EVALUATING TEACHING - Strathmore University

EVALUATING TEACHING
SEPTEMBER 2011
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 2
2. What is the purpose of the evaluation ....................................................................................... 2
3. What is the focus of the evaluation ........................................................................................... 2
4. Who will be asked to make the evaluation................................................................................ 3
5. Who will see the outcomes of the evaluation; who will act upon them .................................... 4
6. What methods of evaluation are available ................................................................................ 4
7. Course Evaluation Form ............................................................................................................9
8. Lecturers Evaluation Form ......................................................................................................11
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1. Introduction
Evaluation of teaching involves collecting evidence, from various partners in teaching and
learning, for the purpose of improving the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process. A
successful evaluation generates outcomes that are valid, reliable and indicate directions and
action for improvement.
These guidelines suggest five key questions to be addressed when considering the practical issues
of evaluating teaching.
2. What is the purpose of the evaluation
It could be an evaluation of
• the quality of the educational provision (the product) - which could be the whole
programme, a course (module), a class (lecture, seminar, laboratory, etc)
• the (performance of the providers) - the academic staff, tutors, support staff, involved in
the delivery of this programme/course/class
• the experience of the students as partners in the process - their experience of what is
provided, and of the providers, their motivation and approach to learning
• a combination of these things - provided that the various purposes are made absolutely
clear to those asked to make the evaluation
Good practice: make clear to all those involved the purpose, or purposes, of the evaluation.
3. What is the focus of the evaluation
For example, you might want to know about
• the clarity of the stated educational aims and learning outcomes
• the realism of stated pre-requisites/prior knowledge
• curriculum and content - perceptions of relevance/usefulness
• the way in which the curriculum was presented or delivered
• the development of subject-specific skills
• the development of specific personal and/or transferable skills
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• the appropriateness of the methods of assessment
• the appropriateness of the style of teaching, and the performance of lecturer
• the quality of feedback to the student on the performance of the student
• the motivation/attitudes of the student
• the educational challenge presented to the students
• the workload, how reasonable, how realistic
• the support available to students/course books/resources for independent learning
• the effort made by the student, and the take-up of support/guidance
• the overall experience of the student of the teaching and support for learning
Good practice: make clear to all those involved the focus of an evaluation - if there are multiple
foci organize the questions into clusters, identifying the focus of each cluster - help the evaluator
to concentrate and make a reflective response
4. Who will be asked to make the evaluation
An evaluation of teaching will normally be designed for students as the primary evaluators, but
there is advantage in also seeking evaluation by all the partners in the process. The responses of
the different participants in the process - students and staff - permit a correlation that adds greatly
to the reliability and validity of the outcomes of the evaluation. Such correlation provides insight
into the level of harmony, or disharmony, of perceptions between the partners in the teachinglearning
process. Internal and/or external academic peers can also be invited to participate in the
evaluation, to introduce a wider perspective on, for example, the academic standards of the
educational provision.
Good practice: correlate outcomes of evaluation from different viewpoints wherever possible.
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5. Who will see the outcomes of the evaluation; who will act upon them
Before designing an evaluation it is necessary to define
• how, and by whom, the raw data will be processed to generate outcomes
• to whom the outcomes will be reported, and in what detail
• who bears responsibility for taking action in the light of the outcomes
The evaluators, and the evaluated, must have access to the outcomes of the evaluation. So too
must the person(s) responsible for the management of the quality of the educational provision,
such as Dean of School, programme leader (or equivalent) or chair of a school teaching and
learning committee. However, not all of these need have access to the same level of detail.
Good practice: make clear, from the outset, to all involved in the evaluation process who will
have sight of the outcomes, and who will be responsible for taking action, and monitoring the
effectiveness of action. (Note: there is little point, and potential harm, in seeking evaluation of
matters where there is no realistic prospect of any action following the outcomes of evaluation.)
6. What methods of evaluation are available
Only when the purpose of evaluation, its focus, reporting and responsibility for action have been
determined can the method of evaluation properly be addressed. There is always advantage to be
gained by using several methods of evaluation and correlating their outcomes.
a). Questionnaire
This familiar method of seeking feedback from students has the potential advantage of speed (in
administration) and standardisation (for purposes of comparison between cohorts). It can suffer
from poor response rate and validity of outcomes if not designed with care (for purpose and
focus), and if over-applied (the effect of "questionnaire-fatigue").
b). Structured group interview (nominal group technique)
This is a meeting with students at which they are asked to give their views about a programme,
course or class. It must be structured with care to generate constructive debate, and so that
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students feel free to express their views without personal risk. Typically, students are asked to
work in small groups to reflect upon good and bad features of the educational provision (eg.
programme, course or module), its delivery, and their own performance and experience. A
spokesperson from each group is asked to relay the considered views of the group to the meeting.
The role of the member of staff leading the meeting is to compile a summary of such views, to
validate them at the meeting, and, later, to produce a short report of the main outcomes.
It is good practice for a group interview to be led by an experienced leader who is not involved
in the delivery of the educational provision that is being evaluated, and preferable not in the
same department.
c). Student Module Leaders
For continual improvement during the semester each lecturer will ensure there is a class module
leader whose sole responsibility will be to provide the class feedback about the course to the
lecturer. No report from the module leader should be handled by the faculty/school. See the
attached duties of module leaders, class representatives and student council academic
representative.
This program is intended to improve the teaching and learning process, so as to ensure that both
the students and the lecturer benefit fully. It is a feed forward process instead of the traditional
evaluation at the end of the semester which is feedback.
Each lecturer will have a module leader elected by the class and the lecturer in the first week of
the semester. The module leader and the lecturer will meet on a fortnight basis to discuss the
teaching and learning process. The students’ feedback will be constructive with a sole aim of
improvement.
The Module Leaders
• Will act as a link between the students and lecturers.
• Will be elected by the students of their class ( The lecturer teaching the course should
ensure this is done)
• Will represent one unit each (a unit being subjects/courses offered in a faculty).
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The feedback will cover:
• The learning environment: physical virtual and psychological
• Challenges the students are facing in learning the unit
• Library provisions (Adequacy, relevance etc)
• Student learning experience
• Recommendations on the way forward.
Class representatives
The class representatives are in charge of issues affecting the learning of the whole group, not
just one module. The class representative will be a member of the school/faculty’s teaching and
learning committee (See guide to quality teaching and learning).
The class representatives will get general feedback on the subjects from the seven/five/three
module leaders, which can be discussed at faculty/schools’ T&L committees or with the subject
leader (lecturer in charge of the subject).
Student council academic representatives
They will be members of the university’s Teaching and Learning, committee (ADU). Any
academic related issues affecting the whole university from the class representatives can be
discussed at ADU meetings.
d). Self-evaluation and peer evaluation
A simple but effective form of self-evaluation by a course/module team is for them to undertake
the same form of evaluation undertaken by the students, i.e. to complete the same questionnaire,
or to conduct a self-evaluation using the same format of a structured group interview. The degree
of harmony between the staff responses and the outcomes of the students' evaluation is a good
indicator of staff awareness of student perceptions. Items of disharmony suggest that staff
understanding of students' needs and concerns needs to be addressed before attending to issues of
detail that arise from the evaluation.
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Peer evaluation, by external examiners, to support self-evaluation of teaching in relation to the
maintenance of academic standards is a familiar and routine activity. Less familiar, but equally
valuable, is regular peer evaluation of the teaching/learning process.
A colleague, focusing on the process that is taking place, adds a dimension of evaluation that
may escape the member of staff and the students, who are generally too busy with the business of
teaching and learning to observe the process itself. However, casual `dropping-in' on a class is
not the best approach to peer evaluation.
The University's Learning and Teaching Committee is interested in seeing that a peer review
scheme is sufficiently developmental to assist both the individual member of staff and the School
at large, and wishes to emphasize that class observation is only part of a wider process of staff
and educational development. A scheme should aim to encourage staff to continue to reflect on
their teaching - style, content, learning outcomes, use of resources, etc - and the reaction of their
students, both in class and through subsequent coursework and assessments. It is also hoped that
the peer review process of sharing information on good practice in teaching, and on the
enhancement of practice, will make a valuable input to a School's strategy for maintaining high
quality learning opportunities for its students.
Schools should ensure that their peer review schemes involve teaching staff being subject to at
least one class observation a year, more where circumstances suggest that a teacher's
development will benefit from a greater sharing of experience and advice. Particular attention
should be given to the needs of staff new to teaching and of those where student feedback
and/or class observation suggest enhancement would benefit the students' learning experience.
Schools should establish at the start of each session a clear schedule for the completion of
class observations and a list of observers and those whom they have been allocated to observe.
Note that it is not normally good practice for staff to observe each other reciprocally.
It is good practice for peer evaluation to be a planned and structured process, involving the
separate stages of
• briefing, to set context and identify aims and learning outcomes of the process that is to
be observed
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• observation, with a checklist of key features to look for, agreed at the briefing
• de-briefing, to give feedback on the observation and to compare the perceptions of the
observer and the observed
Again, both self-evaluation and peer evaluation provide correlation with, and add value to, other
forms of evaluation of teaching.
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COURSE EVALUATION FORM (STUDENT)
Name:____________________________________________________________
RegistratioNo: ___________________________________________________
Course Code and Name: _____________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________________________________
Faculty: _________________________________________________________
Year/Group: _____________________________________________________
The following statements concern your participation in the class and the course itself. Tick () the
response that most closely reflects the extent to which you agree with each statement. Strongly
disagree = 0 while Strongly agree = 4. Your responses will be used for improvement purposes.
Thank you.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
Concerning the Course Itself
Concerning You
1. The readings for this course were relevant to the subject.
2. The course material was presented in a clear and logical manner.
3. Current trends in the field were discussed.
4. The stated course objectives/learning outcomes in the course outline were met.
5. The course was very practical.
6. The environment was conducive for learning.
7. The course material/syllabus was adequately covered.
8. The course provided the following skills;
• Critical/creative thinking skill.
• Problem solving skills.
• Effective oral and written communication.
• Logical reasoning.
• Ability to relate theory to practice.
• Aptitude for life long learning.
9. The course assignments were related to the course outcomes.
10. The feedback during the course was constructive and helpful.
11. The assessment processes for this course were fair.
12. I believe this course will help me in the future.
13. Overall, I rate this course as excellent
14. I have read the recommended text book.
15. I sought help when I needed it.
16. I have enjoyed this course.
17. I actively participated in this class.
18. I have taken this course evaluation seriously.
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Directions for items 29 – 38: Please take time to answer the following questions as fully as you can.
19. What topics would you recommend to be expanded/improved upon/included in/ excluded from the course
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20. How would you describe your own performance in this unit Explain
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21. What teaching methods applied in the course did you enjoy/learn from most List a few of them.
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22. Did this unit have recommended books Yes No.
23.
If Yes, comment about the suitability of the book, availability, its ease of use, and the extent to which you found it helped you learn.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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If No, do you feel that the course should have had one Why or why not
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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24. Please be free to make any other comments, suggestions, or recommendations about this course.
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LECTURER’S EVALUATION FORM
Course Code and Name: _____________________________________ Date ______________________
The following statements concern your teaching in the class and the course itself. Tick () the
response that most closely reflects the extent to which you agree with each statement. Strongly disagree
= 0 while Strongly agree = 4. Your responses will be used for improvement purposes. Thank you.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
1. The books in the library were adequate, up to date and relevant
Concerning the Course Itself
2. The course learning outcomes mainly addressed high cognitive skills/ higher order
learning processes.
3. The topics in the course outline/plan were sequentially taught.
4. The teaching of the course was research-led.
5. Assessment/feedback to and from student informed changes made on the course.
6. The course practicability was reinforced by a facilitator from the industry.
7. Availability of AVs, size of the class, interactive lectures and students’ shared
experiences enhanced the teaching of the course.
8. Feedback to the students was timely both generic and specific.
9. The assignments, CATs and examinations tested the learning outcomes.
10. CATs and Exams covered at least 80% of the topics and mainly tested high cognitive
skills.
11. In the course the students were encouraged;
• To maintain a reflective journal.
• To question, speculate and generate solutions.
• To think of real life examples of what they learnt.
• To analyze material from different sources.
• To present their own arguments clearly.
• To develop knowledge, skills and attitudes which can help them improve
occupational academic or personal development.
• To carry out small-scale research.
12. The course enabled me to reflect on my teaching.
13. The teaching process was informed by both implicit and explicit theories of teaching.
Concerning You
14. I have read the core text book and referred to some of the recommended books and other
links.
15. I was observed and I observed someone’s teaching.
16. I have enjoyed teaching this course.
17. The students actively participated in this class.
18. I incorporated the peer review and student’s feedback in my teaching.
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Directions for items 19 – 23: Please take time to answer the following questions as fully as you can.
19. What topics would you recommend to be expanded/improved upon/included in/ excluded from the course
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
20. What other units should have been taught before this unit is taught
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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21. How would you describe your own performance in this unit
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___
22. What teaching methods applied in the course did your students enjoy/learn from most
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
23. Did this unit have core and recommended books Yes No.
If Yes, comment about the suitability of the book, availability, its ease of use, and the extent to which you found it helped you learn.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____
If No, do you feel that the course should have had one Why or why not
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
24. Please be free to make any other comments, suggestions, or recommendations about this course.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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25. Any other
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