Developing a Statistically Valid AND Practically Useful Student Evaluation Instrument

Authors

Jeffrey S. Skowronek, University of TampaFollow
Bruce K. Friesen, University of TampaFollow
Heather Masonjones, University of TampaFollow

Abstract

The current article presents the findings on the development of a student evaluation instrument in which course evaluation is directly tied to student learning outcomes. With a committee consisting of instructors from six distinct disciplines brought together as part of a working group for this purpose, the instrument was developed utilizing research on the components of effective teaching and how these components impacted student learning. The instrument was tested at two time points, once via pen and paper (n=340 students) and the other online (n=2636 students). Factor Analysis resulted in one latent factor both times. The instrument also had high internal consistency reliability. Comparisons of individual student factors revealed a few variables significantly predicted ratings, but effect sizes were small. This work suggests an instrument has been created that assesses components of effective teaching, via the impact on student learning, and the ratings obtained are not highly influenced by individual factors.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Skowronek, Jeffrey S.; Friesen, Bruce K.; and Masonjones, Heather (2011) "Developing a Statistically Valid AND Practically Useful Student Evaluation Instrument," International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 5: No. 1, Article 11.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2011.050111