Student ratings and various instructional variables from a within-instructor perspective

The relationship between class size, instructional method, course level, reason for enrollment, and student ratings of instruction was assessed from a within-instructor perspective. Two hundred fifty-four pairs of courses taught by the same instructor were correspondingly identified and subjected to a stepwise multiple regression procedure. Only class size was found to be a significant predictor of ratings once individual differences between instructors were controlled, hence underlining the importance of (1) taking cognizance of the size of the course when using student ratings of instructors as a measure of teaching effectiveness, and (2) controlling for systematic variation due to instructor idiosyncracies in instructional research.     

Regression Discontinuity Designs With Multiple Rating-Score Variables

Abstract

In the absence of a randomized control trial, regression discontinuity (RD) designs can produce plausible estimates of the treatment effect on an outcome for individuals near a cutoff score. In the standard RD design, individuals with rating scores higher than some exogenously determined cutoff score are assigned to one treatment condition; those with rating scores below the cutoff score are assigned to an alternate treatment condition. Many education policies, however, assign treatment status on the basis of more than one rating-score dimension. We refer to this class of RD designs as “multiple rating score regression discontinuity” (MRSRD) designs. In this paper, we discuss five different approaches to estimating treatment effects using MRSRD designs (response surface RD; frontier RD; fuzzy frontier RD; distance-based RD; and binding-score RD). We discuss differences among them in terms of their estimands, applications, statistical power, and potential extensions for studying heterogeneity of treatment effects.     

The effects of feedback from students to university instructors: An experimental study

This article reports the results of an experimental study of the effects of students' evaluative feedback to university instructors. Data obtained indicated that feedback from students did not have any significant effects on the instructors' teaching performance and their perception of teaching. Some limitations of the study are discussed with suggestions for further exploration of the problem.     

Different administrative directions and student ratings of instruction: Cognitive versus affective effects

A manipulation of the instructions students received prior to completing the 7-item Endeavor Instructional Rating card differentially affected their ratings on two types of items. Specifically, when students were led to believe their ratings would have a strong impact on the instructor's career, they tended to be more lenient on items measuring rapport (i.e., the affective domain); this same effect was not observed for items measuring pedagogical skill (i.e., the cognitive domain). The different items on our instructional rating instrument appear to be measuring different things. One implication of this observation is that the inconsistent findings reported in past research on student ratings of instruction may be due to the differential mix of items from one instrument to another. When instructors are compared on ratings given them by students, unbiased interpretation requires that the multidimensional nature of teaching (and of the rating instrument) be considered.     

Effects of student anonymity-nonanonymity on the factor structure of a teacher rating form

Factor analysis of an instructor rating form administered to three successive student and teacher populations revealed a reasonably consistent factor structure across analyses. In one of the three administrations, students were asked to sign the evaluation form; in this case, substantial changes in proportions of common variance appeared for the first two factors when comparing anonymous versus nonanonymous conditions. Results are discussed in terms of methods for use of student ratings to improve instruction.     

The significance of circumstances for college students' ratings of their teachers and courses

Although firm generalizations and conclusions cannot yet be drawn from the extant research on the effects on teacher and course ratings of the circumstances surrounding these evaluations, at least some studies have shown that college students' ratings of their teachers and courses are somewhat higher when students remain anonymous rather than identifying themselves, when the purported use of the ratings is an official or administrative one for use in salary, promotion, or tenure considerations rather than otherwise, and when the instructor is present rather than absent during the rating session. (The differences between each of these contrasted circumstances are usually rather small and do not inevitably appear across studies.) Certain variations in rating format have been found to make a difference in the ratings obtained, whereas other have not. From limited evidence, the exact timing (or occasion) of evaluation appears not to be important to ratings. Variability in sampling procedures, as it affects the composition of students available to complete rating forms, may or may not turn out to be a generally important element in ratings (as directly relevant data are collected). The analysis concludes with a discussion of (1) the presumed bias in ratings produced in certain of the rating conditions and (2) the more general issue of the comparability of ratings made in different circumstances of evaluation.     

全员考评对于公立医院人才培养的内在驱动效应——以东南大学医学院附属江阴医院为例

目前,公立医院管理已逐渐过渡为一种新型而特殊的现代精细化管理模式。这种管理模式强调“以人为本”的管理理念,注重调动各方的积极性和创造力,注重人才培养和队伍建设。实践表明,全员考评在公立医院人才培养工作中,能发挥极其重要的内在驱动效应,能产生PDCA良性循环效应,扎实保障了公立医院人才培养工作的成功推进。     

A hierarchical approach to Students’ Assessments of Instruction

A teacher evaluation system can be threatening to faculty, especially if used for summative decisions. Therefore, it is important to obtain valid and pertinent information. Since students are extensively exposed to course elements, students’ evaluation of instruction should be one of several components in the teacher evaluation system. Since traditional methods, such as Cronbach’s alpha and ordinary least squares regression, do not address the hierarchical data of the classroom, the current study used the statistical techniques of confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical linear modelling in order to properly investigate the reliability and validity of the Students’ Assessment of Instruction (SAI) instrument. Use of hierarchical linear modelling to analyse teacher evaluation instruments could not be found in the literature, although it has been used in educational settings. This study will illustrate its usefulness in determining what measures are related, either as evidence of validity or as a bias, to instructional effectiveness. Student responses were also compared with faculty self-evaluations, one indicator of effective teaching, in order to determine if the SAI does measure instructional effectiveness. Overall, the SAI was found to have good reliability and validity with relatively few biases and could be used to extract five distinguishable traits of instructional effectiveness.     

社会科学背景下因果推论的统计方法

如何根据非随机数据估计变量间的因果关系是社会科学研究中一个迫切的方法论问题。上世纪70年代,Rubin等人指出因果问题本质上是一个反事实的问题,认为某些统计方法可保证混淆变量和分组安排独立,并将这种方法推广到观察数据的分析中。倾向分数、工具变量和回归间断点是三种常用的方法,其中倾向分数居核心地位。以实际数据为例建立计算倾向分数的logistic模型,报告了模型的整体检验、预测变量的显著性检验和多重共线性检验、建立匹配组和分析结果报告。     

CET-4作文评分人评分标准使用情况的研究

本研究采用混合研究法对CET-4作文评分人如何使用评分标准进行分析。26位CET-4作文评分人对30篇CET-4模拟作文评分,并提供3条按重要性排序的评分理由。研究结果显示：（1）虽然存在严厉度的差异,但是26位评分人之间的一致性比较好,且大部分评分人的自身一致性也较好。（2）部分评分人的评分理由呈现了单一化趋势。（3）评分人所给评分理由的71.91%体现了CET-4作文评分标准所规定的5个文本特征,说明大部分评分人对标准的理解和把握还是比较准确的。     

教师评价研究的缘起、问题及发展趋势

教师评价研究作为教师管理制度建设的首要环节,其发展经历了一个长期的过程。目前,这一领域的研究表现出的主要问题有:不同功能类型的评价常常被混用;教学效能评价仍然占主导地位;评价内容结构不明确;评价内容的理论依据不足;过度注重学生学习结果等。教师评价研究的发展过程可以概括为三个阶段,其发展表现出一个基本趋势:更加重视教师在教育教学过程中的行为,并且更关注教师的教学反思过程和工作中的主动性等方面。     

政府雇员双重属性的失衡及其控制

公共性是政府雇员的根本属性,但从经济学角度分析,政府雇员还具有自利性,它决定了雇员具有追求自身利益最大化的倾向和动机。分析雇员的自利性,区分合理自利性与扩张自利性,并对扩张自利性进行伦理、制度的制约,才能够真正增强政府的行政能力。