Designing an Instrument for Providing Better Student Feedback on Teaching Effectiveness

Abstract

This article describes the process of designing a SET (student evaluation of teaching) instrument that is mapped against good practices in undergraduate education. Research has shown that teachers can significantly impact student learning. But how do teachers (and academic administrators) know when their teaching is effective? How do they go about acquiring feedback on their teaching? SET instruments have been widely utilized by universities and colleges as a form of summative and formative evaluation. Researchers— after reviewing fifty years of literature— say that there is little reason to doubt that SET can provide valid and useful information for both faculty members and administrators. The evidence suggests that students can make valid and reliable judgments about classroom teaching performance if asked the right questions. But there is no known instrument universally accepted by colleges and universities. In other words, each institution of learning has to develop its own contextually appropriate instrument, so that it is compatible with institutional needs and is aligned with good practices in teaching and learning. The description in this article is based on the experience and data collected by an action research project team tasked with developing a universally accepted instrument for measuring instructional effectiveness.