After a review of the literature of evaluations by students of instructors and courses, this paper discusses 3 different evaluation questionnaires given in successive years (1968 through 1970) at the University of Delaware. Each of these forms represented an attempt to make the ratings less susceptible to the "halo effect," which was…

This paper describes a contract approach to teaching a graduate course in educational psychology at Kent State University. The instructor, operating from a set of four premises, offered students a choice of differentially weighted project tasks, with specific criteria, which must total a minimum of 50 points. Options included a film critique (5…

A course-instructor evaluation form, specifically adapted for this study, was administered to 775 undergraduates in 15 large and small section introductory courses after the second class meeting and again near the end of the semester. The median pretest posttest correlation was +.60. Although there were many systematic changes, students were…

This evaluation report is concerned with Phase 3 of the Three Phase Primary Science (TPPS) course piloted in Papua, New Guinea, primary schools in 1969 and which was to be taught in all primary schools in 1973. Phase 1 is a series of activities; Phase 2, a series of simple experiments for the pupils. Phase 3 is a series of more formal experiments…

Reported is a study on the use of quantitative data in evaluating a science course for the purpose of introducing an alternative form of information presentation capable of supplying qualitative feedback valuable to students, teachers, and curriculum developers. Fifty-five teachers, randomly selected during the 1967-68 Project Physics (PP)…

This comprehensive analysis of course and teacher evaluation deals with the following topics: (1) a capsule history of course and teacher evaluation - where the ideas began and what trends have been established; (2) the right and worth of students' evaluation of courses and teachers, including how it relates to faculty academic freedom; and the…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a) "Folklore" about a teacher contributes to his ratings on a course evaluation questionnaire and b) changes in students' attitudes during the course of instruction can be determined with a course evaluation questionnaire. Multivariate techniques and discriminate analysis were employed. The results…

Results of two factor analyses of 3,722 student ratings of engineering courses and instructors, obtained by using alternative step factoring criteria, were compared on the basis of six criteria. Results indicated that the ten factor solution obtained by using a step criterion of accounting for 70-75% of the total variance as opposed to a five…

The use of a short, face valid, objectively scorable questionnaire to obtain students' evaluations of courses as a whole is discussed. The instrument is described from the standpoints of content domain, reliability, face validity, and university-wide applicability. This instrument would provide reliable normed data for use by campus-level…

In order to increase student response at the New College of Hofstra University in the area of course evaluation, a one-page General Course Evaluation Questionnaire was designed for use in 1971-72. The questionnaire consists of five questions: (1) What are the three most important things you got out of this course? (2) What do you feel are the…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students' responses to the Ullman student evaluation of teaching, the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) instrument, were biased by their achievement. The instrument was administered to all 325 students taking a second course in calculus with economic applications, near the end of the course;…

This paper explores two aspects of student evaluations of college teaching: (1) a reformulation of end-of-term ratings, by defining them in relation to initial student expectations; and (2) it presents a research design which studies this reformulation in the natural setting of the classroom. An expectations instrument, using semantic differential…

Criteria for the development of new coursework and the governance procedures necessary for course approval were analyzed and compared between two California community colleges, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) and Pasadena City College (PCC). Data were obtained during fall 1976 by means of printed materials and through interviews with personnel…

Shows how a contract approach to grading can also enrich and internalize some of the basic principles of an introductory college-level psychology course. Through class activities, students are provided with an arena for embellishing some of the theory and principles learned in class. (Author/JR)

A course and instructor evaluation model, developed at Ben Gurion University, is discussed in terms of its use as a diagnostic tool for the improvement of teaching. The evaluation model is presented as a theoretical basis for teaching diagnosis. (RAO)