But Dr. Crews,
I have a question... with evaluations being a strong point in learning and educating our students, is evaluation more effective online or ground? With online evaluation, it seems that more intereaction and careful planning is needed in order for improvement to take place and growth and learning to take place, any thoughts?
Kimberley,
Being consistent in your evaluation and helping students understand the importance of evaluation and how it relates to the learning outcomes is essential. Thanks again for your input.
Student evaluation, though somtimes students may see this as a bother, would be one method of comprehensive feedback that would help to close the loop. You prepare your course for the student therefore it is only fair that their feedback be top consideration for future planning and necessary improvments.
Michael,
Yes, each student views the course differently and they have good ideas about courses in which they are involved. Getting their feedback is essential to make necessary edit to make it better. Nice job.
Ola,
Definitely. Courses are always a work in progress. We need to keep getting feedback from students and others to continually improve. Keep up the good work.
Because students see the class in its entirety, but have a different perspective on it, I believe getting regular feedback from students is the most comprehensive kind of feedback. Providing anonymous ways for students to give feedback helps, but also being open with your students about the fact that you are trying to make the class as effective as possible can be a great way of starting two-way dialogues about aspects of the class. Students have often gotten very specific about assignments that were not quite clear or improvements they believe could be made to our class website.
However, getting feedback from all stakeholder groups is necessary if you want to get the best sense of how successful your course is.
That's a good question. Courses might look "complete" after being set up for the most part. However, to me, courses are always work in progress!
Students' feedback is usually the most critical, as they are the audience. However, a lot of filtering and evaluation must go along with that.
That being said, having subject matter experts reviewing and providing input is as important.
Assessing all the feedback to determine what's valid and what can be done to improve the course is an ongoing process.
Lawrence,
Yes, quantity is not always the best measurement. There has to be a quality measurement at some point. Thanks!
Erina ,
When you connect that assignment/project to the learning outcomes and back to the content, the students can see the whole picture. Good point.
I think evaluating students on quantity and quality is critical. For example, a student should make the requisite number of posts in the forum and also make sure the posts are substantial and be of high quality, providing additional information.
Feedback should always incorporate what a student did wrong and what they did right. We should refer the student to course materials and also outside materials to make sure they get different perspectives of the topic.
Sandra,
It is hard to pick just one but you clearly explain your choice and bring up very good points. Thanks.
This is a difficult topic to answer as the many different evaluations provide both positive and not so positive aspects. I think that the best evaluation method is for another peer to review the materials within the classroom along with the other elements addressed in the module such as student feedback. I chose this method because it eliminates “feelings†that students develop during the course of term; from those who enthusiastically like the instructor whether it is because they really enjoyed the class and the material presented or they think if they praise the instructor they might get a better grade, to a few that may not like the instructor for various reasons such as the instructor refused to accept late work which was against school policy and the student decides to provide negative feedback as a result , to those who are indifferent and just want to go to school to get their degree and aren’t really interested in completing course evaluations.
I would want my skills as an instructor evaluated by a peer who understands how an online instructor should perform and then be able to provide objective feedback indicating both areas of strength and areas that need improvement.
Sandy Masten
Mamie,
I absolutely see your point. Thanks for your input.
The most comprehensive feedback that would allow me to close the loop would be closed-ended questionnaires. With a closed-ended questionnaire, I can control the range of answers, which makes it easier to analyze and interpret. But if too many options are given, it becomes tedious for the student, and the answers may be compromised. I try to make questionnaires interesting but also very straight forward.
M. Allen
Shannon,
Students do provide current information. Try to get formative assessment from them throughout the semeseter as well as an summative evaluation. Thanks for your input.
I think the evaluation of the students is most important. They are the ones who are actually going through the course and learning the material. I've also found that students will speak up if they see any errors or there is something on the test that was never covered.
Ted,
I like the use of the word "stakeholder." That gives true meaning to someone who is involved in the process. Thanks!
Alan and William,
Yes, the more "eyes" we have, the better.
Alan,
It is definitely an ongoing process and the more input we get from others, the better. Thanks!
