self- and peer-assessment and emphasizes an evaluation of process as well as final product" (1065). In their 2000 article in Studies in Higher Education, however, Michael Reynolds and Kiran Trehan question the assumption in much of feminist and critical pedagogy that alternative and participatory evaluation necessarily leads to greater equality. Instead they suggest that these evaluation methods may inadvertently reinforce the problematic structures of power that many feminist pedagogues aim to disrupt.

For an overview of feminist research in educational evaluation, consider Denise Seigart and Sharon Brisolara's edited volume from Jossey-Bass, Feminist Evaluation (2003). Susan Brookhart's Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development book, How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students (2008), may also be helpful. For general ideas and best practices for evaluating student work, the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Office of Curriculum Development and Management has a useful set of tips. <http://www.uab.edu/uasomume/cdm/feedback.htm>

For ideas about how to incorporate self-assessment into the classroom, consult The Center for Development and Learning, a Louisiana-based non-profit organization dedicated to improving learning and teaching. They offer a detailed overview of theories and practices of student self-assessment. <http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/self_eval.php>

For instructors who use new media technologies as a part of peer-assessments, Columbia University's Center for New Media Teaching and Learning offers a wealth of resources, including information about using wikis to evaluate student work. <http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/enhanced/primers/evaluating_wiki_work.html

Feminist teachers may also be interested in collaborative evaluation, not only with students but also with other teachers. In Looking Together at Student Work (2007), Tina Blythe, David Allen, and Barbara Schieffelin Powell outline structures that enable many instructors to review student work together. Additionally, the 2003 Phi Delta Kappan article, "Looking at Student Work," explores links among collaborative teacher evaluation of student work, improved education and learning, and professional development.

Call for Teaching Notes for Feminist Teacher

Do you have a teaching moment that you would like to share with Feminist Teacher readers? We would like to invite readers to submit a brief description of a classroom experience that challenged or encouraged your commitment to feminist pedagogy. Did a teaching strategy work especially well? Was a class particularly discouraging? In your teaching note, describe the experience, and tell us how it shaped your approach to teaching.

We also invite submissions that describe class materials (books, articles, films, etc.) that worked particularly well. Please explain the context in which you used the material and how you taught the work.

If you have teaching experiences or teaching materials that you think Feminist Teacher readers would appreciate, please consider submitting them. We encourage teachers from all kinds of classrooms and institutions to submit their experiences. Please keep your teaching notes between five hundred and a thousand words. Send an electronic copy to <feminist-teacher@uwec.edu> with subject line "Teaching Notes" and a hard copy to: