Describes a study which showed that student evaluations of their courses and instructors are significantly biased by factors external to the quality of their actual classroom experience. Data were collected at the beginning and end of the term from 361 college students enrolled in eight separate American government courses. (Author/RM)

Student questionnaires used at the University of Waterloo are examined regarding students' willingness to complete them, variability of professor ratings over time, and usefulness of the responses to the university administration. The greatest value of the questionnaires, from an administrative perspective, is for flagging courses and faculty in…

Results of a questionnaire survey of 455 two- and four-year institutions on the status on noncalculus physics courses are presented. Responses from 265 questionnaires focus on enrollment, textbooks, reasons for textbook changes, laboratory manuals, and nationally standardized set of laboratory experiments. Selected comments from individual…

Describes the development and use of sentence combining exercises at a midwestern university and presents the results of a test to determine the effects of the exercises on syntactic maturity and mechanics. (HTH)

Evaluation of the final examination should be part of the course evaluation and should include student perceptions of the exam's nature and the questions' quality. The final examination experience of two groups of undergraduate and graduate students are considered. (MSE)

Compared a videotaped adversary evaluation with a traditional written report based on program participant feedback. Explored whether students, student affairs administrators, and academic administrators reached the same evaluation decision from the same evaluation information. (RC)

A program of course evaluation by faculty peers at the University of Birmingham (England) between 1974 and 1978 is described that used reciprocating partnerships of teacher and evaluator and a flexible combination of evaluation procedures. Implications for evaluation methodology, staff development, and course development are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Data from 47 college classrooms suggest that the extent to which students' perceived actual locus of control coincided with their preferred locus over decisions about topic sequence and instructional materials correlated positively to their appraisals of overall instructional effectiveness. Agreement with classroom decisions also correlated…

Two ways to approach college teaching improvement are: (1) instructor development, which involves the improvement of teaching abilities over time; and (2) in-class improvement of instructional effectiveness within a particular course during the academic term. Recommendations are given for a student-rating feedback system, and a course evaluation…

Describes an issues approach to child development used to make the curriculum more relevant to college students. Activities included reading the text, reports, films, observing children, speakers, and debating the importance of the issues. Course evaluation showed that students benefited from the combined approach. (Author/JAC)

Factors that influence student evaluation of teaching are analyzed. Evaluations carried out at Wilfrid Laurier University show that grades granted by instructors do not relate significantly to the evaluations of that instructor by students. Factors that do relate include early morning classes, small classes, optional subjects, and senior classes.…

The strengths of classroom education, combined with the strengths of experiential education, can create an even more effective learning environment. The steps involved in classroom learning are contrasted with those involved in experiential learning, then realigned and implemented for a college course. (MLW)

The Adjective Rating Scale (ARS) was administered to female students in a public health nursing course, as a measure of pre- and post-course attitude change. Factor analyses of these results indicated fewer factors were revealed than are normally reported for the ARS. (MH)

A method of course and teaching style evaluation using a computer is described. The method allows students to list the dimensions they themselves wish to evaluate. (JMF)

Recommends a comprehensive approach to course evaluation. Problems related to current approaches are discussed, and a checklist illustrating issues and questions to consider is presented. (Author)