The Research Behind Student Evaluations

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The Research Behind Student Evaluations
Steve Fitzpatrick, MEC and Marilla Svinicki, CTE

CIS Item #7

	CIS ITEM	RELATED ITEM
	#7 In my opinion, the workload in this course is: (student-contributed item)	a. teacher motivates students to do their best; high standards of performance required
Correlation to student learning	Feldman #23 r =.09 (This is not a significant correlation. However there are other data to indicate that students give higher ratings to courses that are more difficult.)	Feldman #6 r =.38 Students do better in courses of faculty who set high standards and hold students to them.
Theoretical Rational for correlation	Students need this information to plan their work schedules for the semester. Courses with a heavy workload should be paired with others that are not so burdensome in order to maximize learning. The lack of significance is probably a function of different definitions of workload.	When teacher expectations are high, student performance also tends to be high.

5 Ways to Improve Course Workload

Give students a clear idea about the course requirements at the very beginning of the semester and then stick to that schedule.
Provide alternative ways for students to meet course requirements that might fit their needs or schedules.
Before giving a reading assignment or test, time yourself completing it to get a feeling for how long it is going to take.
Give students suggestions about ways to work smarter rather than harder in the class.
Have challenging, but clear expectations for student work quantity and quality. Provide models of the level of work you expect by putting student work from previous semesters up for comparison.

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