ERIC Number: ED280382
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986-Jun
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Return to the Heart of the Matter: Improving Instructional Program Quality in Postsecondary Education. AIR 1986 Annual Forum Paper.
Kinnick, Mary K.
Key concepts from theory and research on student learning are discussed, and a conceptual framework to promote the design of local instructional improvement efforts is presented. The objective is to advocate that institutional researchers focus more directly on the basic issues of teaching and learning and to suggest that improving instructional program quality will improve student learning. The framework identifies factors, or intervenors, that affect the type/amount of student learning as well as policies and programs that may affect these intervenors. Six intervenors are covered: student involvement, learning expectations, assessment and feedback, individualization, instructional methods, and content. The intervenors are used as criteria to review the quality of instructional programs. Three types of improvement strategies are considered: student input (e.g., admissions, financial aid), process (resources and curriculum), and outcomes. Examples of quality improvement strategies for each type of strategy are identified. Finally, six implications for institutional research focusing on student learning and local improvement efforts are identified, including: preparation and continuing education needs of practitioners, and a new role and focus for policy analysis. (SW)
Descriptors: College Instruction, Educational Quality, Educational Research, Evaluation Criteria, Expectation, Feedback, Improvement Programs, Individualized Instruction, Institutional Research, Instructional Improvement, Learning Motivation, Learning Theories, Models, Postsecondary Education, Program Evaluation, Student Attitudes, Student Evaluation, Teaching Methods
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A