Student perception of instructors: the effect of age,gender and political leaning

Abstract

Students were asked to rank instructors, who differed by age, gender and political leaning, by their expected helpfulness, and how much a student expected to learn. Students selected older instructors as those from whom they would learn the most, but chose young instructors as the most helpful. Overall, male instructors were preferred over female instructors, especially when emphasis was placed on learning. The political leaning of the instructor was a discriminating factor in humanities classes, with liberal instructors preferred over conservatives. The preferred age, gender and political leaning patterns were distinctly different for instructors who were helpful, and from those from whom students thought they would learn the most, indicating a dichotomy between perceived helpfulness and learning. The stereotypic images of instructors did not differ significantly by the students’ own gender and academic major, except for male students ranking conservative instructors higher than females. Students do have stereotypical images of instructors based on the instructor’s age, gender and political leaning.     

Student Grades and Average Ratings of Instructional Quality: The Need for Adjustment

Abstract

The authors compared the average grades given in 165 behavioral and social science courses with the average ratings given by students to the instructors who taught the courses. Significant positive correlations were found between the average ratings for instructional quality and the average grades received by students. The courses in which the average grades were the highest were also those in which students gave teachers the highest ratings. Among possible reasons for the correlations are that better teachers attracted better students or that quality teachers provided more effective instruction, resulting in more student learning and, thus, higher average grades. Another explanation is that most college students tend to bias their ratings of instructional quality in favor of teachers who grade leniently (I. Neath, 1996). If correct, the latter reasoning begins to explain why the widespread use of student evaluations in the United States in recent decades has been accompanied by increases in the average grades that university students received. To prevent grade inflation, and particularly to avoid rewarding and promoting instructors who use increasingly lax grading standards, administrators should adjust student ratings of instructional quality for the average grades given for a course. In general, only courses near the extremely high and low ends in terms of students' average grades were significantly affected by the statistical adjustment.     

Experiment to Determine the Most Effective Method of Teaching Current History

Two experiments were conducted to determine if expectancy to teach serves to increase learning beyond that produced by expectancy to be objectively tested. In the first experiment, Ss (N = 54) listened to a tape recorded lesson, with one-half the Ss expecting a following test and the other half expecting both to teach the same lesson to two other Ss and to be tested. Test results for both incentive conditions were nearly identical. In the second experiment, Ss (N = 54) read the lesson with half expecting to have their own lecture performances taped for playing before large audiences. Once, again, expectancy to teach did not affect learning. It was suggested that expectancy to teach may enhance learning only where students are motivated to increase amount of study activity, and have the opportunity to do so.     

Handwriting: Copying Versus Tracing as the Most Effective Type of Practice

Abstract

Kindergarten and second grades Ss were given either copying or tracing practice exercises in teaching them to reproduce ten shorthand forms from memory. At the end of the five-week treatment period, the copying treatment group in both grades achieved significantly higher post test scores. No significant interaction between treatment condition and grade was found. Results corroborate the findings of an earlier study by Hirsch and Niedermeyer in which a different tracing strategy was employed.     

Objective Score Versus Subjective Satisfaction: Impact on Emotions Following Immediate Score Reporting

Abstract

There are positive feedback loops between students’ grades and emotions. However, subjective appraisals, not grades, are theorized to trigger emotions. We extended previous research by comparing the effects of objective score and subjective appraisals of the score (i.e., satisfaction) on emotions. We used an ecologically-valid quasi-experimental design and found differences in how objective score compared to satisfaction impacted emotions. Main effects for score showed positive associations with hope, pride, relief, and negative associations with anxiety, anger, and shame. An interaction for satisfaction occurred such that students who were satisfied with their score had the same effect as objective score, but students who were unsatisfied with their score felt less hope, pride, relief, and more anger and shame. Implications for the control-value theory of emotions as well as for instructors are discussed.     

Exploring the beliefs surrounding student evaluations of instruction in criminology and criminal justice undergraduate courses

Student evaluations of instructors are given consideration in a number of important decisions concerning instructors such as hiring, merit pay, and in the tenure and promotion process. However, a number of popular beliefs surround the interpretation of these evaluations. Using student evaluations for the three research-oriented universities in the state of Florida as a database, a number of these beliefs are explored. Specifically, the effects of instructor attributes (such as gender, rank and grades) and course characteristics (such as class size, type, number of course meetings, and time of day offered) on the end of the semester student evaluation rankings are discussed.     

Cognitive and social help giving in online teaching: an exploratory study

While literature suggests that college students may be less reluctant to seek help in online rather than traditional courses, little is known about how online instructors give help in ways that lead to increased student help seeking and academic success. In this study, we used theories and research on learning assistance and scaffolding, teacher immediacy, social presence, and academic help seeking to explore through a cross-case study design how three online instructors differed in their use of cognitive and social supports and how those differences related to student perceptions of support, help seeking, and performance. Primary data sources included all course postings by the instructors, interviews with the instructors, observational field notes on course discussions, student interviews, and final student grades. Archived course documents and student discussion postings were secondary data sources. Data analysis revealed that while all instructors provided cognitive and social support, they varied in their level of questioning, use of direct instruction, support for task structuring, and attention to group dynamics. This variation in teaching presence related to differences across the courses in student perceptions of support, student help seeking in course discussions, and final course grades. Implications for online teaching and suggestions for further research are offered.

The Facilitative Influence of Instructional Objectives

Abstract

Several studies have failed to demonstrate an advantage for Ss who receive instructional objectives. However, no test for the efficacy of instructional objectives has occurred with Ss who have had experience using them. In the present study Ss were used who had been provided with objectives for each unit of instruction throughout a semester. They were randomly given one of two sets of objectives and later quizzed both with items which corresponded and which did not correspond to their objectives. Overall, Ss performed significantly better on items which corresponded to the objectives they had been provided. An item analysis comparing both groups is presented.     

Can teachers and mathematicians communicate productively? The case of division with remainder

Is it possible that a meeting of mathematicians and primary school teachers will be productive? This question became intriguing when one professor of mathematics initiated a professional development course for practicing primary school teachers, which he taught alongside a group of mathematics Ph.D. students. This report scrutinizes the uncommon meeting of these two communities, who have very different perspectives on mathematics and its teaching. The instructors had no experience in primary school teaching, and their professed goal was to deepen the teachers’ understanding of the mathematics they teach, while teachers were expecting the course to be pedagogically relevant for their teaching. Surprisingly, despite this mismatch in expectations, the course was considered a success by teachers and instructors alike. In our study, we analyzed a lesson on division with remainder for teachers of grades 3–6, taught by the professor. The framework used for the data analysis was mathematical discourse for teaching, a discursive adaptation of the well-known mathematical knowledge for teaching framework. Our analysis focuses on the nature of the interactions between the parties and the learning opportunities they afforded. We show how different concerns, which might have hindered communication, in fact fueled discussions, leading to understandings of the topic and its teaching that were new to all the parties involved. The findings point to a feasible model for professional development where mathematicians may contribute to the education of practicing teachers, while they are gaining new insights themselves.     

A Study of the Relationships in Multiple Counseling

Abstract

An Investigation was conducted of the relevance of the perceptions of the counseling relationship to the change In self-concept of secondary school students participating in multiple counseling. Fifty students, six groups, met for 12 counseling sessions held In their own schools. The results Indicate that (a) students' perception of the relationships are Important to their growth in real-ideal self-concept congruence, (b) if a negative relationship is perceived, students’ self-concept congruence will remain the same or decrease, and (c) students, expecting a positive relationship, make more gain in self-concept congruence than those expecting a negative relationship.     

Research methods for criminal justice graduate students: Comparing textbook coverage and classroom instruction

Research methods are perhaps the most difficult subject matter to teach in the graduate criminal justice curricula. This is in part due to the mix of practitioners and aspiring researchers in most criminal justice graduate departments, leading many instructors to question whether their own coverage is in line with the needs of their graduate students as well as the coverage of other instructors. Also complicating matters is that research methods textbooks are not geared specifically for the graduate level, and thus may neglect topics that are necessary for today's criminal justice graduate students. The present study addresses these concerns by providing an analysis of 11 current criminal justice research methods textbooks, as well as a survey of 36 instructors of graduate criminal justice and criminology research methods classes. Both the texts and instructors are found to place a strong focus on quantitative methods, while the textbooks tend to place a greater emphasis on qualitative methods than the instructors. Moreover, both the texts and instructors neglect topics crucial to today's criminal justice graduate student, including grant writing, article writing and critiquing, and standards for collaborative research efforts.     

The Effects of Training on Instructor Beliefs about and Attitudes toward Online Teaching

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship between one approach to training new online instructors and the ways in which the program influenced their beliefs about and attitudes about teaching online over time. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model serves as the theoretical framework for analyzing three primarily qualitative sources of data including (1) participants’ program application essays, (2) post-training program evaluation data; and (3) a follow-up survey of instructors after they delivered their redesigned course online. Findings reveal that, prior to and immediately following the training, instructors were highly optimistic about their course redesign and skill/knowledge development. After teaching the course online, participants were less optimistic and less satisfied with their training experience than they had been immediately prior to or following the training. Multiple instructors cited a need for additional or continued training and support.     

Promoting Reading Achievement

Abstract

This essay argues in favor of college instructors, especially in introductory classes, giving students the freedom to use Wikipedia entries in their research projects. It explores the pedagogy created by rigid prohibitions of potential sources, and argues that at stake are two chief dichotomies: one, students learning by engaging in a process vs. students producing a product, and two, students thinking individually and evaluating vs. students following rules. Within the discussion of these dichotomies is a call for instructors to emphasize evaluation of the content of research material rather than an author's credentials or other external markers.     

Non-Traditional and Traditional Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

Drawing on a sample of undergraduate social work students from four mid-western social work programs, this study compared perceptions of field instructors regarding non-traditional and traditional students. Field instructors rated their perceptions of the successful fulfillment of the demands of field practicum and the impact of several life characteristics for traditional and non-traditional students.

Non-traditional students were rated significantly higher on a variety of measures as assessed by field instructors. This study has implications for social work education that involves differential recruitment, retention, and support of traditional and non-traditional students.     

Under pressure: How faculty gender and contract uncertainty impact students’ grades

Although rising average grades appear to be common at post-secondary institutions in the U.S., there is still little work examining mechanisms driving this increase in grades. This paper uses data from a public research university to examine one mechanism in particular: instructor level incentives that are linked to gender and contract status. We hypothesize that instructors with more job uncertainty due to their rank will be most incentivized to award higher grades, as this may lead to better evaluations of teaching and an increase in retention probability. Our results indicate that students receive higher grades when their class is taught by a female instructor with more job uncertainty than if the class were taught by a tenured female faculty member. These higher grades appear to reflect more lenient grading rather than better preparation for follow-on courses. However, for students taking classes with male instructors, there is no significant difference across instructor rank in grades received. Our results have important implications for thinking about the role faculty contracts may play in affecting grading distributions.     

English-medium instruction in law and the humanities in higher education: the role of teacher identity

ABSTRACT

Recent research on English-medium instruction (EMI) has examined university instructors’ professional identities in science and social science rather than in the humanities. To fill the gap, this qualitative case study explores the ways in which 13 university instructors in law and the humanities in Taiwan perceived their identity and exercised their agency as teachers. The findings indicated that these instructors had three ideal teacher identities, including educators in global and local contexts, subject matter instructors, and EMI instructors. Each determined teachers’ choice, design, and enactment of EMI practices, as well as their notions of language use and objectives. This study highlights the primacy of preferred teacher identities in the manifestation of teacher agency, identifies enabling and constraining effects of teacher agency, and emphasizes the significant roles of discipline-specific communities and ethnicity and nationality in EMI practices. As such, teacher identities should be taken into consideration in professional development to empower instructors to take actions that maintain their commitments to EMI.     

Measurement of College Level Reading Competence in A Content Area

Abstract

The effects of overt verbalization anti practice on problem solving ability were examined. The 100 secondary school students who served as Ss were divided into four groups: (1) those who received practice word problems and solved problems while thinking aloud, (2) those who did not practice but solved problems while thinking aloud, (3) those who practiced but did not verbalize, and (4) those who received no practice and did not verbalize. Analysis of variance revealed that neither overt verbalization nor practice significantly influenced problem solving scores. However, Ss who were required to think aloud made significantly more computational errors than those who worked without verbalizing.     

Ratings of university teacher instruction: how much do student and course characteristics really matter?

Several student and course characteristics were examined in relation to student ratings of instruction. Students at a major Canadian university completed the Universal Student Ratings of Instruction instrument at the end of every course over a three‐year period, providing 371,131 student ratings. Analyses of between‐group differences indicate that students who attend class often and expect high grades provide high ratings of their instructors (p < .001). In addition, lab‐type courses receive higher ratings than lectures or tutorials, and courses in the social sciences receive higher ratings than courses in the natural sciences (p < .001). Regression analyses indicated, however, that student and course characteristics explain little variance in student ratings of their instructors (<7%). It is concluded that student ratings are more related to teaching instruction and behavior of the instructor than to these variables.     

Fostering innovation through collaborative action research on the creation of shared instructional products by university science instructors

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to profile four university science instructors who utilized action research as a means of learning how to develop and integrate a novel curriculum innovation – engineering design – in their science courses. Data included curriculum maps, lesson plans, notes from group meetings, and instructor reflections. Data analysis included document review and content analysis. Findings from this study suggest that action research effectively enabled the instructors to 1) establish shared ownership of the project goal – to improve preservice teachers’ learning of science through engineering design; 2) continuously test, revise, and recalibrate their shared instructional products; and 3) leverage multiple sources of innovation. Knowledge generated and used by the instructors represented different kinds of knowledge and distributed expertise resulting in products that were more useful and of higher quality than products created by individuals working alone. Consequently, this resulted in increased use of the products and increased instructor commitment to improve them over time. By simultaneously engaging in research and consequently taking specific action to inform their practice, science instructors in this study successfully created shared instructional products that both guided and enhanced their classroom teaching.     

Collaborative Effort to Develop Middle School Preservice Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge

Abstract

This article describes reflections of two mathematicians and a mathematics teacher educator who collaborated on the development and implementation of courses (probability and statistics connections, number concept connections, and middle school mathematics methods) for middle school mathematics preservice teachers. The instructors of the courses, two in mathematics and one in mathematics education, worked together to more explicitly link course materials, assignments, and the pedagogical approaches. Collectively, the courses were designed to address the five components of preservice teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (PT-MKT), and to model effective teaching practices. Using their collective experiences co-planning and implementing these course adjustments were made in the subsequent year. The instructors were pleased by their implementation and student outcomes in all three courses.

We describe how each component of the PT-MKT framework was approached in these courses and discuss challenges experienced by the instructors, who were part of a larger effort to develop and implement a middle school teacher preparation program. The information shared is based on data collected as part of a program evaluation effort, and is bolstered by the instructors’ recollection of events. Overall, the instructors enhanced the curricula and their instructional practices and found that the attention placed on developing PT-MKT support the mathematical development of middle school mathematics preservice teachers.