A harsh student evaluation led Lan Nguyen Chaplin to reconsider how much a professor should value popularity. Although Chaplin had devoted long hours to teaching and redesigned assignments to prepare students for a competitive job market, the criticism that students had learned nothing prompted a debate among researchers about balancing care, challenge, fairness and self-reflection.
A few years into my career, one comment from a student evaluating my teaching turned me off: “I didn’t learn anything. The professor was stingy with his help and arrogant.”
I was devastated. To run this particular course, I answered emails late into the night, worked long hours in the office and redesigned assignments to prepare students for a competitive job market. But that comment forced me to face a painful reality: the more I pushed my students out of their comfort zone, the more some people hated me.
In cultures that equate popularity with success, young researchers often treat being liked as an important indicator. I learned that chasing approval ratings can hurt education. So I stopped caring about student evaluations altogether.
I care about the well-being of my students, but I also want to be the kind of professor who balances caring for students with the pursuit of excellence. What matters is that I challenge them. It is not about whether they like me.
Could I be wrong?
Lan Nguyen Chaplin, Integrated Marketing Communications Specialist, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Nature asked other scientists to consider the issue: is this approach insensitive to students’ needs, or is it appropriate to focus on challenging them?
Comments from the judges
“Leading styles that are not universally popular are usually manageable, since you only have a limited amount of time to interact with students. But the role of a leader often comes with power, and with great power comes great responsibility. There is nothing wrong with using that power as needed, as long as it is used fairly and judiciously.”
— Monalisa Maric, quantum engineer at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany
“The professor makes a valid point. But in their situation, I always collect evidence of learning, because if the student hates the professor and doesn’t learn anything, that’s not good for anyone.”
— Russ Altman, researcher in bioengineering, genetics, medicine and biomedical data science at Stanford University in California
“It’s inevitable that you won’t be able to be liked by everyone, but good leaders and teachers need to reflect on why people have negative feelings about them. A little self-criticism goes a long way. It’s worrying to ignore criticism rather than learn from it.”
— Juliana Sanchez Alponti Miller, biologist at the University of York, UK
“I strongly agree. Academic leadership should not only be measured by popularity, but also by fairness, clarity and the ability to help people grow beyond their comfort zones.”
— Jay Jesus Molino Cornejo, physicist at Uderas, Panama City
“Totally fair. I too gave too much of myself to my students in the beginning. Now I have clear boundaries about how much time I spend on emails and preparation. It has reduced my workload and helped me not take ownership of my students’ emotions.”
— Maggie Swift, conservation scientist at the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Wildlife Health Center, Ithaca, New York
Judgment
Feedback can be a valuable tool for self-reflection, but it is impossible to please everyone. Most respondents supported Chaplin’s view that educators should focus their energy on teaching in line with their values, while still paying attention to evidence of learning, fairness and constructive criticism.
Source: www.nature.com
