Inside Iowa State
Nov. 10, 1995


Faculty Forum Series: How Useful Are Student Ratings?

by Anne Dolan
The November Faculty Forum will focus on the usefulness of 
student course evaluations. The monthly series is sponsored 
by the Center for Teaching Excellence and is open to all 
faculty and their guests.

Camilla Benbow, professor and chair of the psychology 
department, will initiate the discussion. Benbow, whose 
research interest is in education psychology, last year 
chaired an ad hoc committee charged with reviewing how 
faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are 
evaluated. That review included the use and validity of 
student ratings of instruction.

Benbow said that contrary to the perception of many, the 
volume of research done on student ratings is quite large, 
more than 1,500 pieces.

She said student ratings of instruction provide a valid, 
reliable way of getting information about certain aspects of 
teaching effectiveness -- for example, whether an instructor 
presents information clearly, is organized or is respectful 
of student comments in class discussions. In peer ratings, 
colleagues are asked to consider skills such as an 
instructor's mastery of the material and level of familiarity 
with recent literature. All that information is useful for 
evaluating teaching, Benbow said.

One key to a useful evaluation is a well-researched, reliable 
evaluation form that addresses the various components of 
teaching, she said.

She acknowledged that some faculty don't find value in 
student evaluations, often because of third-person accounts 
of negative evaluations or poorly executed evaluations. 
Benbow will challenge several myths about student 
evaluations, such as the belief that they are popularity 
contests.

The discussion will begin at approximately 6:45 p.m. in the 
Memorial Union Cardinal Room. A social time at 5:30 p.m. and 
dinner at 6 p.m. precede the discussion. Those eating dinner 
are asked to make reservations by Friday, Nov. 10, with Jane 
Henning, 4-2906, e-mail: njhenni@iastate.edu.

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University Relations
Iowa State University