Publication Date

8-1-1995

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Education Specialist

Abstract

The purpose of this project is three fold:(a) a review of the literature regarding student ratings, (b) the creation of a student rating database and (c) the development of an applications manual to accompany the database. From a thorough review of the literature, this project identifies the utility and usefulness of student ratings as one element in the evaluation of instruction. The literature review addressed the following questions: (a) Do we need student ratings of instructors? (b) Can student rating data be used to improve instruction? (c) can we be sure that the data and the means by which they are acquired are valid and reliable? (d) Are there variables that may bias student ratings?, and (e) How can a database be used to help improve the effectiveness of classroom instruction? The second goal of this project was to established a student rating database designed to house data from past, present and future student ratings. The database contains variables currently collected by the student rating system of Western Kentucky University. In addition, the database contains variables identified by the research as helpful in the interpretation of rating data. Lastly, a database applications manual (see Appendix) was developed which provides the user step-by-step directions for program access, data entry, data storage, and data retrieval/export.

Disciplines

Education | Psychology

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