Medaille College
Business Department
 

Douglas Anderson
Self-Evaluation 2006

Student Opinion Surveys Discussion

other pages

student opinion survey summary

overview | teaching | service | career plan

this page

best and worst | discussion | student self-assessments

Note |  This section offers faculty an opportunity to respond constructively to opinions and perceptions expressed in the student opinion surveys, to share their self-assessment on important teaching effectiveness criteria, and to provide additional insight into their pedagogy and the learning environment in their classrooms.

The survey instrument

The survey results from the ten sections I taught last year are given some order here by counting and then rank ordering those that got the three (including ties) highest and lowest scores.

For example, #5 was among the best scores on all ten surveys and among the worst on none.

Early in my career, I learned how to treat students in such a way that my course evaluation scores are all above the middle for every item. On the scale we use, 1.00 is the best score and 3.00 is the middle. In ten courses last year, the scores ranged from a perfect 1.00 on over a dozen items to only four scores above 2.0:

6. I found it helpful to attend class regularly 2.10

4. The course was well-organized 2.00 and 2.27

3. Examinations and assignments were useful learning tools 2.33

After the scoring system changed so that higher numbers were more desirable, five items got a 4.9 out of 5 and few items got below 4.

17. I would recommend this course to another student 3.5 and 3.9

4. The course was well-organized 3.6

18. I learned a great deal in this course 3.3

6. I found it helpful to attend class regularly 3.2

Two-thirds of these less-desirable scores came from two sections of the same course, WRT/ENG 200, each of which I picked up as a last-minute overload to replace a teacher who resigned just before the semester began.

I am not convinced that these ranges -- 1 through 2.33 out of 5 or 4.9 through 3.2 out of 5-- indicates significant differences. Nor does it give me a lot of room for improvement. However, it gives me something to focus on, as discussed below.

Discussion

The discussion of pedagogy in my portfolio explains the four methods I use in addition to official student opinion surveys. These four methods are supplemented throughout the course by private email between students and me. I give students a lot of feedback and try to engage each of them in an ongoing discussion of their learning. I encourage them to talk to each other about their learning. I emphasize formative feedback and Socratic questioning.

The multiple methods of feedback serve two purposes. First, they make the students more aware of their own and each other's learning process and learning style, learning how they learn. Second, I can infer things that I can do to improve the courses.

The pattern seen this year in my student opinion surveys has persisted. I most frequently score lowest on "4. The course was well-organized," although for MKT 425, this item got the second best score. From my other methods of evaluation, I think I understand why it so often scores low.

I don't use textbooks. Some students expect everything about a course to be between the covers of a textbook, perhaps supplemented by lecture notes. My course materials are on the course web and linked to it. I can take advantage of unexpected events in the real world.

I emphasize divergent learning, not convergent learning, so some students have trouble seeing the relevance of other students' learning to their own.

The constant feedback lets me make in-course adjustments. I keep the same major assignments and grading criteria, but I often adapt the day-to-day activities to fit the students in that particular section. Every course's syllabus page changes several times per week as the course develops.

Thus, where some students see weak organization, I see flexibility and opportunity. I'm quite content that this item is the one I score lowest on, remembering that the average for all ten courses was well under 2.0.

On the other end of the scale, I'm equally sanguine about the item I score best on: "5. The instructor generally provided for a full class period." Almost all my students strongly agree, and have done so for many years. I am almost always in the classroom before any students arrive, and excepting technical difficulties with the computers and projector, we always start at the appointed hour. There is always more to talk about than the time allotted. Teaching at night, I often hear, "You don't give us enough time between classes to get dinner," and "We're always the last cars in the parking lot; that's not fair."

Item "10. The instructor was willing to meet for consultation outside the class period" gets the next best (lowest) scores. That contributes to the relatively poor scores for "6. I found it helpful to attend class regularly". Students can too easily catch up in my office or via email when they miss class. I give a lot of mini-lessons to students who missed. The availability of course materials online contributes there, too.

In sum, students rate me most highly for the amount of time I spend with them, in class and out. They also get a lot of personal attention via email, which our official surveys don't ask for specifically.

end of course self-assessments

Of all the methods of course assessment, I learn the most from the end of course self-assessments. Over the years, as a result of them, I have kept the courses focused on learning by doing rather than on lectures and tests. The end-of-course assessments of MBA 600 and MBA 604 justified the creation of MBA 504 back in 2000. They shaped the development of MBA 600, for another example, by identifying the need for more attention to business plans as well as the industry to focus on. The latter changed several times until I found an industry -- pop culture marketing, especially music -- that worked best.

The other gratifying use of the self-assessments is the affirmation that I'm affecting students' lives. When I stop hearing this, I'll worry. Here's a selection from the last year.

excerpts from student self-assessments

Getting outside my comfort zone has been very difficult for me, as I am sure you can tell.

The best thing I learned was to write like I have never written before; to grow as a writer and as a researcher.

I feel that this semester was a wake up call for me and it helped me realize how hard I was making it on myself before.

Thank you for taking the time to work with us and give us something to take into the real world of writing Professor Anderson. You keep things real.

It's not really about the writing of the essay but understanding what you are writing. I really liked the meetings that we had because it opened my eyes to improve what I was writing. I had the fundamentals but you showed how I could add the extra details to make it an even better essay.

I learned that I can be a creative person. I always thought of myself as very logical and a "math person" but now I know that I can be creative and make cool stuff!

One good thing that I learned is that some poetry readings are more electrifying than others, and they are not so bad to attend. In fact a nice poetry reading can be relaxing, adventurous, and can even be used as nice date.

I was able to try out things I would have never done or not known would interest me.

I was able to see that even though I am not a traditional "artist" I can still use my creativity to express certain things. This will be helpful when approaching a problem in the business world or when I need to look outside the normal realm of answers.

The journey was well worth it. I appreciate the lessons you taught on using our imagination to color our world through poetry, music, and movie making.

I now know that poetry is all around: in everything you see, everything you feel, and everything you hear. Thank you for bringing this wonderful point to my attention.

Attending the different poetry readings allowed me to learn a lot about those specific authors, but it also helped me to learn a lot of things I didn't know about myself. ... I also learned not to be ashamed of your work. ... The poets I listened to taught me this. They were all proud of who they are and what their lives have consisted of. Even if the work being read was very personal, they were proud to let people hear it. In seeing their pride and experiencing the joy that they had after reading their pieces, I tried to incorporate that into my final project.

I felt that my final project had an impact, whether good or bad, on everyone in my class. I learned to not hold back when it comes to expressing feelings. This whole semester, yes, I have been proud of the work I have accomplished in all my classes, but I feel that the poetry project I completed was by far, my most successful and prideful accomplishment.

I did not just learn how to write in this class, I learned how to discover, uncover, and develop something complex and unknown, and make it known and simple in the eyes of the viewer. I am now a better writer, and a better researcher because of you, and the lessons you have given me. I thank you for all you have done to help me see things in a different light.

[This course] has taught me what being in college is all about. ... I learned how to do research using the internet, to read with comprehension, and to develop ideas into a coherent presentation. ... Most importantly, I have learned a great deal about myself. ... I'm beginning to understand that college really is an all-encompassing experience - that you get out of it what you're willing to invest of your time, energy and talent.

Finally I learned that when you write about something that interests you it no longer becomes a chore, but an adventure.

I have learned sooo much in this class. Much more than I ever expected to learn, and I would've learned a lot more if I managed my time better and put more into it.

Strong Emotions…I llllllllooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvved this class!!! Loved it!! I love what I've learned and what I can do with it all. I love how the class was set up and run, and I love all the fun we had along the way in this class!! I just loved it and I can't wait to take the others!!!!

I enjoyed the first hand experience and learning the best; it was much easier to enjoy the class by doing things first-hand rather than sitting and listening to a lecture. That type of teaching style made me actually want to go to class.

Because of the hands on experience and being able to go home and actually work on what I've learned during each class was an enjoyable experience. I liked that I learned new things every class and they were useful to me on almost an everyday basis.

I have probably learned more in this course than I have in any other course I've taken and it's probably because of the first hand experience and the lack of lecture and test taking made the class more appealing to me.

Your courses will open up areas in my career that I didn't think were possible.

The most important thing I learned or acquired from this class- the confidence to do these things on a daily basis. To be given the opportunity to try new things that I would not have tried in the past. To not be afraid of new technology. Thanks for opening so many new doors and opportunities for my career.

Not just lecturing but showing us the concepts in your lecture I felt was very useful.

Overall I got a lot out of these two courses that I will use in my career more so than many of the other classes in this program.

I just want to let you know how much I appreciated the three course sequence you taught. As I said in my post, my computer skills are way better than before and learning how they are applied to business was incredible. I don't think you could get that at any other college.

I really feel that you present material and real world practice that other MBA programs don't offer.

modified: January 2007
by Douglas Anderson
http://toLearn.net/portfolio/selfeval/2006/surveydisc.htm