Student course evaluations : research, models and trends

1. Introduction
A. Methodology
B. Limitations

2. Context
A. Evaluating teaching in higher education
B. The vocabulary of student course evaluations
C. Faculty, administrator and student perceptions of course evaluations
i. Faculty perceptions
ii. Administrator perceptions
iii. Student perceptions
D. Common characteristics of course evaluations
i. Common measures of teaching effectiveness
ii. Collecting and interpreting qualitative feedback
iii. Collecting and interpreting formative feedback
E. Common uses for course evaluation data

3. Current Policy and Practice in North America
A. Introduction
B. Course evaluation policies
i. Prevalence and location of policies
ii. Focus and scope of policies
C. Design and approval of evaluation instruments
i. Development and approval of evaluation instruments
ii. Questionnaire format and content
iii. Review of evaluation instruments
D. Implementation processes
i. Method of delivery
ii. Implementation guidelines or policies
E. Analysis of results
F. Access to results
i. Who has access? To what?
ii. Management of written comments
iii. Publication of results
G. Interpretation and use of results
i. Summative and formative purposes
ii. Information supplied with evaluation results
iii. Use of written comments
iv. Tenure, promotion and merit
v. Teaching awards
vi. Other evidence of teaching effectiveness
H. Relationship of course evaluations to accountability measures

4. Reliability, Validity and Interpretation of Course Evaluation Data
A. Introduction to reliability and validity
B. Students as evaluators
C. External Validity: Creating the instrument
i. Defining effective teaching
ii. Developing evaluation instruments
D. External Validity: Reporting and interpreting evaluation results
i. Reporting of evaluation results
ii. Challenges to interpretation and use for summative purposes
E. Internal Validity: The influence of variables on evaluation results
i. Overview of studied variables
ii. Validity testing

5. Implementing Effective Evaluation Measures: Recommendations from the Research
A. Introduction
B. Ensuring Validity
C. Ensuring Utility
i. For students
ii. For instructors
iii. For administrators
iv. For institutions

6. Emerging Trends, Existing Gaps and Recommendations for Further Research
A. Emerging trends
i. Online evaluation tools
ii. Connecting evaluation data to accountability measures and competency-based learning outcomes
iii. Increasing use of evaluations for formative purposes
iv. Contextualization of evaluation data for summative evaluation of teaching
B. Existing gaps and suggestions for further research
i. Defining teaching vocabulary and expectations
ii. Understanding evaluation users
iii. Educating evaluation users
iv. Evaluating graduate student teaching assistants and instructors

7. Concluding Remarks