Episode #18: @KMWMitchell on Gender Bias in Student Evaluations

Laura was introduced to Dr. Kristina Mitchell’s research at the last National University Technology Network conference back in 2017. Kristina’s study offered findings around Gender Bias in Student Evaluations from university instruction and was co-authored with Jonathan Martin. We were thrilled to have Kristina on the #InVinoFab Podcast, Episode no. 18 to share about her passion for political science, gender equity, international relations, and action films.
Laura was introduced to Dr. Kristina Mitchell’s (@KMWMitchell) research at the last National University Technology Network (NUTN) conference back in 2017. Kristina’s study offered findings around Gender Bias in Student Evaluations from university instruction and was co-authored with Jonathan Martin. We were thrilled to have Kristina on the #InVinoFab Podcast, Episode no. 18 to share about her passion for political science, gender equity, international relations, and action films.

Dr. Kristina Mitchell is an Instructor of Political Science at Texas Tech University. Her research interests include pedagogical technique, best practices in higher education, gender and diversity, and issues in international relations. Learn more about Dr. Mitchell’s work and connect here: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/politicalscience/faculty/kristina_mitchell.php 
Twitter: @kmwmitchell
 
The Chronicle article, No More Chili Pepper: RateMyProfessors Ditches ‘Hotness’ Ratings, Dr. Mitchell was quoted sharing part of her gender bias in teacher evaluations: 
“What we noticed was that students were much more likely to comment on my appearance and my personality, and to call me a ‘teacher.’ They were a lot more likely to mention his competence or refer to him as a ‘professor.” ~ Dr. Kristina Mitchell

Dr. Mitchell said the language used in the ratings indicated that “we were evaluated on two different sets of criteria.” Comments about her personality or image or her body were being sexually objectified. Kristina said, “Students were looking at me not as a source of expertise on a topic, but either as a barrier to them not getting the grade they wanted because I’m too mean, or as a potential sexual conquest.” This was not a surprise based on her study of research and examination into how learners evaluate women and men differently at the university-level.
 
References and reads mentioned during our conversation with Kristina:
#InVinoFab Recommendations: Taste, Watch, & Listen
-- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3748528/ 
-- Star Wars: The Last Jedi https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/  
-- Wonder Woman (film) http://wonderwomanfilm.com/ 
-- How Democratic Is the American Constitution? By Robert A. Dahl https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300095241/how-democratic-american-constitution 
-- Theories of International Politics and Zombies by Dan Drezner https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10351.html 
 
This podcast wants to continue the conversation with women and about wine -- so we’d LOVE to hear from YOU! Tell us what voices, stories, ideas, questions, and wine facts you hope we’ll dig into next. Share on Instagram (NEW!) InVinoFab (https://www.instagram.com/invinofab/) or on Twitter via the hashtag #InVinoFab and we’ll always welcome love or messages by email at invinofabulum@gmail.com 

We’d love if you subscribe to stay tuned to the next #InVinoFab Podcast episode via Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, and on Stitcher.  Remember: in wine there is a story! In Vino Fabulum!

Is there someone else we should talk to? Do you have a question or issue we should chat about on a future pod?  Let us know. We’d love to hear from you about whose story we should share on a future #InVinoFab episode. Send us love, suggestions, and comments to: invinofabulum@gmail.com 
Stay connected to the #InVinoFab Podcast:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.