Course & Instructor Evaluations
At my school, students have the ability to log on to the campus portal and submit an electronic evaluation of each course and instructor. The frustrating thing as the instructor, though, is that the predetermined statements to which students simply agree or disagree do not allow for further qualitative responses.
So for example, one statement might be "This course was valuable to me." A student might strongly disagree, but that response alone gives no clue as to how the instructor can improve the course.
When writing evaluations for students to fill out, it is critical that the response - whatever it may be - be useful in improving teaching style and curricula
Hi Dee,
Thank you for sharing this great course evaluation strategy. This really gives effective input that will be of value to you and future students. Your method is targeted and goes well beyond the general question format so often used.
Gary
I've also experienced similar frustration with evaluations not providing sufficient information for improvement. So, on the last day of class, I provide the students with a handout: 'At A Glance'. This summarizes the semester experience, with various line items: lectures, labs, DVD's, projects/assignments, testing preparation, Field trips etc. requesting that these be rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest). Each includes a comment line so students can either offer suggestions for improvement, or comment on why that particular element was successful. This is done annomously, no signatures etc. and has been a valuable tool for future course structure/modification.
You just gave me an idea.... to email my students to solicit feedback during the course. Thanks a bunch!!!
Hi Bill,
I can understand your frustration with the course evaluation format that is being used by your college. It is the same with mine. You can only get quality feedback if you ask quality questions. I give my students 3x5 cards throughout the course and have them fill them out commenting on various assignments or projects. These are the comments I use to improve the course because they are targeted and current.
Gary
