Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching

Student Evaluation of Teaching

As NTEU members will be aware, the use of student evelauations of learning and teaching is becoming more wide spread yet remains a  controversial issue.  Despite the well documented limitations of student evaluations, they are being increasingly used for individual stafff performance appraisals as well as for performance based funding at the institutional levels.  The references and links to resources below are meant to provide members with resources they find helpful in relation to questions around student evaluation of learning and teaching.

References and Further Reading

Adams, M., Neumann, R., & Rytmeister, C. (1996). Is it a level playing field? Factors which influence student evaluation of teaching. Paper presented at the Joint Conference of Educational Research Association, Singapore and Australian Association for Research in Education, 25-29th November, Singapore Polytechnic. Conference theme: Education research: building new partnerships. Available at: http://www.aare.edu.au/96pap/adamm96084.txt

Barrie, S. (2001). Reflections on Student Evaluation of Teaching: Alignment and congruence in a changing context. In E. Santhanam (Ed.), Student Feedback on Teaching: Reflections and Projections. Refereed Proceedings of Teaching Evaluation Forum 28-29th August 2000, Perth, Western Australia (pp. 1-16). Perth: Evaluation of Teaching Unit, Organisational and Staff Development Services, The University of Western Australia. Available at: http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/spot/forum/forum_monograph.pdf

Cannon, R. (2001). Evaluating Learning or evaluating teaching: Is there a difference and does it matter? In E. Santhanam (Ed.), Student Feedback on Teaching: Reflections and Projections. Refereed Proceedings of Teaching Evaluation Forum 28-29th August 2000, Perth, Western Australia (pp. 81-92). Perth: Evaluation of Teaching Unit, Organisational and Staff Development Services, The University of Western Australia. Available at: http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/spot/forum/forum_monograph.pdf

Chalmers, D. (2007) A review of Australian and international quality systems and indicators of learning and teaching The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Sydney online at Quality Learning and Teaching (external web site)

Devlin, M. (2002). An Improved Questionnaire for Gathering Student Perceptions of Teaching and Learning. Higher Education Research & Development, 21 (3), 289-304.

 Fink, L. D. (no date). Evaluating Your Own Teaching. Available at: http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/evaluate.htm

Harvey, L. (2002). Evaluation for What? Teaching in Higher Education, 7 (3), 245-263.

Johnson, R. (2000). The Authority of the Student Evaluation Questionnaire. Teaching in Higher Education, 5 (4), 419-434.

Kember, D., Lueng, D. Y. P., & Kwan, K. P. (2002). Does the Use of Student Feedback Questionnaires Improve the Overall Quality of Teaching? Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 27 (5), 411-425.

Kolitch, E., & Dean, A. V. (1999). Student Ratings of Instruction in the USA: Hidden assumptions and missing conceptions about 'good' teaching. Studies in Higher Education, 24 (1), 27-42.

Marsh, H., & Roche, L. (1993). The Use of Students' evaluations and an Individually Structured Intervention to Enhance University Teaching Effectiveness. American Educational Research Journal, 30 (1), 217-251.

Marsh, H.W. & Roche, L.A.  The Evaluation Cookbook
External web site illustrating and with instructions for a number of evaluation methodologies and methods.

Martens, E. (1999). Mis/match of Aims, Concepts and Structures in Evaluation of Teaching Schemes: Are good intentions enough? Paper to Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Annual Conference, Melbourne, 12-15th July. Available at: http://www.herdsa.org.au/branches/vic/Cornerstones/authorframeset.html

MacLeod, C. (2001). Student Feedback on Teaching an Institutional Perspective. In E. Santhanam (Ed.), Student Feedback on Teaching: Reflections and Projections. Refereed Proceedings of Teaching Evaluation Forum 28-29th August 2000, Perth, Western Australia (pp. iv-xii). Perth: Evaluation of Teaching Unit, Organisational and Staff Development Services, The University of Western Australia. Available at: http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/spot/forum/forum_monograph.pdf

McKeachie, W. J. (1996). Student Ratings of Teaching. The Professional Evaluation of Teaching. American Council of Learned Societies Occasional Paper No.33. Available at: http://www.acls.org/op33.htm

McKinney, K. (1997). What do student ratings mean? The National Teaching and Learning Forum, 7 (1), 2-4.

Narasimhan, K. (2001). Improving the climate of teaching sessions: the use of evaluations by students and instructors. Quality in Higher Education, 7 (3), 179-190.

Pratt, D. D. (1997). Reconceptualizing the Evaluation of Teaching in Higher Education. Higher Education, 34, 23-44. Available at: http://www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/faculty/pratt/dprecon.htm

Saroyan, A., & Amundsen, C. (2001). Evaluating University Teaching: Time to take stock. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 26 (4), 341-363.

Spencer, K. J., & Schmelkin, L. P. (2002). Student Perspectives on Teaching and its Evaluation. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(5), pp. 397-409.

Sproule, R. (2000). Student Evaluation of Teaching: A methodological critique of conventional practices. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8 (50). Available at: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n50.html

Wachtel, H. K. (1998). Student Evaluation of College Teaching Effectiveness: A brief review. Assessment and Evaluation, 23 (2), 191-211.

References on the Ethics of Student Evaluation of Teaching

American Association of University Professors (2001). Statement on Teaching Evaluation.
Available: http://www.aaup.org./statements/Redbook/rbeval.htm

Applebee, A., McCormack, C. & Donnan, P. (2002) When technology, teaching and evaluation intersect ethical dilemmas arise: student evaluation of online teaching. Proceedings of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) 2002 Conference Winds of Change in the Sea of Learning: Charting the course of digital educatio n, Auckland, New Zealand, 8-11 November. Available: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/auckland02/proceedings/papers/083.pdf

Association of University Staff, New Zealand (2001). AUS Policy Statement Student Evaluation. Available: http://www.psa.org.nz/library/other/association%20of%20university%20staff/policy%20handbook/student%20evaluation%20-%20aus%20policy.htm

Cummings, R. J. & Ballantyne, C. S. (1999). Student feedback on teaching: Online! On target? a paper presented at the Australasian Evaluation Society Annual Conference, Perth, Western Australia, 6-8 October. Available: http://www.tlc.murdoch.edu.au/pubs/docs/AES_1999_Conference_Final.rtf

Daniel, E. (1998). Privacy in the WebCT Environment. Available: http://www.ils.unc.edu/daniel/210user/privacy.html

Gray, M. & Bergmann, B. R. (2003). Student Teaching Evaluations. Inaccurate, Demeaning, Misused, Academe, 89 (5).
Available: http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/2003/03so/03sogray.htm

Hutchings, P. (2002). Ethics of Inquiry, Issues in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Purchase details plus the Forward and one chapter available at: http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/publications/ethics_of_inquiry.htm

Loughborough University (1999). Student Feedback Questionnaires - Code of Practice. Available: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/admin/ar/policy/aqp/appendix/13/index.htm

McCormack, C. (2003). Reconceptualising Student Evaluation of Teaching: An ethical framework for changing times, a paper presented at the Evaluations and Assessment Conference, Adelaide, 24-25 November. Available: http://www.unisa.edu.au/evaluations/program.htm

McCormack, C., Applebee, A. & Donnan, P. (2003) Opening a Can of Worms: A conversation about the ethics of online student evaluation of teaching. The Technology Source, July/August.
Available: http://technologysource.org/article/opening_a_can_of_worms/

Murray, H., Gillese, E., Lennon, M., Mercer, P. & Robinson, M. (1996). Ethical Principles for University Teaching, (Vancouver, Canadian Association for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education).
Available: http://www.mcmaster.ca/stlhe/documents/Ethical%20Principles%20in%20University%20Teaching.pdf

Nuhfer, E. B. (2001). An Ethical Framework for Practical Reasons. @NtLF, 10(5), September. [Online]. Available: http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/0109/devdiary_1.htm [24th January 2002].

Theall, M. (2000, November/December). Electronic Course Evaluation Is Not Necessarily the Solution. The Technology Source, November/December. [Online]. Available: http://technologysource.org/article/electronic_course_evaluation_is_not_necessarily_the_solution/

Wassyng Roworth, W. (2002). Professional Ethics, Day by Day, Academe, 88 (1). Available: http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/2002/02JF/02jfrow.htm

Zimitat, C. & Crebert, G. (2002). Conducting online research and evaluation. In A. Goody, J. Herrington & M. Northcote (Eds.), Research and Development in Higher Education Volume 25 Quality Conversations. Refereed Proceedings of the Annual International HERDSA Conference 7-10 July 2002, Perth, Western Australia (pp. 761-769). Canberra, Australia: Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia. Available: http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/spot/forum/forum_monograph.pdf

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Policy and Reserach Unit would like to acknowledge and thank Cathy Rytmeister (Macquarie Uni) for her assistance.

If members have suggestions for additional resources please contact Terri MacDonald, Policy and Research Officer, email tmacdonald@nteu.org.au