Student Evaluation of Teaching Predicts Learning — But Only With Appropriate Content and Frame of Reference

• In Event: 66.086 - MTCC Roundtable Session 29
  In Roundtable Session: 66.086-7 - Faculty Evaluation

Abstract

The association between measures of student evaluation of teaching (SET) and teaching effectiveness continue to be questioned. However little work has investigated whether one SET could be better than another. We show that adhering to two principles can lead to a better SET. A better SET should include items that measure behaviors that reflect research-based teaching practices, and are appropriately framed. An undergraduate sample (N = 339) showed that three different SETs similarly predicted overall student satisfaction, but varied in strength of association with student learning outcomes. More importantly, only the SET that met both principles - concrete behaviors reported from a student’s (but not the instructor's) perspective, predicted learning outcomes - emerged as the superior predictor of teaching effectiveness.

Authors

• Junjie Su, University of Maryland - College Park

• J. Elizabeth Richey, Carnegie Mellon University

• Sandra Michelle Loughlin, University of Maryland