Evaluating and Improving Undergraduate Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (2003) / Chapter Skim
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5 Evaluation Methodologies
5 Evaluation Methodologies
Pages 69-99
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In a teaching and learning community, the most effective evaluation is that which encourages and rewards effective teaching practices on the basis of student learning outcomes (Doherty et al., 2002; Shapiro and Levine, 19991. Assessment of student learning at its best enables students to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and to determine the kinds of information they need to correct their learning deficiencies anti misconceptions.
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The technique of outcomes assessment as a means of measuring student learning and the use of that information to improve teaching are considered first. Additional strategies and methods for formative evaluation follow.
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· Selecting or developing appropriate assessment strategies to test student learning of the specified knowledge and skills. · Using the results from assessment to provide formative feedback to individual students and to improve curriculum anti instruction.
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Student responses in each of the following formats can first be studied for the information they provide about individual student learning and performance, and then compared across students and classes for clues about the strengths and weaknesses of curriculum and instruction: · Classroom quizzes and exams · Projects · Poster presentations of library or laboratory research · Cooperative experiences · Portfolios (collections of work) · Stan(lar(lize(1 tests both within anti across (lisciplines · Student journals · Questionnaires · Interviews · Focus groups Scoring of Outcome Assessments: Primary Trait Analysis Increasingly, primary trait analysis (Lloy(l-Jones, 1977)
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From page 75... ...
. EVALUATION METHODOLOGI ES Benefits of Outcome Assessment It can be difficult and time-consuming for faculty to redesign course objectives to focus on student learning outcomes, to agree with colleagues on comprehensive learning outcomes for the entire curriculum, and to select or develop appropriate assessment tools.
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Nonetheless, the committee has concluded that outcome assessment can be an important approach to emphasizing and focusing on what and how students learn. OTHER STRATEGIES AND METHODS FOR FORMATIVE EVALUATION Formative Evaluation by Undergraduate Students Research has shown that the best way to improve teaching is to provide individual faculty members, particularly in their first years of teaching, with ongoing in(livi(lualize(1 formative feedback from students and colleagues (Brinko, 1993; Cambridge, 1996; Centra, 1993; Hutchings, 19961.
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In addition, faculty can obtain regular feedback from their students through the use of course listservs, electronic mail, or a website for student feedback connected to a course's website. Repeated Measurements of Student [earning and Teaching Effectiveness The typical en(l-of-course student evaluation form is an indirect assessment too} that can help an instructor understand what worked to assist learning in a course and what did not.
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If a teaching evaluation form is distributed only at the end of a course, it cannot help the instructor make useful modifications for students who are currently enrolled. A better way to assess student learning and teaching effectiveness is to test students at the beginning and then again at the end of a course and inspect the "gain scores." An instructor's willingness anti ability to · ~ use gain scores to improve a course may be considered favorably during a summative evaluation of teaching.
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" Responses can help instructors evaluate how well students are learning the material. Student responses to the second and third questions also can help instructors select and structure topics for the next class meeting.
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Alternatively, to ensure student anonymity, students can be asked to photocopy selected portions of their notes and submit them to the instructor without identifying information (Davis, 19931. Chain Notes In small classes, it may be possible to pass around a piece of paper midway through a session and ask students to jot down the main point of what is being discussed at that moment.
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avis, 19931. Outside Evaluators Midway through the term, an instructor can invite an instructional improvement specialist from the campus-w~de or discipline-based teaching and learning center or a departmental colleague to conduct an oral evaluation with his or her students.
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The consultant summarizes this information and meets with the instructor to discuss students' perceptions and pedagogical options. Research at the University of Washington on the use of class interviews indicates that students appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback to their instructor before the end of the quarter.
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· Soliciting from teaching assistants constructive suggestions on aspects of a course or the (lepartment's programs, such as websites, laboratory offerings, an (1 similarities an (1 (1ifferences in approaches to teaching anti assessing student learning in different sections of the same course. Formative Evaluation by Faculty Colleagues Tra(litionally, faculty members have willingly and candidly judged their colleagues' scholarly work through a variety of means (see Chapter 3)
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In such cases, balanced and objective evaluations of teaching colleagues may be achieve(1 only by including in the evaluation process additional faculty from outside the academic unit of the person being evaluated. Even when these issues do not surface, engaging faculty from outside the department, particularly those who are knowledgeable about effective pedagogies for promoting student learning, should enable review of such critical aspects of teaching as course organization, teaching methods, and the instructor's choice of appropriate assessment practices.
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In addition to the evaluation questionnaires reprinte(1 in Appendix C, the following approaches to formative evaluation can be especially useful for the purposes of faculty professional development. Faculty mentoringlaculty.
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One such project, conducted in the mid-199Os, involved 12 universities and stressed peer review as a means of formative evaluation. In this project, participants monitored their progress in improving student learning.
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· Descriptions of how the individual has remained current in the field, such as using knowle(lge gaine(1 from atten(ling professional conferences (Edgerton et al., 1991; Shore et al., 1986)
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The evaluation shoul(1 address (~) goals the instructor believes were met and evidence of student learning and academic achievement, (2)
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SUMMATIVE EVALUATION OF TEACHING Evaluations from Undergraduate Students Questionnaires are most commonly used for summative student evaluations of teaching. The questionnaires can be machine-scored and fall into two categories: those developed locally by campus teaching and learning centers by consulting the literature or adapting forms used elsewhere, and those developed by other institutions or organizations and made available for a fee.
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For example, the University of Washington provides separate evaluation forms for laboratories, as well as for clinics and seminars (e.g., University of Washington Education Office of Educational Assessment71. Appendix B provides more specific information about and several examples of student questionnaires for evaluating undergraduate teaching.
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At smaller institutions, where final decisions for promotion and tenure may rest with an institution-wide committee rather than individual departmental committees, a similar pane} separate from the committee on tenure and promotion coul(1 be establishe(1 regularly to review the institution's policies with regard to the process and use of summative evaluations for teaching. The only responsibility of such ad hoc committees woul(1 be to evaluate teaching performance.
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What did you find most interesting and most frustrating about the course? The candidate's department chair also could provide the committee with student evaluations from courses taught previously, names and addresses of student advisers, dissertation advisers, enrollees in past and current courses, and the candidate's cumulative teaching portfolio if one has been prepared.
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Colleagues' Evaluation Questionnaires Several questionnaires have been designed to elicit colleagues' evaluation of a candidate's teaching effectiveness for summative evaluation purposes, although they may also be used for formative evaluation. Two forms developed at Syracuse University and the University of Texas at Austin provide scaled-response items and open-ended questions that faculty colleagues and department chairs can use to guide their analysis of a candidate's chosen instructional materials, as well as teaching behaviors they observe during classroom visits.
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Depending on the institution in question, administrators, the academic senate or committee on tenure and promotion, and faculty must accept that the results of evaluation efforts will be helpful both in personnel decisions and in improving the teaching effectiveness of faculty. Policies and procedures that could assist in the process include the following: · Closely involving the institution's faculty in selecting evaluation methods drafting the policies and procedures to be implemented at the departmental and institutional levels, and determining the procedures to be used for analyzing and reviewing the results of summative evaluations of teaching.
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Faculty Members Optimally, department chairs should meet at least annually with each member of the department to discuss teaching accomplishments and issues. Such meetings are especially critical for any faculty member whose teaching evaluations are substantially below the department's expectations or those of other departmental colleagues.
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This committee would also oversee all evaluations of curriculum, teaching, and student learning an(l, where appropriate, nominate faculty for the campus's or college's teaching awards. Legal Considerations All stakeholders who are involved with the evaluation of teaching must act in accordance with institutional policies that have been designed to ensure legally equitable and fair treatment of all involved parties.
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· The faculty members be allowed to EVALUATION METHODOLOGI ES respond to individual evaluation reports or to clarify information in their dossiers or portfolios. · The procedures used in internal review of decisions be clearly elucidated and made available to all faculty.
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