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course evaluations

Rethinking End-of-Course Evaluations

Peter Filene, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says that “teaching is only as successful as the learning it produces.” Students bring a certain set of expectations, personalities ,and learning dynamics with them at the beginning of

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Course Evaluations as a Tool for Growth

I remember my first year as a tenure-track professor as a nightmare. For reasons I won’t belabor, my teaching stunk. During class, my face was red and hot with humiliation as I fumbled through the content. During lectures, I prayed that no one would ask

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Digging Deeper into End-of-Course Ratings

I worry that we’re missing some of what we can learn from end-of-course ratings. I know I was on this topic in another recent column, but student evaluations are ubiquitous—used by virtually every institution and completed by students in pretty much every course. And what

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Using End-of-Course Ratings to Improve Instruction

Why this article is worth discussing: For those interested in using course evaluation results to improve teaching, this article offers a set of evidence-based recommendations—clearly described and supported with multiple references. The review focuses exclusively on using end-of-course evaluation results for improvement purposes. It covers

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Gauge with needle pointing to "very bad," indicating poor student evaluations

My Worst Student Ratings Ever

A year ago I received the worst student ratings of instruction (SRIs) in my 28 years of teaching. On the Likert scale I am normally between 4 and 5 for quality of instructor and quality of the course. Last year, however, my fall term ratings

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surviving negative course evaluations

Surviving Student (dis)Satisfaction Surveys

Just in time to thwart any attempts at starting to unwind and enjoy a well-deserved break from another brutal academic year, automated results of the Student Course Satisfaction Surveys (aka evaluations) arrive in my inbox demanding attention.

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student comments on course evaluations

Interpreting Student Comments on Course Evaluations

When it comes to feedback about course quality, students and teachers aren’t necessarily using the same yardstick.  “How hard is it to get a good grade?” is a typical student concern and priority affecting course feedback.  If teachers, administrators, and students hold different expectations about

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