Evaluating teacher performance in language learning classes: the gap between students and department administrators

ABSTRACT

Using data from multiple evaluation instruments to evaluate university teachers’ teaching quality has been popular in practice; however, the inconsistency of these evaluation results has not received sufficient attention. This study intended to fill the gap by investigating the main reasons for the discrepancy in teaching performance that resulted from student evaluation surveys and classroom observations of two administrators from the English department in one of the largest universities in Vietnam. Student evaluation surveys (n = 604) suggested that teachers performed better in activities that focused on instructional techniques than when promoting classroom interaction and student engagement. Structural equation models further showed that activities that engaged them in learning and promoted classroom interaction had a strong positive effect on their overall satisfaction with their teachers’ performances. However, interviews with administrators from the department revealed the conflicting finding that they felt that teachers whose teaching performance was less satisfactory should focus primarily on instructional techniques.     

Images of rate and operational understanding of the fundamental theorem of calculus

Conceptual analyses of Newton's use of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and of one 7th-grader's understanding of distance traveled while accelerating suggest that concepts of rate of change and infinitesimal change are central to understanding the Fundamental Theorem. Analyses of a teaching experiment with 19 senior and graduate mathematics students suggest that students' difficulties with the Theorem stem from impoverished concepts of rate of change and from poorly-developed and poorly coordinated images of functional covariation and multiplicatively-constructed quantities.Research reported in this paper was supported by National Science Foundation Grants No. MDR 89-50311 and 90-96275, and by a grant of equipment from Apple Computer, Inc., Office of External Research. Any conclusions or recommendations stated here are those of the author and do not necessarity reflect official positions of NSF or Apple Computer. Also, I wish to thank Paul Cobb and Guershon Harel for their helpful reactions to an earlier draft of this article.     

Evaluating research performance of research institutes within Malaysian universities: an alternative assessment framework

Tertiary Education and Management - Evaluation of research performance has significantly increased in importance, particularly in many emerging higher education systems. In Malaysia, the Malaysian...     

Evaluating research performance: the strategy of the University of Naples Federico II (Italy)

The evaluation of research activities is a complex task. This complexity derives from two main factors: 1.) the difficulty of defining objective and reliable measures of the “advancement of knowledge”; 2.) the presence of many potential users of the results of scientific activity, such as scientists, technicians, engineers, manufacturers, students, and consumers, all of whom impose many different demands. In the absence of objective criteria, the University of Naples Federico II (UFII) has chosen to implement a set of measurements over time, beginning with the most reliable parameters, such as the Impact Factors, and then adding new quantitative and qualitative considerations as the development of the evaluation culture within UFII. This article describes some of the issues related to the first step of the implementation of this strategy.     

Evaluating the performance of academic department chairpersons

The investigation was conducted to determine who should evaluate the work of university department chairpersons and what criteria should be used in evaluating their competencies in their administrative and academic roles. To elicit that information, 46 of the 62 college deans in the seven universities in Saudi Arabia were asked to complete a survey instrument designed for this study. Four sources were identified to be used in evaluating department chairs' work. In addition, 17 criteria were specified, which respondents rated according to their importance for use in evaluating chairs' administrative roles, and 17 criteria were rated for use in evaluating chairs' academic roles.     

54例泌尿系统结石成分研究

通过了解铜陵地区泌尿系统结石成分,对铜陵地区泌尿结石的病因分析、诊断和预防性治疗提供帮助。     

大型设备管理和运行机制的绩效评价思考

管理和运行机制是大型设备开放共享的基础保障。该文针对管理和运行机制创新的评价原则、评价对象和评价方法进行了探讨,旨在通过绩效评价不断完善大型设备的管理和运行机制,使其最大限度地推动和促进大型设备的开放共享。     

Using the history of calculus to teach calculus

An historical approach to the teaching of calculus provides the students with a better understanding of the material than the standard approach and helps as well to introduce them to the relationship between mathematics and other aspects of our culture. In this article, I describe in some detail a course in calculus which is based on such an approach.     

运筹学实验软件在线性规划问题教学中的应用

文章通过实例验证利用运筹学实验软件教学比传统的教学法更有优势,能使教师上课时让学生直观地看到线性规划问题的求解过程,使学生能形象、熟练地掌握运筹学计算方法,在实际教学中有指导意义．     

Evaluating the provision of school performance information for school choice

We develop and implement a framework for determining the optimal performance metrics to help parents choose a school. This approach combines the three major critiques of the usefulness of performance tables into a natural metric. We implement this for 500,000 students in England for a range of performance measures. Using performance tables is strongly better than choosing at random: a child who attends the highest ex ante performing school within their choice set will ex post do better than the average outcome in their choice set twice as often as they will do worse.     

Evaluating the non-academic impact of academic research: design considerations

Evaluation of academic research plays a significant role in government efforts to steer public universities. The scope of such evaluation is now being extended to include the ‘relevance’ or ‘impact’ of academic research outside the academy. We address how evaluation of non-academic research impact can promote more such impact without undermining academic freedom and research excellence. Five questions on evaluation design are considered: (1) What should be the object of measurement? (2) What should be the timeframe? (3) How should non-academic users of research inform evaluation processes? (4) How should controversial impacts be managed? (5) When in funding cycles should impact evaluation occur? We conclude that non-academic impact should be selectively promoted and evaluated. This is how greater gains from research might be best captured without imposing misguided and onerous reporting requirements on individuals and institutions.     

Evaluating subscale performance on the adaptive behavior inventory for children

Statistics are presented to allow ipsative interpretation of the scaled scores for the six subscales of individual children on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children. Included are the standard error of the difference between each part score and the mean of all scores and values required for statistical significance at the traditional significance levels of .05 and .01, with the Bonferroni adjustment for the number of comparisons included. The ready availability of this information should enhance application of the ABIC in clinical practice and facilitate research on its efficacy for educational planning and placement of children in various regular and special education programs.     

The association of precollege use of calculators with student performance in college calculus

This study investigates how the use of calculators during high school mathematics courses is associated with student performance in introductory college calculus courses in the USA. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 7087 students enrolled in college calculus at 134 colleges and universities. They included information about students’ demographics, standardized test scores, and high school mathematics course enrollment and performance. Factor analysis reduced ten items describing high school calculator usage to two composites: how extensively calculators were employed and teacher-imposed restrictions on their use. Hierarchical linear models predicted students’ college calculus grades, reported by their professor, while controlling for differences between colleges and student backgrounds. The more extensively students had used calculators in high school, the lower their grade in college calculus. However, students earned higher college calculus grades to the extent that their high school teachers had limited calculator use on quizzes and exams and had restricted calculator use until paper-and-pencil methods had been mastered, which offset the negative association of extensive calculator use with grades. The effect sizes of both calculator composites were very small. Overall, the findings raise doubts about any substantial long-term effects on college mathematics performance of calculator use in high school.     

Comparison of performance and attitude in traditional and computer conferencing classes

Abstract

A 1992 survey of the thirty‐five Oklahoma schools that received satellite downlinks as part of the 1988–1990 Midlands Consortium Star Schools grant investigated the extent to which schools were continuing to use the equipment and the impact of satellite access on their educational programs. Four schools did not use their downlinks in 1991–92, and two of the four also did not use the equipment in 1990–91; thirty‐one schools were continuing to use the equipment to receive student and/or staff development programming. Sixty‐one percent of thirty‐three respondents believe satellite access has very significantly or significantly improved the educational program for students at their school; 39% believe it has very significantly or significantly improved their overall staff development program. Forty‐eight percent of respondents reported a decrease in use since the first year of operation; 76% of respondents anticipate an increase in use in the future.