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Evaluating a Course

To get feedback on aspects of the course that went well and aspects of the course that need improvement, we ask students to evaluate our courses. Course evaluations, though, can raise anxiety for students and instructors. Proper preparation for these evaluations can ease anxiety and help us elicit meaningful feedback. 

When do instructors do evaluations?

End-of-semester evaluations help instructors learn how the course went. Instructors may use end of semester evaluations to improve the next course. Yet, the current students do not benefit from the data collected from end-of-semester evaluations. In addition to doing end-of-semester evaluations, there are some benefits to doing mid-semester evaluations. See the Mid-Semester Evaluations page for more information.

How do instructors prepare students to complete course evaluations?

There are several ways we can prepare students to evaluate our courses. At the beginning of the semester, explain the purpose of the evaluation and the criteria included in the evaluation. Then be explicit about what parts of the course address specific criteria. For example, if one of the criteria evaluated is how the assignments help students to achieve the learning outcomes, explain to students how each assignment supports the learning outcomes.   

What kinds of questions might be included in course evaluations? 

Refer to this Course Evaluations Question Bank question bank from the University of California at Berkeley’s Center for Teaching and Learning for examples of the types of questions to include in mid-semester evaluations. Instructors can write questions to supplement Loyola's standard end of semester evaluations. Here are some examples of questions that might be useful.     

References 

To get feedback on aspects of the course that went well and aspects of the course that need improvement, we ask students to evaluate our courses. Course evaluations, though, can raise anxiety for students and instructors. Proper preparation for these evaluations can ease anxiety and help us elicit meaningful feedback. 

When do instructors do evaluations?

End-of-semester evaluations help instructors learn how the course went. Instructors may use end of semester evaluations to improve the next course. Yet, the current students do not benefit from the data collected from end-of-semester evaluations. In addition to doing end-of-semester evaluations, there are some benefits to doing mid-semester evaluations. See the Mid-Semester Evaluations page for more information.

How do instructors prepare students to complete course evaluations?

There are several ways we can prepare students to evaluate our courses. At the beginning of the semester, explain the purpose of the evaluation and the criteria included in the evaluation. Then be explicit about what parts of the course address specific criteria. For example, if one of the criteria evaluated is how the assignments help students to achieve the learning outcomes, explain to students how each assignment supports the learning outcomes.   

What kinds of questions might be included in course evaluations? 

Refer to this Course Evaluations Question Bank question bank from the University of California at Berkeley’s Center for Teaching and Learning for examples of the types of questions to include in mid-semester evaluations. Instructors can write questions to supplement Loyola's standard end of semester evaluations. Here are some examples of questions that might be useful.     

References