Sunil,
It is good to have a subject matter expert review your course, but many time instructors are the only subject matter expert. They may need other options to get excellent feedback about the course. Thanks for your input.
I like to look over my courses to see what worked and what didn't work last time I taught the class. I look at the student emails, and questions and see where they had had the most trouble and try to correct those things. I also read the student evaluations, and the peer and dept chair evaluations and try to make those changes.
Evaluation that is qualitative in nature, feedback from a survey of students about the course. What worked well and what needs improvement and then self evaluation because you are the expert on the subject matter.
I think student feedback is most imperative in making improvements, since they are the ones who experience first-hand how effectively the course has aided the course learning objectives.
Looking at the different types of evaluation, the following have always provided the most comprehensive feedback:
1. Subject Matter expert: I have always relied on the SMEs to compare and contrast the course, syllabus, my teaching methodology, teaching notes, business articles and case studies circulated to the class, students' formative and summative grades based on rubrics, my comments and students’ evaluation. The evaluation received after considering all these aspects by the SMEs have always yielded excellent results and provided the best possible course improvements.
2. Students feedback: Perhaps, this is the most valuable critic an instructor ever gets to hear from anyone. Though, students at times get biased in their evaluations, it is extremely important to separate the biased views from the reality since, the end of the class survey provides very valuable feedback from the students. The end of the class survey welcomes students to comment/evaluate on the syllabus, curriculum, learning objectives, and teaching methodology among many other aspects of the course. The Students’ evaluation also, at times, depends on their comprehension of the subject. So it is vital to have a clear understanding of students’ capability of understanding the subject and take a balanced approach while using such feedback to close the loop.
Thanks,
Sunil
Robert,
Ah - it's a shame you can't make things mandatory that you would like to make mandatory. Work with what you have.
Dr. Crews,
Chats are not mandatory at my school and faculty cannot make them so. I have even suggested making accessing the chat archives mandatory, but to no avail.
Bob
Robert,
Have you tried making at least some of the chats mandatory?
Robert,
I have learned a lot from peer evaluation of my courses. It is a different point of view and welcomed perspective. Thanks for your input.
Naomi,
Great. Getting feedback from students through the opinion polls is an excellent idea. Keep working to involve your students. Nice job.
Diana,
I too have had that experience, all too often I might add. It is apparent some students simply do not properly read or heed the material provided--grading rubric, instructor files, announcements, emails, chats, DBs, etc. Invariably, those students do not attend chats and provide the most brief and/or vague assignment responses. I try to reach out to those students by emailing selected material and offering special office hours to them. Some students have claimed they did not know the whereabouts of the Instructor files, the announcements or how to access a chat archive. I have, as you say, allowed some students to redo an assignment. However, I cannot justify doing so, especially at the graduate level. Allowing some students multiple attempts at the same assignment is patently unfair to the students who had only one chance at it--they too had access to the same specification and instructor material.
Bob
I believe the peer evaluations, both from the teaching community and comparing other schools offerings provides the best chance for improving the course. Peer and comparison evaluations offer a broader idea base with less bias. However, evaluations must also come from students and grades to best close the loop. After all, we are accountable to the learner to best suit their learning styles and needs. The evaluation of grades will provide a road map for areas needing better authoring, teaching, and assessment.
I place a lot of value on Student Opinion Polls or evaluations at the end of a course. If they are detailed enough, this can provide me with very helpful information about where I need to improve. Student grades do play a role; however, sometimes there are classes where students are just not as motivated, no matter how much effort I personally put into it.
Douglas,
Excellent. You are connection all the parts. They have to attain the knowledge first to complete the hands-on part. Nice job.
Daniel ,
Yes, do a mid-point evaluation review if you have not. I do course evaluations about 3 times during an 18 week course and the students then tend to provide more/better information at the end of the course.
Worth a try.
Daniel ,
Remarkable is not the right word! ;-) Crazy - that's the right word. ;-) Definite downsides.
Daniel ,
I like starting points and ending points as well. And, then you can see the progress of your students. It's helpful for sure.
Thanks!
Wendy,
Yes, the open ended questions provide for great detail that can be provided by the students. This helps us improve our courses and our learning. Thanks!
Tina ,
Ah - it all has to integrate. The students need to see the connection between all the components and the learning outcomes. Keep working at it. Thanks!
In my situation where I'm teaching technical information related to mechanical repair, the evaluation process is first concerned if my students grasp how a compontent works. Next I need to see if they can apply that knowledge to the "hands on" part of the class.
