Pago 8
Daily Nsbraskan
Instructors conside
evaluations useful
By Gene Gentrup
Dally Nebraskan Senior Exporter
Although the significance of
course evaluations may be ques
tioned and sometimes disregarded
by UNL students, at least five
university instructors said they
think the evaluations are valuable.
Toni Santmire, chairman of the
educational psychology depart
ment in the Teachers College,
said all evaluations in that depart
ment are compared with ether
evaluations from over a three
year period.
"I look at those arcaa that seem
to be consistent in student views
over that period. Usually it's a
matter of reassigning an instruc
tor to teach a different course "
Santmire said.
Santmire said she docsnt look
at the course evaluations until
May, when all faculty must be
reviewed.
Frederick Link, chairman of
the English department, said
course evaluations are only one
of three things his department
uses to determine the effective
ness of an instructor.
"We look at the evaluation and
the syllabus the instructor puts
together as well as the instruc
tor's self-evaluation. You just cant
make a fine distinction or rank
ing of an instructor from a course
evaluation alone," he said.
College of Architecture Profes
sor and Chairman Ernest Moore,
said some instructors in his de
partment give evaluations at mid
term so that they can apply stu
dent ideas for the rest of the
semester. He said evaluations are
based on what students think
about the instructor, the text
book and class assignments. Link
said about one-third of all stu
dents complete the evaluations
"adequately."
Delivee Wright, director of the
Teaching and Learning Center,
said the center "scored" about
60,000 evaluations last semester.
She said the center uses a com
puter processing service for in
structors who wish to tabulate
evaluation results. About 52 de
partments used the service last
semester.
Santmire said she likes the idea
of course evaluations, but said
objective questions are "useless."
"Objective questions tend to lean
toward the positive end," she said.
"They can be useful, but only if
they Indicate a negative side of an
instructor, which is when I know
there is something definitely
wrong."
English Professor Stephen Mil
liard, an associate dean in the
College of Arts and Sciences, said
he favors computerized evalua
tions because "they're easy to
read." He said written answers
are more accurate though and
said a comment sheet should be
included.
Beth Franz, secretary special
ist to the dean of agriculture, said
the agriculture college is using a
standard evaluation form for ail
agriculture classes. She said it is
the first time the college will use
the form, called a "common course
core form."
Students offered tips
for finals preparation
By Colleen Kenney
D&Uy Nebraskan Staff Exporter
Selectivity is the key word to
remember this week and finals
week, said Carol Lotven, coordi
nator of UNL's Educational
Learning Center.
"This is the time to sacrifice a
little recreation for good grades,"
she said.
Lotven lectured on study tech
niques at a "Preparing for Finals"
workshop.
"Preparation for finals begins
the first day of class," Lotven said.
She said many UNL students face
stress because they have not put
the semester's notes and their
free time in the proper perspec
tive. This leads to intense pres
sure, she said.
"The student takes his anxie
ties into the class then, and freezes
up on the finals," she said.
Lotven recommends the use of
a summary sheet, which con
denses a course to its main points.
"It's asking too much to memo
rize every little detail," she said.
"But you could learn 10 pages
couldn't you?"
Such a summary would allow a
review of the semester's notes,
categorize the information and
give the students "a feeling of
mastery," she said.
Students should write out a
schedule for finals week, plan
ning in detail the subject that will
be studied. One subject should
not be studied for more than two
hours at a time, she said, because
it will not be retained as well
"Your eyes might be working
but your mind wont be," she said.
When a student is totally un
prepared and cramming is the
only solution, Lotven said, intense
concentration should be aimed
at chapter summaries, bold faced
or vocabulary words, and the
course's main objectives.
"But tell yourself that this will
never happen again," Lotven said.
Lotven gave these other hints
for finals preparation:
Find out what kind of test is
to be given. If it's essay, write out
answers to possible questions. For
multiple choice or true-false tests,
study details and learn the facts
in reverse.
Make flash cards with terms
on one side and definitions on the
other. Go through the cards both
ways.
Look over the syllabus and
think about the course's goals.
Use mnemonic devices such
as rhymes or word associations.
Get together with other stu
dents from your class to study.
Review old tests, quizzes and
handouts.
Don't skip class, meals or
sleep.
Student Watch
Ccn4ir.ced from Fags 1
The watch program was partly
responsible for the decrease in
crime, Decoster said, but other
factors also helped. Some of these
include increased outdoor light
ing, closed-circuit television in
the library where some sexual
assaults occured and a univer
sity committee formed to look
into cssnpus crime.
UNL Police Chief Gals Gads,
however, said the watch program's
effectiveness could not be mea
sured because it was in operation
for only one year.
If the watch program starts
again, it will not be able to patrol
the campus like it previously did,
Wozny said. Patrollng takes too
much time and manpower, he
said. A new watch group could,
however, pzovids a nightie escort
service.
LAST
TE
MINI!
SANTA
Holiday
Gift
i
Our ice cream is
made the "old
fashioned way"
right in our store
front window. Try
our "Mix-ins". We
have Snickers,
M&Ms, Skor Bars,
and more at our
candy counter,
which we'll mix
into any flavor
ice cream ycu
choose.
Gift Certificate for Premium Ice Cream
I
TO ,
Leas
not-. ,
LPHTK..
DOUAIS. S
AUTMMUtD UONATVMu
Redeemable at
TED & WALLY'S
312 N. 12th
i-ti.n.j. II , Tl Hi H -mtV IV ,i n r ,r ..,
fiffstyb
m sm
Gift Certificate
To
from.
Good For $
. .
Good At Soft) .
SgMyt Restaurants
No ftohmd Not Transtott)
For that person who has everything or nothing at all, a
Misty Gift Certificate will be the "prime" gift for the up
coming holiday season. Pick up one or two at either Misty
location for any amount you choose. Misty's features the
Midwest's finest prime rib and now offers seafood too!
Havelock, 6235 Havelock Ave. and Edgewood, 56th &
Highway 2.
. r" & J 20 STYLES 127 TO $74 J
mii wm 1 1 IS il ill A tww S I 1 Hi i ill i mkn
Give funny looking Birkenstock footwear.
What a gift! All-season sandals that millions
swear by. Funny Looking? Perhaps. Com
fortable Christmas gifts? Yes.
Footloose Si Fancy
1219 "P" St. 476-6119
. .' .... . , ,:. , i;.;..v ',,., .fr ,r-- .. . , y .
m. .-w w
' 'A .w"
Stop in to TOMMY'S while downtown shopping
for a wide selection of 22 sandwiches, including
fresh meats Et the finest cheeses. Comes with
your choice of Garnishes at no extra cost.
TOMMY'S
1229 "R" Street 435-6850
GPEf 24 HOURS