Abstract
A method for using student evaluations to help faculty improve their teaching performance is presented. A survey of current methods of student evaluations of teaching identified a need to improve the statistical information obtained from these evaluations. An ordinary least squares framework is used to identify the factors that students feel are important in teacher and course ratings. This framework is used to estimate weights that students assign to various teacher and course attributes and to test whether students apply these weights consistently across teachers and courses. About 81 percent of the explained variation in teacher ratings was associated with attributes that contribute to student enjoyment of the learning process. Over 90 percent of the explained variation in course ratings was associated with attributes that measure how much a student learned in the course. Students were found to apply these attributes or weights consistently across teachers and courses. Implications for developing effective teaching strategies, faculty recruitment, and curriculum reform are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Becker, G. S. (1965). A theory of the allocation of time.Economic Journal 75 (September): 493–517.
Becker, G. S. (1975).Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special References to Education, 2nd ed. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, Columbia University Press.
Braskamp, L. A., Brandenburg, D. C., Kohen, E., Ory, J. C., Mayberry, P. W. (1984).Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness: A Practical Guide. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Broder, J. M. and Taylor, W. J. (1989). A survey of student evaluations of teaching: In search of a holy grail. Selected paper, American Agricultural Economics. Association meetings, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, August.
Cashin, W. E. (1988). Student ratings of teaching: A summary of the research. Idea Paper No. 20, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development. Manhattan Kansas: Kansas State University, September.
Chandler, T. A. (1978). The questionable status of student evaluations of teaching.Teaching of Psychology 5(3): 150–152.
Cohen, P. A. (1981). Student rating of instruction and student achievement: A meta-analysis of multi-section validity studies.Review of Educational Research 51(3): 281–309.
Dilts, D. A. (1980). A statistical interpretation of student evaluation feedback.Journal of Economic Education 11(2): 10–15.
Feldman, K. A. (1978). Course characteristics and college students' ratings of their teachers: What we know and what we don't.Research in Higher Education 9(3): 199–242.
Feldman, K. A. (1984). Class size and college students' evaluations of teachers and courses: A closer look.Research in Higher Education 21(1): 45–116.
Feldman, K. A. (1988). Effective college teaching from the students' and faculty's view: Matched or mismatched priorities.Research in Higher Education 28(4): 291–344.
Feldman, K. A. (1989). The association between student ratings of specific instructional dimensions and student achievement: Refining and extending the synthesis of data from multi-section validity studies.Research in Higher Education 30(6): 583–645.
Feldman, K. A. (1990). An afterword for “The association between student ratings of specific instructional dimensions and student achievement: Refining and extending the synthesis of data from multi-section validity studies.Research in Higher Education 31(4):315–318.
Feldman, K. A. (1992). College students' views of male and female college teachers: Part 1—Evidence from the social laboratory and experiments.Research in Higher Education 33(3): 317–375.
Howard, G. S., and Maxwell, S. E. (1982). Do grades contaminate student evaluations of instruction?Research in Higher Education 16(2): 175–188.
Howard, G. S., and Schmeck, R. R. (1979). Relationship of changes in student motivation to student evaluations of instruction.Research in Higher Education 10(4): 305–316.
Kulik, J. A., and McKeachie, W. J. (1975). The evaluation of teachers in higher education. In F. N. Kerlinger (ed.),Review in Higher Education, vol. 3. Itasca, IL: Peacock, pp. 210–240.
Marlin, J. W., and Niss, J. F. (1980). End-of-course evaluations as indicators of student learning and instructor effectiveness.Journal of Economic Education 11(2): 16–27.
Marsh, H. W. (1984). Students' evaluation of university teaching: Dimensionality, reliability, validity, potential biases, and utility.Journal of Educational Psychology 76(5): 707–754.
McCallum, L. W. (1984). A meta-analysis of course evaluation data and its use in the tenure decision.Research in Higher Education 21(2): 150–158.
Nimmer, J. G., and Stone, E. F. (1991) Effects of grading practices and time of rating on student ratings of faculty performance and student learning.Research in Higher Education 32(2): 195–215.
Seiver, Daniel A. (1983). Evaluations and grades: A simultaneous framework.Journal of Economic Education 14(3): 32–38.
Shapiro, E. G. (1990). Effect of instructor and class characteristics on students' class evaluations.Research in Higher Education 31(2): 135–147.
Sheehan, D. S. (1975). On the invalidity of student ratings for administrative personnel decisions.Journal of Higher Education 46(6): 687–700.
Shultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital.American Economic Review 51 (March): 1–17.
Wigington, H., Tollefson, N., and Rodriguez, E. (1989). Students' ratings of instructors revisited: Interactions among class and instructor variables.Research in Higher Education 30(3): 331–344.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Broder, J.M., Dorfman, J.H. Determinants of teaching quality: What's important to students?. Res High Educ 35, 235–249 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02496703
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02496703