Course Evaluations
Student Evaluations
Student evaluations are typically done on one of the last days of class. CVCC does not collect demographic data on the evaluations therefore only overall annual assessment data is available. What the evaluations do allow me to do is compare from year to year student opinions of different aspects of the course. Evaluation results are available from Fall 2002 to Spring 2006. For the purpose of this project, I have chosen to give results from 3 of those semesters for comparison, Fall 2002, Spring 2004 and Spring 2006.
The following is a list of the questions that make up the course evaluations, with student responses for comparison. Responses are on a 4 point scale. Lower scores indicate strong agreement with the statement with a score of 1.00 being the highest.
Question 2002 2004 2006
1. Course objectives were clearly stated 1.61 1.33 1.45
2. Expected outcomes of course were met 2.19 1.35 1.35
3. Textbook and reading were appropriate to objectives 1.75 1.30 1.45
4. Assignments made sense in terms of objectives 1.72 1.40 1.52
5. Grading system was fair 1.94 1.38 1.58
6. Class presentations were appropriate 1.47 1.32 1.42
7. Tests and quizzes measured knowledge of course material 2.23 1.55 1.47
8. Instructor demonstrated thorough knowledge of course material 1.55 1.33 1.22
9. Instructor used class time effectively 1.91 1.30 1.40
10. Instructor was enthusiastic 1.90 1.36 1.32
11. Instructor communicated effectively 1.95 1.36 1.35
12. Instructor has a positive attitude 1.62 1.26 1.21
13. Instructor was available to students 1.56 1.46 1.28
14. Students were encouraged to participate in class discussions 1.57 1.39 1.25
15. Atmosphere in class was conducive to learning 1.53 1.52 1.32
16. Instructor was effective 2.18 1.42 1.35
17. Course was a success 2.33 1.46 1.37
Below are written comments from students over the same time frame. Comments generally fall into positive and negative categories although sometimes there is some overlap.
Written comments
Spring 2002
1. "I really like Mrs. Lofaso. She is a wonderful teacher and I enjoyed being in her class. Although at times I wish she would have done a little more class activities for more student participation and enjoyment. "
"I feel as though the grading in class was not sufficient. There were 19 whole chapters that had to be covered through this course and the students were tested 4 times on the material. There were several quizzes, but I feel as though the testing could have been spread out more or maybe there could have been more tests to give many of the students a chance on raising their grade. I find it difficult in studying for 4-6 chapters at a time for one test. It may have been easier to elevate my grade if I was not tested on so much material at one time. I did not agree on the grading techniques for this particular course."
Spring 2004
1. "Mrs. Lofaso is a caring attentive professor who knows what she is teaching and allows input from students"
2. "I really enjoyed the class. It was interesting and never really boring. I like the power point presentation lectures also."
3. "Thanks so much for this class and the way it was taught. I’ve never really had a class that has kept me this intrigued. Thank you again."
" "I thought the class was very educational. I do feel there could have been more group interactions."
2. " I think there should be more tests with fewer chapter and the final maybe not cumulative"
Spring 2006
1. "Interesting facts about life and funny real life stories presented by the instructor"
2. "The class was full of info that was interesting and useful. The visuals (pictures, grafts and videos) help enhance what was being thought. Thanks."
3. " Liked most about class – discussions"
4. " I truly loved everything about the course. It was not only a fun learning experience, but it also taught me a lot of things I thought I already knew and I’ve learned so much. This was the best course I’ve ever took. Job well done!"
1. " thought there could be more structure. I also didn’t like feeling that I needed to teach myself some of the information."
2. "Not enough quizzes on information and text"
3. " Liked least about class – too much talking, not enough lecture about textbook"
4. "Need to spend more time covering the material and less time on movies and discussion. WE have other classes and if I wanted to teach myself I would have taken the course online. Class time was very wasteful most of the time and unproductive. The last test we spent 2 days out of 6 days actually covering the material, the rest were listening to people in the class talking about their personal problems and videos that don’t help us come test time. No one has time to spend reading the book and come to class."
Conclusions
In examining and comparing scores and comments from the three semesters, it is clear that there is a change in student responses. Students appear to be more satisfied overall with the class and with my instruction as I gain experience in the classroom. Additionally, as seen in written comments below, I have integrated suggestions from students on how to make the class a better learning experience. Early in the course, writing assignments were few and did not count much toward the final grade, making the majority of the final grade reliant on the various quizzes and exams. As I have grown in the class, I have added a number of writing assignments that integrate concepts from the class and also allow students to be more actively engaged in the material. Discussions are more common in the course which overall has been helpful and positively received by students. However, as can be seen in the samples of written comments, not everyone is going to be pleased with the structure of a class. Overall I believe that there has been great improvement over the past six years.