Do I Really Want to Know? Mid-Course Evaluations for Course

Redesign Objectives Ida M. Jones, J.D

Professor of Business Law SubDirect Teaching Fellow 2016-2017

California State University, Fresno idaj@csufresno.edu

(559) 278-2151

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Session Objectives

ò  Examine key components of mid-course evaluations

ò  Develop a strategy to incorporate results into course design

ò  Identify how these evaluations can help students stay on track

Abstract

Faculty can use mid-course evaluations in online courses to check to make sure the course is on track, respond to unclear and/or confusing points and remind students of the option to incorporate more study techniques and tools when taking a course. However, changing mid-stream in an online course can be challenging. The session will include sample mid-course evaluations, statistics on the students’ suggestions, a list of the mid-course changes made based on the survey results, a discussion of how those changes were communicated to students and statistics and information on students’ end of the course responses to the changes.

How accomplished

ò  Sample mid-course evaluations,

ò  Statistics on the students’ responses,

ò  A list of the mid-course changes made based on the survey results,

ò  A discussion of how those changes were communicated to students and

ò  Statistics and information on students’ end of the course responses to the changes.

KEY COMPONENTS OF MID-COURSE EVALUATIONS

Limitations of End of Course Evaluations

ò  Summative

ò  Too late in the semester

ò  Students don’t see positive outcomes of these surveys

ò  Primarily for personnel/evaluation purposes

ò  Not clear that faculty make changes based on them

ò  Format isn’t conducive to making changes because of types of questions that are used to standardize across campuses/disciplines

Wincester and Wincester, p. 680

Advantages of Mid-Course Evaluations

ò Gives immediate feedback on what works and what does not

ò Allows corrections mid-course/while the issue is ongoing

ò Less time consuming than other types of feedback mechanisms (e.g. teacher ePortfolios, peer visits/reviews)

Wincester, p. 671-672

S. R. Wickramasinghe and W. M. Timpson p. 127

Advantages of Mid-Course Evaluations

ò Gives more information than a summative evaluation

ò  Information is for your use/not used for personnel decision

ò Good to use when implementing changes in design to see the impact of those changes

Wincester, p. 671-672

S. R. Wickramasinghe and W. M. Timpson p. 127

In Sum….

“Detailed student feedback can provide a rich source of information to help instructors evaluate specific elements of course design and structure, make revisions, and assess the effects of those changes….student feedback can be

valuable source of overall information to assess course effectiveness, including instructor perspectives. . .”

Brew, p. 105

The Components and the Process of Course Evaluation and Revision

Course

Mid-Course Evaluation (Formative)

Mid-course Revisions and

Feedback

End of Course Evaluation

(Summative)

Revisions

Your Turn. . . . Identify an area in a current course that you’d like student feedback

An Online Course-Mid Course Evaluation

Selected Questions and Responses

Is the course organization clear?

No 45%

Yes 55%

No Yes

My response to the Course Organization Results

ò  I added the assignments and resources folder as a way for you to easily find out where the assignments were if you were just looking for them. , , ,I also moved the Juries (discussion groups) and the class discussion forum to the bottom of the menu.

ò  I may need to revert to the Blackboard Orientation developed by the Blackboard Resource Center for all Blackboard courses. . . . I developed a customized module that focused only on tools for this course.. .

How much did you complete of the work for the chapters for Module 1?

86%

9% 5%

I completed all the quizzes and all the worksheets. I completed all the quizzes and some of the worksheets. I completed some of the quizzes and some of the worksheets.

My Response to: How much did you complete of the work . . .for Module 1?

It looks like the vast majority of you (86%) completed all of the assignments on the Module 1

readings. That’s excellent! And that’s in spite of the initial technical problems with MindTap.

Approximately how many hours do you study

each week? . . .(just take your best guess)

23%

41%

36% More than 1 and less than 3

More than 3 and less than 5

More than 5

My Response to: Approximately how many hours do you study each week? . . .

ò  This is a 4-unit class, and I’d expect you to study approximately 10 hours per week. Many of you (36%) are near that threshold with more than 5 hours per week studying. If you are struggling with the course, you may want to increase your study time. That’s especially so if this is your first online course. Also, if your study time is less than 5 hours including the time spent on MindTap because of its problems, you may not be studying enough.

ò  I know many of you are juggling multiple responsibilities. One way to have an impact on whether you’re studying effectively is to review the information on page 12 of the syllabus. There I suggest a couple of articles and videos that discuss the most effective study techniques. If you review one or more of those, you may find a study technique that works better for you or find that one of the study techniques you use is not efficient or effective.

Do you believe you are spending approximately 50% of your time on the worksheets and the quizzes?

No 32%

Yes 68%

No Yes

My Response to: spending approximately 50% of your time on the worksheets and the quizzes?

I asked this question to guide you as you continue working on the class. Although the quizzes and worksheets are critical for you to understand the material, the online discussion assignments are also important. Those discussions are part of how I gauge whether you can apply the information to scenarios.

Your Turn. . . . Write 2-3 questions for the area in a current course that you’d like student feedback

Identify how these evaluations can help students stay on track

Helping students stay on track

ò Metacognition

ò  Encourage students to think about how they learned and the tools they’ve used

ò  Remind students of course requirements and how to fulfill those

ò  Reset studying to promote student success

ò Suggestions to improve performance

ò Affective component: Lets students know I want them to succeed

Study Time

The quizzes and worksheets are 36% of your grade. The online discussion assignments are 33% of your grade. Do you believe you are spending approximately 50% of your time on each of those items?

No 32%

Yes 68%

No

Yes

Have you had difficulty using MindTap?

ò  More than 2/3s of you had difficulties with MindTap. I have worked with Cengage to get the issues resolved and I hope you contact me if you continue to have difficulty.

ò  Many of the technical issues with MindTap have been resolved. Have you earned credit (as shown in the gradebook on Blackboard) for the last couple of weeks' quizzes and worksheets that you completed on MindTap?

ò  Please contact me at idaj@csufresno.edu so that I can see whether I have incorrectly recorded your grades or your grades were not correctly recorded on MindTap. . . .

No 32%

Yes 68%

No

Yes

What do you do to remind yourself what to do for this online class? (Mark all that apply)

Those of you who responded are focusing on the key method of getting work done-using your calendars and reviewing the due dates each week. Regularly logging onto Blackboard helps you to treat this course as a regular part of your routine, just as you do with an on ground class.

See, for example:

ò  5 Tips to Succeed in an Online Class

ò  (http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2013/01/14/5-tips-to-succeed-in-an-online-course);

ò  Getting The Most Out Of Your eLearning Course: 10 Study Tips For Online Learners

ò  (https://elearningindustry.com/10-study-tips-for-online-learners-getting-the-most-out-of-your-elearning-course)

Metacognition-For Students and For the Professor

ò What will you do to maintain or improve your performance as you go forward in this class?

ò What can I do to help you maintain or improve your performance as you go forward in this class?

References

ò  Brew, Linda S. The role of student feedback in evaluating and revising a blended learning course, Internet & Higher Education, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 98–105

ò  Cohen, P. (1981). Effectiveness of student-rating feedback for improving college instruction: A meta-analysis of findings. Research in Higher Education, 13(4), 321-341.

ò  Connie Buskist and Jan Hogan, (2010). She Needs a Haircut and a New Pair of Shoes: Handling Those Pesky Course Evaluations. Journal of Effective Teaching 10 (1), 51-56.

ò  Friedlander, J. (1978). Student perceptions on the effectiveness of midterm feedback to modify college instruction. The Journal of Educational Research, 71(3), 140-143.

ò  Karen Lewis, (2001). Using Midsemester Student Feedback and Responding to It. New Directions for Teaching and Learning 87, 33-44.

ò  Winchester, Maxwell K., and Winchester, Tiffany M.., If you Build it will they come? Exploring the student perspective of weekly student evaluations of teaching, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, vol 37, no. b6 September 2012 671-682

ò  Mid-Semester Student Feedback Enhances Student Learning, S. R. Wickramasinghe and W. M. Timpson

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