Comments on: Three Steps to Better Course Evaluations

By: The Future of Teacher Evaluations in Higher Ed - OnlineUniversities.com

The Future of Teacher Evaluations in Higher Ed - OnlineUniversities.com — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:03:37 +0000

[...] you craft better courses and get important feedback from students. Mary Clement in an article for Faculty Focus, advises a few changes that can make students feel more excited about and engaged in your [...]

By: Update: Diigo in Education group (weekly) | ChalkTech

Update: Diigo in Education group (weekly) | ChalkTech — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 01:14:39 +0000

[...] Three Steps to Better Course Evaluations | Faculty Focus [...]

By: Matt Champagne

Matt Champagne — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:59:43 +0000

This is an excellent topic. Gathering feedback in stages or net promoter scores are great ways to gain a perspective on real-time understandings of student satisfaction. I have similar research and findings on my blog at http://theevaluationguy.blogspot.com . Thanks for posting this!

By: Mr G's Idle Musings » Blog Archive » My Diigo 12/25/2012

Mr G's Idle Musings » Blog Archive » My Diigo 12/25/2012 — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:01:36 +0000

[...] Three Steps to Better Course Evaluations | Faculty Focus [...]

By: Barbara W

Barbara W — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:58:18 +0000

I Agree!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:03:02 +0000

Your link doesn't work. Do you have an updated one?

By: Student Course Evaluations | The Teaching Practice

Student Course Evaluations | The Teaching Practice — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:28:14 +0000

[...] the term “student course evaluation” make you flinch? As Mary Clement recently suggested, the time to consider student evaluations is at the beginning of the [...]

By: Ahmed Abu-hajar

Ahmed Abu-hajar — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:26:30 +0000

I am a strong believer in giving daily homework and weekly quizzes. With approach, I get a constant feedback and I am able to assess my teaching approach as well as my students’ learning ability. As an engineering educator, a very important learning objective is the ability for the student to be able to think outside the box and come up with unique, yet trivial solutions. I do that by assigning open ended challenging projects. This approach was proven to work with my teaching approach very well. Students earn good grades and most are able to secure jobs or getting into grade school.

By: N. Chesworth

N. Chesworth — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:48:04 +0000

I like the exam feedback form and have used a similar technique with some success. It's particularly useful if students are not taking studying seriously and helps to forestall the practice of blaming a poor grade on the instructor. That said, why not get a head start and help students focus on the experience as well as the need to plan their time well from the start?

Given that students are usually overwhelmed at the first class, at the beginning of the second class, hand out a sheet to help set them up for success. This is a simple process. Take for example the first question in the text above. Instead of asking "How do you", you could ask 'How long will you or How long do you think you need to study for an exam/work n a paper. Corrections can be made and suggestions given before that first test is handed back and a student expresses surprise at her/his grade. The same applies to the other questions in the list. If students realize you are there to help from the start and also that their success is ultimately up to them, course feedback should be more positive, constructive and useful.

I also like the grade tracking sheet. It worked well on the occasion that I used it in the past, and I'll bring it back this year.

By: professorh

professorh — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 21:22:37 +0000

I agree that it is sad students don't understand weighted grades. But teaching and learning is why we are here, so we keep working with them.

I really appreciate the formative feedback ideas you have proposed. I like some of the quick assessment strategies suggested by Angelo and Cross in their handbook on Classroom Assessment Techniques. You can learn a lot, early, about students' expeiences using One-Minute Papers and Muddiest Point Papers to determine where students are. Then, developing strategies is a great next step though it may require individual "case work".

By: Rochelle Watson

Rochelle Watson — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:14:34 +0000

It is disconcerting that college level students seem not to be able to compute a weighted average. In some instances, they really cannot. I actually walk through examples w/ students two or three times during the semester so that they will know how to compute their averages. However, I believe much of their "inability" is willful ignorance. Even for those students who can compute weighted averages, they seem to understand (better) and prefer the point system. Maybe the point system makes them feel more in control of their destinies. On a point system, students know what they will/could earn on tests and assignments; they will know what they must do to earn those points; they will know their current letter grade status immediately based on the number of points they achieve.

By: RAC439

RAC439 — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:21:13 +0000

I find it disconcerting that at the college level students cannot compute a weighted average. That is, after all, what a point system is. Do we really find it necessary to cater to their math illiteracy? These are college students we are talking about.

By: F.P.

F.P. — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:43:00 +0000

Thank you for explaining the formative feedback approach . I think that sharing what works and what does not work, will help us to improve effectiveness in teaching .Would you ming sending to all of us a copy of your worksheet.

By: Pat B.

Pat B. — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:07:11 +0000

I still use the percentage grading system, but students see can see their average at any time in Blackboard. All of their grades are posted along with their current average. Have not had any problems with students contesting their grades at the end of the quarter. And the average display does motivate them to do better during the course if they see their grade beginning to dip a bit.

By: Dr.K

Dr.K — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 02:50:48 +0000

"…telling students that their grades are based on percentages … does not have meaning for them." In my on-line syllabus, I added a link to a page where the students can remedy this aspect of their innumeracy, if necessary. I also made a fill-the-blank worksheet that takes them through the steps of the calculation. Adults need to understand percentages!

By: Jenny Franklin

Jenny Franklin — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:32:07 +0000

Very nice article – I'm posting a link to it the University of Arizona's TCE (teaching and course evaluation) website. In the course of directing both faculty development and faculty evaluation services at various points in my career, I think I've heard a lot of rationalizations for disappointing ratings. Taking a positive approach to getting useful information about what students are experiencing is a great antidote to the frustration we've all experienced at one time or another when a course isn't working as well as we might wish. I like your suggestions – especially the focus on getting formative feedback early and in the context of assessment since understanding how students perceptions about the teaching connect with their actual learning outcomes offers a unique perspective on what may need fixing and for whom.

In a similar vein, I recommend the use of SGIDs – a strategy that provides usable feedback by providing a moderated, safe way for students to give grouped anonymous feedback early or midsemester but in time to address instructional problems. Even if there is not enough time to address an issue that may be discovered, there will likely plenty of opportunities in future to apply what was learned. There is a helpful guide to the method at http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9705/sgid.htm. It's a great service for teaching centers to offer – we trained a cadre of graduate students to do SGIDs for faculty here with good effect, but with the guide and volunteer colleague, anyone can use the SGID approach to get helpful feedback. Anecdotally, we often noticed higher than predicated ratings at the end of a semester (from past ratings) for faculty using an SGID that term.

By: Rochelle Watson

Rochelle Watson — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:51:25 +0000

Although I do think that a point system can be clearer, it's sometimes a catch-22. My experience has been that students may not want to take any personal responsibility for tracking their grades/progress and either (a) constantly seek assurance/interpretations concerning their grades, despte rubrics, score sheets, explanations, etc., or (b) tend not to address any confusion they have about course grading until the bitter end once they realize that they have not made the progress they would have liked. In any case, your article has influenced me to try–at least in some of my classes–using the points system again. I also would really appreciate a copy of your worksheet if you are comfortable sharing it (rwatson@monroecc.edu). I also really like the way you suggest collecting formative feedback and will use that strategy as well.

By: Ken Morrison

Ken Morrison — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:17:31 +0000

Nice article. Would you be willing to share an example of your worksheet that you give students explaining exactly the points they have and need to earn? I have given students a big picture outline one month at a time on the white board, but I can see the value of a printout that they keep their own score. You can send it to kenmorrison30 @ yahoo if you are willing

I also highly agree that the point system is better than the percentage system in helping with clarity.