Online Course Evaluations: Faculty Perspective and Strategies for Improved Response Rates

This article provides an overview of issues involved with traditional paper versus online course evaluations. Data were gathered from university faculty, who transitioned from traditional paper to online course evaluations. Faculty preferred traditional course evaluations versus online course evaluations by a small margin. However, faculty overwhelmingly believed that traditional course evaluations result in higher response rates from students. Incentives were also believed by faculty to increase student response rates. Suggestions from faculty on how to improve student response rates are also provided in this article.     

教师与课程特征对高校学生评教分数的影响

采用调查法,从教师特征和课程特征入手,分别探讨教师学历、教师职称与课程类别、课程性质对高校学生评教分数的影响.研究发现,教师学历与教师职称对学生评教分数的主效应显著,但二者的交互作用不显著;课程类别、课程性质及其二者的交互作用均对学生的评教分数有显著的影响.     

Teacher Candidates' Perspectives on the Value of a Site-Based Methods Course

Abstract

In the field of teacher education, the disconnect between university-based coursework and practical field experiences has long been a concern. To make teacher preparation coursework more meaningful, some programs partner with P-12 schools to offer site-based courses. Although situated learning for novices in practice-based professions makes sense, more research is needed to determine if, how, and why site-based courses in particular may be beneficial for teacher candidates’ (TCs) learning. In this study, we used surveys and interviews with TCs, who had taken the same site-based literacy methods course, to identify which aspects of the course they found most facilitative of connections between the course content and the field. Our findings suggest working with children in classrooms, course instructors’ involvement at the school, and opportunities to discuss and reflect upon their experiences immediately after they had been in the field were the primary features of a site-based course TCs found valuable.     

关于独立学院师资队伍建设的现状分析及几点思考

随着独立学院的发展壮大,在办学中所出现的师资队伍建设问题也日渐凸显。文章主要分析了目前独立学院师资队伍建设过程中存在的一些问题,并提出了相应的建议。     

Interpreting Students' Course Evaluations

Student evaluation of courses and instructors are accorded an important role in schools of social work in relation to educational planning and faculty promotion, tenure and salary decisions. This study examined the dimensions underlying student rating to aid in the interpretation of student judgements of teaching effectiveness. Exploratory factor analyses identified three dimensions of teaching effectiveness: Instructional Merit or Skill; Evaluation Process or Feedback; and Course Value and Content. Implications of the factor structure for social work education are discussed.     

课程与教师

正如刊中记述评所云：经过26年春的耕耘,近10年夏的劳作,中国远程教育已到了收获的季节.为了来年更大收获,反思也就成了秋冬时节中国远程教育论坛的主角,在北京、在上海、在广州……围绕质量教育的话题,四处弥漫着浓郁的学术空气.     

Characteristics of the Effective Teacher based on Pupil Evaluations

This research compared high-load and low-load versions of a text by manipulating text presentation, text organization, and example context on measures of fact and concept learning. The low-load text presentation variable enhanced fact and concept learning and post-reading ease of comprehension ratings. The low-load text organization variable led to higher post-reading ease of comprehension ratings. Ease of comprehension was related significantly to fact and concept learning. These findings are supported by cognitive load theory and extend the research to include variables that influence text processing.     

Spillover in the Academy: Marriage Stability and Faculty Evaluations

The literature on the relationship between work and family has shown that there is a spillover effect between both domains. In particular, research that has investigated the influence of home environment on work has shown that family instability affects work satisfaction and performance. This study investigates the spillover between family and work by examining the link between marital status and work performance across the three phases of marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Specifically, this article links marital status and work performance through a longitudinal analysis of a set of university teaching evaluations. A polynomial regression model was fit to the data and a cubic curve through the three periods of marriage, divorce, and remarriage was statistically significant. Implications of the study and areas for future research are discussed.     

Prospective and Mentor Teacher Perspectives on Co-learning Events

One response to the disconnect between principle-based university methods courses and practice-oriented elementary school classrooms has been to create co-learning spaces by bringing prospective teachers (PSTs), practicing mentor teachers (MTs), and teacher educators together to explore key ideas related to teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to examine MTs’ and PSTs’ perspectives on their experiences in co-learning events designed to maximize co-construction of knowledge that might lessen the gap between theory and practice. Findings from the analysis of interviews with 16 PSTs and 22 MTs included numerous benefits of co-learning events, including opportunities for (a) MTs to learn about PSTs’ world and build relationships; (b) PSTs to learn from MTs’ practical knowledge; and (c) to foster diverse perspectives and mutually beneficial collaboration. Participants also described tensions related to positioning MTs and PSTs in collaborative roles. Implications for the design of co-learning events in teacher education are discussed.     

Faculty autonomy: Perspectives from Taiwan

Recent legislative initiatives indicate thatlong-standing traditions of centralized state controlof higher education in Taiwan are being displaced bynew arrangements emphasizing institutional autonomy. Autonomous institutions are assumed to be flexible andresponsive, given their relative freedom fromgovernment control. Institutional autonomy is assumedto ``trickle down' to organizational members, who arethen empowered to devise unique solutions to solveparticular problems. Asserted benefits ofinstitutional autonomy may not accrue, however, whereorganizational members are unable to determine thestructures and processes of their work. The purposeof this study was to examine relationships betweeninstitutional autonomy and dimensions of facultyautonomy. Findings lend conditional support to theclaim that faculty members work within the constraintsof ``regulated autonomy,' where their individualbehaviors are delimited by government and management.     

Teacher Perspectives on the Evaluation of Teachers

Views on the evaluation of teachers were investigated in a sample of Barbadian primary and secondary school teachers. Their perceptions of existing evaluation were compared with their stance on literature recommendations for teacher evaluation. Questionnaire responses revealed strong support for teacher evaluation in principle, and for general recommendations in the literature on the conduct of teacher evaluation. However, there was equally strong dissatisfaction with the existing system of teacher evaluation, which was perceived to be aimed primarily at fulfilling administrative requirements, with insufficient emphasis on promoting improved teacher performance. Strategies in use did not appear to be designed to facilitate communication between evaluator and evaluated. There were significant differences between primary and secondary school teachers on most of the issues investigated.     

基于AHP的能力本位课程教学质量考评研究

能力本位课程目标、教学内容与教学方法不同于传统的学科体系课程,在教学实践中,只有按照其自身的规律组织和实施教学,才能够达到预期的教学效果。根据能力本位课程目标与教学特点,应用层次分析法(AHP),把影响教学质量的各种因素进行综合分析、比较和判断,定性与定量相结合,将成熟的系统分析技术应用于教学考评,构建出科学的能力本位课程考评指标体系。     

Faculty Members' Perceptions of Teacher Preparation Programs

This research study examined faculty members' reaction to criticisms about the quality and design of teacher preparation programs at schools and colleges of education. The researchers found that there is confusion among teacher preparation professionals about their programs and research. The study also showed that, in general, teacher educators are resistant to change.     

Student and Teacher Perspectives in Computer-Mediated Learning Environments in Teacher Education

Rapid advances in technology, particularly with the Internet, have led to the availability of numerous tools to support teaching and learning. This study involved the use of an Internet application, Connecting Communities of Learners (CCL), in courses for prospective teachers. Unlike earlier studies involving the use of the CCL, the context of this study related to full-time graduate students who used the CCL to augment weekly face-to-face instruction. An interpretive study was undertaken to ascertain student and teacher perceptions of the learning environments associated with the use of the CCL. Through the use of the CCL, students were able to be autonomous in regard to their own learning, co-participate with their peers and the instructor, and establish and maintain a community of learners in which participants could interact with others as co-teachers and co-learners. The CCL was perceived as a useful tool for building learning environments in which all participants can contribute written texts as evidence of what is known and as objects from which others can learn. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

教师教育课程设置的研究

新一轮基础教育课程改革对教师教育提出了新的要求。教师教育课程体系的设置应考虑浓缩学科专业课程,拓展普通文化课程,强化教育专业课程,形成课程模块,并通过变知识传授为智能养成,引导自主学习,实现教师教育全新的培养目标。     

Teacher Perspectives of School Management Teams

This study is intended as a resource and a tool for those involved in the evaluation, monitoring, or self-review of school management teams. The information presented is based on first-hand experiences of n = 838 elementary and middle school teachers from 55 schools who were directly involved with the implementation and operations of school management teams over a 2-year period. The insight reported by these teachers, who represent both management team members and nonmembers, brings to light many of the contextual issues facing management team implementation, operations, and power distribution. These issues are discussed in terms of implications for evaluation and team self-review.