As many states and districts rethink teacher supervision and evaluation, the team at the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has analyzed thousands of lesson videotapes and studied the shortcomings of current practices. The tentative conclusion: Teachers should be evaluated on three…

Refutes the conclusions of Lamberth and Kosteski's study that high correlations between student achievement and teaching assistant ratings supported the validity of student evaluation of teachers. Bonge argues that artifically high correlations may be caused as much by item and course characteristics as by instructor characteristics. (AM)

Discusses various studies, including his own, of correlations between student grades and positive teacher evaluations. Notes a possibility of distortion. (CK)

Replies to Bonge's critique (Apr 1982) of the authors' study which found high correlations between student achievement and student assessment of teaching assistants in introductory college psychology courses. The authors offer additional statistical and experimental evidence to support the validity of their findings. (AM)

Provides guidelines for planning an individualized approach to classroom instruction. Examines the preparation of learning objectives and instructional units to be incorporated in the course outline and discusses the use of quizzes, examinations, and student-instructor feedback. Analyzes the benefits of individualized instruction in terms of…

Evaluation of instruction has become an important issue in higher education in the last two decades. Distinctions which help clarify the study of instructional assessment include: (1) formal versus informal evaluation; (2) summative versus formative evaluation; and (3) evaluation of a teacher versus evaluation of instruction. (JN)

Issues concerning student evaluation of instruction are addressed. Answers to the following questions are provided: Are students in a position to identify the factors that make instruction effective? Do they know what makes teaching good? If ratings are high, does that mean students are learning more? Is there a relationship between instructor…

Improvement in the quality of the teaching/learning process occurs when the elements of faculty development, instructional improvement, curriculum development, and organizational development act as integrally connected parts of a total improvement program. The school needs to accept responsibility for the consequences of its educational programs…

A study was conducted at College of Lake County (Illinois) in spring 1993 to assess the impact of instructor role-modeling among students enrolled in an Introduction to Business course. The course included a three-part Stock Market Project (SMP) accounting for 32% of students' final grade. Among a course section of control group students, the…

Teacher appraisal, now required in England and Wales and expected in Scotland in due course, should be open rather than secret. It should be done with emphasis on peer support; teachers should play a central part and be given the time to watch each other's lessons. (JHZ)

Presents several common misperceptions about student evaluation of college faculty members. Asserts that it is essential to examine the operational processes used to measure effective teaching. Discusses the role of research, the importance of sociology, and the utility of standardized assessments of student learning in faculty evaluation. (CFR)

Relevant research literature does not generally support the notion that class size is a significant variable in learner achievement. This, if true, may be the result of various factors. Although teachers believe that they alter their teaching strategies for different class sizes, this may not be the case. More likely is the possibility that…

The development of an evaluation schema for school personnel must be based on the following stipulations: time, adequate financing, and external validation of techniques and methodologies. In planning an evaluation program, three questions dominate the scene throughout the literature. First, what shall be evaluated? Possible variables which can be…

This combination report and guide is intended to assist a broad audience of state and local educational administrators, teacher educators, and state policymakers. The first chapter of the guide examines (1) current views from the field regarding procedures for defining teacher effectiveness, teacher supply and demand, factors affecting teacher…