Student Ratings Of Teaching Effectiveness Research Articles

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Hybrid Course Modality to Increase Student Engagement and Mastery of Course Content in Undergraduate Research Methods Classes

An undergraduate Research Methods in Criminal Justice class was taught in two different modalities, traditional and hybrid, over 8 semesters. The hybrid course sought to increase student engagement through student-driven active learning modules delivered online while maintaining mastery of course content. Using a mixed-methods research design, engagement with course material was evaluated by assessing a mid-semester student survey in the hybrid offerings and comparing the two modalities using qualitative and quantitative data from end of semester student ratings of teaching effectiveness. Mastery of course content was assessed by comparing exam scores between the two modalities. Qualitative data suggest greater course engagement among students enrolled in the hybrid sections. A quantitative analysis revealed significantly higher average mean test scores among students in the hybrid group across all three exams. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research and extensions of the hybrid modality to other criminal justice courses.

Resisting the Detrimental Effects of Grade Inflation on University Faculty and Students through Critical Communication Pedagogy

Despite university faculty’s efforts to maintain rigor and high expectations in their classrooms, grade inflation continues to rise. While numerous factors exist to explain this problem, the primary contributor is the ubiquitous pressure of neoliberal forces on the university. Neoliberalism has inculcated society, namely undergraduate students, to resist the belief that the university is a place in which they collectively gather to learn, think, be challenged, grow through failure, and build character. Rather, students now largely believe that they university is merely a business from which they purchase a product—a degree. This producer-consumer mindset has created a deleterious situation for both students and faculty. Students believe that they are merely purchasing a degree; and, they demand that high grades accompany that degree. To them, high grades, coupled with their degree, are the currency with which they purchase a career. Because of this prevalent ideology, faculty are placed in a perilous position because they feel internal and external pressure to reduce the rigor of their courses and/or artificially inflate the grades that students earn. Although all faculty feel the pressure to conform to this neoliberally driven practice, it is especially troublesome for tenure-track, non-tenure track, and other contingent faculty because their continued employment is, often to a large extent, dependent of student ratings of teaching effectiveness. This chapter will address these issues through the lens of critical communication pedagogy (CCP) by offering ways in which faculty can resist the neoliberal pressure to engage in grade inflation by teaching students about the neoliberal system which has inculcated them to believe that profit, success, and individualism are the only measures of a meaningful life. Following CCP, I will discuss how instructors can challenge students to resist neoliberal hegemony, hold high academic standards for themselves, and tie learning to outcomes that affect their futures—power and their response to it. Overall, I will argue that in order for tenure-track and contingent faculty to be able to resist the pressure to inflate grades, they must work to teach students to resist neoliberal ideology that instills the thought processes that lead to grade inflation. In so doing, students may begin to learn to engage in resistance behaviors to neoliberal power structures that marginalize them.

Predicting Student Achievement in University-Level Business and Economics Classes: Peer Observation of Classroom Instruction and Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness

We examine the validity of peer observation of classroom instruction for purposes of faculty evaluation. Using both a multi-section course sample and a sample of different courses across a university's School of Business and Economics we find that the results of annual classroom observations of faculty teaching are significantly and positively correlated with student learning outcome assessment measures. This finding supports the validity of classroom observation as an assessment of teaching effectiveness. The research also indicates that student ratings of teaching effectiveness (SETEs) were less effective at measuring student learning than annual classroom observations by peers.

Does the relationship between student ratings of course easiness and course quality vary across schools? The role of school academic rankings

Student ratings of teaching effectiveness are widely used to make judgments of faculty teaching performance. Research, however, has found that such ratings may not be accurate indicators of teaching performance because they are contaminated by course easiness. Using student ratings of 9855 professors employed at 79 different colleges and universities, the author hypothesized and found that the relationship between perceived course easiness and perceived course quality was moderated by school academic rankings. More specifically, easiness ratings were more strongly correlated with quality ratings among low‐ranked schools than among high‐ranked schools. Furthermore, the easiness–quality relationship was slightly stronger among public schools than among private schools. The article concludes by discussing the practical implications of these findings.

Beyond Student Ratings: Peer Observation of Classroom and Clinical Teaching

Peer observation of classroom and clinical teaching has received increased attention over the past decade in schools of nursing to augment student ratings of teaching effectiveness. One essential ingredient is the scale used to evaluate performance. A five-step systematic procedure for adapting, writing, and building any peer observation scale is described. The differences between the development of a classroom observation scale and an appraisal scale to observe clinical instructors are examined. Psychometric issues peculiar to observation scales are discussed in terms of content validity, eight types of response bias, and interobserver reliability. The applications of the scales in one school of nursing as part of the triangulation of methods with student ratings and the teaching portfolio are illustrated. Copies of the scales are also provided.

Teaching Effectiveness: The relationship between reaction and learning evaluation criteria

This study used a pre/post design to assess student learning for the purposes of examining relationships among student grades, student learning, and student evaluations of teaching. These relationships were reframed in terms of reaction (Level I) and learning (Level II) evaluation criteria. Participants were 652 undergraduate students enrolled in seven sections of an introductory psychology course. Our results indicated a medium relationship between student grades and the pre/post learning measure. In addition, a small relationship was observed between student ratings of teaching effectiveness and a pre/post measure of learning. We conclude that student ratings and learning measures assess different aspects of teaching effectiveness and should not be used interchangeably. The most appropriate criterion for assessing teaching effectiveness is a function of the goal of evaluation. However, reaction and learning measures may be used in conjunction to obtain a more complete picture of instructor effectiveness.

The development of a student rating of teaching effectiveness questionnaire

The use of student ratings of teaching effectiveness has become the most widely used, and often the only, source of information to assess and improve teaching effectiveness. Important prerequisites for questionnaires for student ratings should, therefore, be reliability and validity. The research reported in this article presents a methodology for developing a teaching effectiveness rating instrument, based on identified dimensions of teaching effectiveness believed to be important. Results obtained from 11 570 respondents of the RAU student rating questionnaire were factor analysed to an oblique simple structure. A first-order solution with four factors resulted: 1) Preparation of lectures; 2) Presentation of lectures; 3) Interaction with students during lectures; and 4) Assessment practices. One second-order factor was also found, representing General Teaching Effectiveness. The research results support the conclusion that the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) student rating questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument to implement for formative teaching assessment. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol.15(1) 2001: 84-91

Are Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness Influenced by Instructors' English Language Proficiency?

We use data from norming the third edition of the Test of Understanding College Economics to exam ine whether instructors for whom English is a second language (ESLs) receive lower student ratings of teaching effectiveness in principles of economics courses, holding constant what students learn in the course. The results suggest that student ratings of ESL instructors are, on average, about 0.4 points lower, on a scale of 1.0 to 5.0, than the ratings of native English speaking instructors. Most of this deficit can be attributed to differences in how the two groups of instructors teach their courses and evaluate the knowledge of their students.

Evidence of a Single Second-Order Factor in Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness

In student-evaluation research, there has been considerable debate on the number of higher order factors in student ratings of university teaching. Using a distance learning program as the context for research, the study described in this article applied structural equation modeling to investigate the 2nd-order factor structure in student ratings of teaching effectiveness. An a priori model was hypothesized, which consisted of four 1st-order factors and one 2nd-order factor. Data were collected from 2,021 distance students using a multifactor questionnaire. In contrast to all past studies, the presence of a single 2nd-order factor in student ratings was empirically demonstrated through hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis. Implications for future research on the higher order factor structure in student ratings of conventional on-campus courses are also discussed.

The effects of a comprehensive teaching assistant training program on teaching anxiety and effectiveness

This experiment investigated the effects of a comprehensive teaching assistant (TA) training program on the teaching anxiety and effectiveness of TAs. Twenty-seven TAs in the English department of a research university were divided into experimental and control groups. Both groups participated in a one-week workshop and a sixteen-week theory and pedagogy course during a fall semester. TAs in the experimental group also participated in a consultant observation program and peer mentoring activities. Data resulting from the completed pretests and posttests for teaching anxiety and effectiveness were analyzed using either at-test or an analysis of covariance. Conclusions from the study include: (1) Declines in teaching anxiety for TAs in the experimental group were significantly greater. (2) Neither group of TAs improved in teaching effectiveness, as measured by general student evaluations. However, based on posttest means for these student ratings, the teaching effectiveness of the experimental group was rated significantly higher. (3) Student ratings of teaching effectiveness in composition for TAs in the experimental group were significantly higher. (4) There were no significant differences between pre- to posttest changes in the self-appraisals of teaching effectiveness for the groups.

The short-term stability of student ratings of instruction in medical school.

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree of consistency in student ratings of teacher effectiveness during the first year of medical school. Student ratings of teaching effectiveness represent a commonly used source of information that enters into the academic decision-making process. In medical school, student evaluations often represent a major source of information that is used in promotion and tenure decisions. It is essential that the precision of such ratings be ascertained so that decision-makers will know how much confidence to place in this source of information on teaching effectiveness. In this study, each member of a first-year medical school class was randomly assigned a two-digit identification number at the beginning of the spring semester, 1986. As the semester progressed students were asked to evaluate each full-time teacher in three major courses. Multiple instructors were utilized in each course (n = 10). Each teacher was evaluated immediately after lectures during the first (T1) and second (T2) halves of the course. Students evaluated the teacher a third time (T3) as part of the end-of-semester overall course evaluation. The teachers were evaluated on a short eight-item Likert-type scale that identified several key indicators of effective teaching. Students attached their anonymous identification numbers to individual ratings so that their responses could be matched in the analysis. The results indicate that medical students are only moderately consistent in the extent to which they evaluate teachers. This inconsistency varied by course and by instructors within courses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High School Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness Compared with Teacher Self-Ratings

Two classes of each of four hundred high school teachers were rated for teaching effectiveness by the teachers and by their students using the same instrument. Considerable interrater reliability was found across classes between student and teacher ratings on each item. Overall student-teacher agreement on relative ratings of items was good, as was within-class agreement. Modest interrater reliability was found item by item between teachers and students on which of the two classes deserved higher ratings. These findings generally support the validity of high school student ratings of instruction.

A Comparison of High School Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness with Teacher Self-Ratings: Factor Analytic and Multitrait-Multimethod Analyses

Two classes of each of four hundred high school teachers were rated for teaching effectiveness by the teachers and by their students using the same instrument. Separate factor analyses yielded highly similar underlying dimensions. Convergent validity coefficients were significant for all factors. These findings provide support for the validity of high school student ratings of instruction.

Student ratings of teaching effectiveness: What the research reveals

Abstract Over the years, evaluation of teaching effectiveness has been a significant issue facing faculty and administrators of accounting programs. This paper examines prior research on the validity and reliability of the most commonly used evaluation method, student ratings. The reviews purpose is to provide accounting educators with an understanding of the major research findings as well as their implications. The extent to which these findings can be generalized to an accounting program setting is a question that should be addressed by future research studies.

Relationships between student perceptions of teaching behavior and learning outcomes in college biology

AbstractThis study examined relationships between student perceptions of teaching behavior and learning outcomes in college biology. One‐hundred one students who enrolled in an introductory college biology course reported the frequencies of 20 overt, in‐class teaching behaviors exhibited by the instructor and rated the instructor on 12 measures of teaching effectiveness. Achievement tests were administered periodically throughout the two‐semester time interval. A series of simple correlations between teaching behavior factors and both achievement and student ratings revealed a complex pattern of relationships. Moderately strong relationships were found between student perceptions of “information‐transmitting” behaviors and achievement, while generally stronger relationships linked behavior factors with student ratings of teaching effectiveness.

The Use of Path Analysis to Estimate Teacher and Course Effects in Student Ratings of Instructional Effectiveness

A path analytic technique is described for obtaining separate estimates of variables that are normally confounded. The particular problem involves ascertaining the relative contributions of the instructor and the course being taught in determining student ratings of teaching effectiveness. A series of six different path analytic models were used to estimate teacher and course effects, along with a variety of other parameters. The best model indicated that the effect of the teacher is about five times as large as the effect of the course and that the difference is even larger for components such as Overall Instructor and Instructor Enthusiasm. In contrast to the student rating items, background/demographic variables such as class size, students' prior subject interest, and reason for taking a course were largely a function of the course rather than the instructor.

Overt Teaching Behaviors and Student Ratings of Instructors

Based on previous work by H. G. Murray, this study examined relationships between overt classroom teaching behaviors of college instructors and student ratings of teaching effectiveness. One hundred seven students who enrolled in six sections of an introductory psychology course rated instructors on 12 measures of teaching effectiveness and reported the frequencies of 20 observable, inclass teaching behaviors. Relationships between teaching behaviors and student ratings were examined by simple, multiple, and canonical correlation procedures. A complex pattern of relationships emerged. The canonical analysis revealed a two-dimensional structure consisting of instructor clarity and student-teacher rapport dimensions. Teaching behaviors loading on these dimensions were examined.

Are Students Better Raters of Teaching Effectiveness Than We Think?

The relationships among several variables outside of the instructor's classroom control and student ratings of teaching effectiveness are investigated in a causal network. The student ratings are relatively independent of external variables. Students may be able to take into account more factors than generally assumed when they rate their instructors.

The use of Instructors' Self-Selected Items in Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness

Summary The study investigated the effect of teacher self-selected items on student ratings of teaching effectiveness. A 27 item instrument with a reliability of .85 was specifically designed for this purpose. Seventy-six classes ranging from five to 52 students per class rated 50 instructors who volunteered for the study. The instructors were asked to select items that they felt were consistent with their philosophical orientation and teaching methodology. It was found that teachers received significantly higher ratings on the self-selected items than on the nonselected ones. Class size was found to have no effect on student ratings of teaching effectiveness.

A path analysis of factors often found to be related to student ratings of teaching effectiveness

The relationships among several variables outside of the instructor's classroom control and student ratings of teaching effectiveness are investigated in a causal network. Student ratings are relatively independent of external variables. Students may be able to take into account more factors than generally assumed when they rate their instructors.