Student-Faculty Evaluation

Abstract

Desirable attributes of SFE can be vitiated by its premature utilization in a formal and quantitative sense. This is because it is possible to teach for a specific student evaluation, given a particular questionnaire. Consequently, because of the importance of SFE, the questionnaire must be designed to meet the expectations of the students, as well as the aspirations of the respective institutions. Indiscriminate use of SFE will increase the gap between first-rate and second-rate institutions-first-rate institutions will continue to attract more demanding students, a fact that will be reflected in SFE's, whereas second-rate institutions, in an effort to maintain levels of enrollment, may tend to formulate SFE's that emphasize popularity and mediocrity of education. Careful construction of the format of SFE, on the other hand, could do much toward increasing the quality of teaching, as well as the motivation of students and teachers, in many institutions.

Good teaching of mathematics as perceived by undergraduate students

“…Some of the lowest rated items are: interesting live presentation (4*9), providing general summary at the end of the lesson (4-8), and providing outline or motivation at the beginning of the lesson. The lowest rated item, much lower than all others, is the teacher telling related anecdotes or jokes (3)(4)(5)(6). This last finding, together with the relative low ratings of live presentation shows that contrary to the belief of some teachers, entertainment does not contribute to students' appreciation of their teacher in undergraduate mathematics courses.…”

“…There is a substantive amount of research literature pertaining to undergraduate students' perceptions of good teaching [1][2][3][4][5], but it relates mainly to subject matters other than mathematics. There are no clear answers in such literature to questions such as: What do undergraduate students in mathematics regard as the main task of their teacher?…”

The evaluation and improvement of teaching in higher education

“…Zelby (1974) asked students to rate two courses he taught each by two different methods. Since he judged one approach to be educationally more valuable, while the students preferred the other, he concluded that "teaching for a good StudentFaculty-Evaluation may be inconsistent with the best educational practice" (p. 1269).…”

“…Sherman, 1976;Tetenbaum, 1975;Zelby, 1974) fear that faculty, particularly given the tight job market for academics, may teach to get good student evaluations, if such data are required and taken into account in personnel decisions. As Sherman (1976, p. 38) put it "students can be tricked into giving high ratings through highly visible changes of questionable importance."…”

Teacher Vs. Learner Responsibility in Management Education

“…High satisfaction might result because the course led to change, or because it reinforced participants' existing knowledge, attitudes, and behavior (Zelby, 1974).…”