SOFI SESSION #1: STUDENT RATING SYSTEMS


1. PREMISES


What are the PREMISES underlying a student ratings system? That is, what is the INSTITUTIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING?

ACTIVE LEARNING:

• Does the institution wish to use the student ratings system to encourage and support the active learning of its students?

• Should the form ask students to assess their own contributions to the learning process?

TEACHING STYLES:

• Does the institution wish to encourage a wide variety of approaches to teaching?

DISCIPLINE SENSITIVITY:

• Does the institution seek to recognize the constraints of teaching formats dictated by disciplinary requirements?

DIVERSITY:

• Does the institution value diversity?

• Does the institution seek to implement a ratings system that is tolerant of class, culture and sex differences, as well as individual idiosyncrasies and personality?

2. FUNCTIONS:

What are the FUNCTIONS of a student ratings system?

PERSONNEL DECISIONS (SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT):

• Assist in renewals, tenure decisions, and promotions

• Balance with peer review reports and candidate portfolios

STUDENT COURSE CHOICE:

• Allow students to make judgments about faculty teaching

EDUCATION:

• Express and reinforce the institution's philosophy of teaching and learning

COURSE AND TEACHING IMPROVEMENT (FORMATIVE ASSISTANCE)

• May conflict with the summative function

 

3. FEATURES:

What features are needed to fulfill the four purposes of

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

STUDENT COURSE CHOICE

EDUCATION

FORMATIVE ASSISTANCE

in accordance with the institution's philosophy of teaching and learning?

RELIABILITY:

• Consistency in administration

• Internal consistency

• Consistency over time

•10 or more raters and over two thirds of the class rating

VALIDITY:

• Measure the desired outcomes of the teaching process

• Provide clear, simple, and unambiguous language

PHILOSOPHY:

• Reflect the institution’s philosophy of teaching and learning

RESPONSIBILITY:

• Make clear the institution's expectations of the roles played by faculty member and students in the learning process

FEEDBACK:

• Provide detailed and constructive feedback for the improvement of a faculty member's course and teaching approach(es)

FAIRNESS:

• Recognize potential distortions in the numerical scores

CONFIDENCE:

• Students and faculty should have confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of the form and process used for the rating

CONTINUITY:

• System should provide continuity so that the same type of data can be compared over several years