ABSTRACT

Student evaluations of instruction are a fact of life for most instructors, and evaluation summaries form an important part of teaching portfolios. Although student's evaluations might be subject to some biases, analyses suggest that they generally are sensibly related to the quality of instruction. Evaluations should be requested for each course component, as well as obtaining overall assessments. Rating scales yield data that are easily summarized, but written comments provide better information about student's opinions. Requesting comments about course components supplies detailed data, whereas answers to more open-ended questions about likes and dislikes indicate what is salient to students and influences their overall impression. Students are useful sources of feedback about teaching techniques, and instructors need not wait until the end of a course to check student's reactions to an instructional effort. Improving instruction depends on attention to feedback, willingness to try new approaches, and creativity in devising possibly better procedures.