Evaluation of Students Feedback - A Case Study

Evaluation of Students Feedback for Quality of Technical Teaching - A Case Study

Gomatesh M.Ravanavar1, Dr. Poornima M. Charantimath

2, Savita G. Ravanavar

3

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The success of any teaching programme lies in planning a curriculum, which allows

the students to gain maximum meaningful knowledge in the short span of time available. To

achieve this goal, it is very important to have adequate communication between teachers and

students. The students undoubtedly are in the best position to comment on the effectiveness of any

teaching system and they may be regarded as the best judges to assess the teaching and evaluation

methods. This paper aims to help technical institutions make the best use of the student feedback to

enhance learning and teaching.

All institutions collect feedback from their students, in different forms, and use it to improve the

quality of education they provide. “Analysis and Follow-up of Performance Appraisal” is one of the

parameter carrying a weightage of 160 marks as per NBA. Thus it is increasingly important for

institutions to ensure that feedback is collected effectively and used wisely.

Objectives: The purpose of the student feedback questionnaire is to gather information on students'

learning experience, as well as their responses to the course and the teacher(s). The study was

designed to obtain feedback on teaching and evaluation methods in the college from the students of

different branches of Engineering during their course of study in the middle of the semester to serve

as useful Quality tool for the teacher to improve his/her teaching.

Method: A written fourteen Multiple Choice Questionnaire covering topics on various teaching

and evaluation methods was used to get feedback from the students and assessed.

Conclusion: In the present study, we found that out of 101 theory subjects taught by the teachers,

the teaching of 77 subjects is graded excellent and 24 subjects as good (that is the students are

satisfied with teaching of most of the subjects). Further, a study was also made to quantify the

preferences for each question given by the students. This has helped the faculty to concentrate more

on higher preferential questions leading to maximum satisfaction of the students.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1. Professor & Dean (Academic), Bahubali College of Engineering, Shravanabelagola-573135, India

e-mail: [email protected]

2. Professor, KLS’ Institute of Management Education & Research, Belgaum-590011, India


3. Asst. Professor, Bahubali College of Engineering, Shravanabelagola-573135, India


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1. Introduction:

All institutions collect feedback from their students, in different forms, and use it to improve the

quality of education they provide. Thus it is increasingly important for institutions to ensure that

feedback is collected effectively and used wisely. Collecting and using students’ feedback on

quality and standards in learning and teaching in Engineering College is one of the criteria in

Accreditation process.

“Analysis and Follow-up of Performance Appraisal” is one of the parameter as per Manual of

Accreditation, National Board of Accreditation (NBA), AICTE, New Delhi, under criterion IV.1,

serial number E, carrying a weightage of 160 marks (for whole IV.1). This activity can be carried

out by many methods such as:

1. Peer Reviews (includes classroom teaching, curriculum design, teaching materials, and

assessment) of the modules taught by the faculty,

2. Student Feedback,

1. Teaching Portfolio,

2. Interview with the candidate,

3. Letters from students, alumni and colleagues,

4. Interviews with students,

5. Faculty reports on theses supervised,

6. Interviews with immediate superiors, and so on.

It is generally agreed that reviewing the teaching and evaluation methods at regular intervals and

modifications of methodologies is a must for improvement in undergraduate teaching. Course

assessment instruments such as feedback help the faculty to identify the strengths and weaknesses

of their teaching and evaluation methods. Hence in developing teaching and evaluation strategies, it

is important for the teachers to obtain feedback that allows them to modify their methods to meet

the needs of their students. One important form of feedback comes from evaluation of various

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teaching/learning methods followed by students. Currently, student’s feedback represents the

primary means used by most programmes to assess their methodology.

2. Objectives:

In principle, student feedback can be obtained for at least three different reasons: to monitor the

quality of teaching and learning; to improve the quality of teaching and learning; and to advise

potential students about the quality of teaching and learning. The research evidence suggests: that

student feedback provides an important source of evidence for assessing quality; that it can be used

to inform attempts to improve quality (but simply collecting such feedback is unlikely to lead to

such improvements); and that student feedback can be communicated in a way that is informative

to future students. . It will be important for institutions to clarify whether the collection of feedback

is a formal part of the teaching-learning process or whether it is simply tantamount to institutional

research.

Among the main purposes of obtaining feedback cited by the institutions responding to the

consultation are ‘enhancing the students’ experience of learning and teaching’ and ‘contributing to

monitoring and review of quality and standards’. Other purposes cited include ‘to ensure the

effectiveness of course design and delivery’, ‘enabling a dialogue with students’, ‘helping students

reflect on their experiences’, ‘as part of the teaching and learning process’, ‘identifying good

practice’, ‘measuring student satisfaction’ and ‘contributing to staff development’. In many cases

student feedback is used for a multiplicity of purposes.

Feedback from students about adopted teaching and evaluation methodology is considered to be the

best method to bridge the communication gap between teachers and students. It is an inexpensive

and valuable tool to improve the quality of teaching. Though a lot of verbal and non-verbal

feedback is conveyed to the teachers, much of the work is not published. This inspired us to

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undertake this study and improve student and teacher awareness and make the teaching and

evaluation more effective. To achieve this goal, feedback on teaching and evaluation methods in

different subjects of Engineering of the undergraduate students was obtained in our institution in

the middle of the semester to serve as useful Quality tool for the teacher to improve his/her

teaching.

3. Few Challenges:

The method by which student feedback is obtained and the use of this feedback in the evaluation of

their teaching is a very emotive issue to many teachers. Correct Evaluation of Students Feedback is

a challenging and a very difficult task. Undoubtedly it raises few questions in the mind of an

evaluator.

• How much feedback is needed?

• Which instruments should be used?

• What should be the subject of the feedback?

• When should the feedback be gathered?

• From whom should the feedback be gathered?

• Would a single questionnaire be suitable for all students?

• How about the validity and reliability of student feedback?

• Whether students are right persons to evaluate the faculty?

• Whether feedback serves any useful purpose?

• What does the feedback tell us?

• Does the process really improve the learning experience?

• How much time is given to the students to answer the feedback questionnaire?

• What is the right process of evaluation after the feedback? and so on…

These are some of the questions that concern tutors who wish to understand the educational

experience of their students. This paper aims to offer some support and encouragement for tutors

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who are thinking about the evaluation process at course or module level. An action research model

is adopted. There is always a scope for improvement in gathering feedback and evaluation

processes. Looking to the above-mentioned challenges, it was thought, for at least few questions we

need to find satisfactory answers. The following adapted method will justify few need statements.

4. Method:

Students’ feedback about teaching was a common practice in the college being followed since

2005-06. Each faculty used to evaluate the comments submitted by the students on his/her own

method and necessary actions to meet the requirements of the students were being taken

individually. This time (Odd Semester of 2008-09), a common method of quantitative weightage

was followed where in Total Marks of each faculty was converted into a scale of 10 for a given

subject to a particular class.

The feedback may be obtained either through the use of questionnaires or through discussion and

interview with students. In our college we have used a standard questionnaire tool consisting 14

questions covering most of the teaching and learning skills. A structured questionnaire (Table 4.1)

was developed from interviews and discussions with the students and staff members of the college.

The questionnaire preserved anonymity. The Multiple Choice Questionnaire was given to the

students just after completing their first I.A. Tests. (That is after eight weeks from starting of the

semester so that the faculty can get a chance to improve/modify their methodology of teaching if

required for the remaining period of the semester; which will benefit both staff and students).

Students were asked to tick (√) their choice of answer, which they considered was the best.

Students were also allowed to offer their own suggestions/remarks. They were given 20 minutes to

complete the comment form and were not allowed to discuss amongst themselves during this time.

They were asked not to write down their personal particulars so that they could give their frank

opinions.

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BAHUBALI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, SHRAVANABELAGOLA.

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENT FEED BACK ABOUT THE TEACHERS

NOTE TO STUDENTS: This questionnaire will enable our teacher to know his / her strength and weakness as seen by you. It will

help him / her to retain his / her talents and improve upon his / her disabilities. Please put a mark (√) for the appropriate choice of

your answer and return it without exposing your identity.

Name of the teacher: Date:

Subject name:

1. Does the teacher come well prepared for the class?

a. Always b. Sometimes c. Never

2. The teachers English, Presentation and teaching skills are

a. Good b. Satisfactory c. Unsatisfactory

3. How is the teacher’s voice?

a. Loud & Clear b. Difficult to hear at last bench c. Not audible

4. How the teacher works on black board?

a. Neat & clear b. Satisfactory c. Shabby

5. Does the teacher allow you to ask questions and answer the questions you have asked?

a. Always b. Evades c. Never

6. Does the teacher revise and ask questions, which are relevant to the topic discussion?

a. Always b. Rarely c. Never

7. Does the teacher give sufficient examples and solve previous examination problems in the class?


8. Does the teacher assist you in laboratory and solve laboratory related problems in the class?


9. Does the teacher give assignments and check the assignments?


10. Does the teacher come in time to class and take class till the end of the hour?


11. Does the teacher neglect the acts of indiscipline in the class and outside the class?

a. Never b. Always c. Sometimes

12. How is the teacher’s assessment of your internal assessment (test) books?

a. Correct b. Very Strict c. Erratic

13. Does the teacher favor some group of students while evaluating internal test books and regarding other issues?

a. Yes b. No

14. Does the teacher dictate the notes in the class?

a. No b. Yes (if yes) time spent i) <25% ii) between 25-50% iii) >50%

15. Any additional information you wish to add about your teacher

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Table 4.1 Questionnaire for evaluation of teaching and evaluation methods

The data collected was analysed. Members of the research group individually analyzed the

frequency of different statements made by students who commented the suggestions /comments

section of the questionnaire. Subsequently, the research group agreed on a common, collective

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consensus on the analysis of these comments. Each question was evaluated for 10 marks. The

frequency of comments for each question of the questionnaire was listed out. The total marks for

each subject of teaching were then quantified to a scale of 10. (One such calculated sheet is shown

below. Table 4.2)

Students Feedback Evaluation Sheet

Name of the Staff: Gomatesh M. Ravanavar No. Of Students: 43

Class: V Mechanical Year: 2008-09 (odd sem.) Subject: Design of Machine Elements -I

Sl.No. Q.No.

a b c

Out of Total % Nos. Multiplied by Sub Total Nos. Multiplied by Sub Total Nos. Multiplied by Sub Total Nos. Multiplied by Sub Total

1 1 43 6 258 0 3 0 0 1 0 258 258 100

2 2 41 6 246 2 3 6 0 1 0 258 252 97.67

3 3 42 6 252 1 3 3 0 1 0 258 255 98.84

4 4 42 6 252 1 3 3 0 1 0 258 255 98.84

5 5 40 6 240 3 3 9 0 1 0 258 249 96.51

6 6 41 6 246 2 3 6 0 1 0 258 252 97.67

7 7 40 6 240 3 3 9 0 1 0 258 249 96.51

8* 8 0 6 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0** 0 0.00

9 9 23 6 138 19 3 57 1 1 1 258 196 75.97

10 10 43 6 258 0 3 0 0 1 0 258 258 100.00

11 11 37 6 222 3 1 3 3 3 9 258 234 90.70

12 12 35 6 210 8 3 24 0 1 0 258 234 90.70

13 13 3 0 0 40 10 400 0 0 0 430 400 93.02

14 14 5 0 0 23 3 69 15 5 75 13 2 26 215 170 79.07

15 Total 3483 3262

* Don't enter any numbers if lab(s) is (are) not being engaged 0.937

** If engaging the lab(s) enter: the product of numbers of students x 6 On a scale of 10 →→ 9.365

Signature of the HOD Signature of the Faculty

Table 4.2 Students Feedback Evaluation Sheet

Observations and results of all the questionnaires of the different faculty was then consolidated and

put in the table form. The marks scored by individual faculty on a scale of 10 for a given subject to

a particular class were assigned a grade as given in Table 4.3

8.0 to 10 6.0 to 7.9 4.0 to 5.9 2.0 to 3.9 0.0 to 1.9

Excellent Good Satisfactory Un Satisfactory Poor

Table 4.3 Scaling and Grading

It was observed that a few students did not attempt some of the questions, whilst in some cases, as

expected; more than one option was ticked. In the present study, lecturers were accepted as

excellent or good by most of the students. Certain suggestions/comments were also made by

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students, which were related to various aspects of teaching and evaluation methods. The common

suggestions for improving teaching and evaluation are given in Table 4.4

Sl.No. Suggestions / Comments

1 Give more time for revision cum self-study

2 Make lectures more interesting and enjoyable

3 Help understanding the concepts rather than giving merely notes in lectures

4 Include more tutorials and decrease number of lectures.

5 Portion should be covered at least 15 days before university examinations

6 Please solve difficult & different problems

7 Solve more problems from previous question papers

8 Explain with more practical examples

9 Be friendly

10 Give tips for method of studying

Table 4.4 Common suggestions/comments of students

Student’s perceptions about the educational methodology are useful for modifying and improving

the quality of the educational environment. Continuous quality improvement and innovation are

very essential in engineering education. It helps in making the subjects more interesting for the

students and enables them to understand and memorize the subjects in a better way. The ultimate

aim is to identify areas of strengths and/or weaknesses of the methodology used. The results of the

present study reveal that students are satisfied with the present teaching methodology.

5. Analysis and Interpretations

Responsibility for the interpretation of the results of the analysis of feedback data will depend on

the purpose of gathering it. If the purpose is to inform and improve the teaching and learning

process, interpretation best resides with those who do the teaching (i.e. the teacher and/or the

programme team). If questions have been asked in questionnaires that relate to teacher

performance, then the results should be treated confidentially and their interpretation will remain

with the teacher and his/her Head of the Department. Otherwise module and/or programme level

feedback will be analysed and interpreted by teaching staff responsible for modules and programme

teams. One of their responsibilities will be to summarize the data for use by other groups within

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the institution. Normally, where institution-wide surveys are undertaken, a central unit will take on

the role of analysis, but may involve other academic and service units to interpret the results,

usually through the committee structure.

6. Actions and Decision Making

Departmental heads and programme/subject leaders have a role to ensure that individual teachers

are properly responsive to feedback from students. If committees are to properly discharge their

responsibilities, their secretaries and chairs must ensure that information is provided to them in an

accessible and digestible way, that decisions are accurately recorded and implemented, and the

effects of the resultant actions duly monitored. At many points, we have noted the multiple

purposes of student feedback. Monitoring the effectiveness of existing teachers is but one purpose.

Student contributions to strategic decisions on many issues are also important and these include

academic review and planning. A further presumption of good practice relates to actions and

decision-making as follows:

If students are to be willing to keep completing surveys, it is important that the Institution has rapid

and effective mechanisms for deciding, reporting and follow up action taken to enhance quality,

standards and to address areas of concern identified by the students.

As mentioned above, some issues, especially at module level, can be resolved immediately. Other

issues, especially those related to policies and resources, need time for discussion by various parties

and often need to be considered further up the committee chain. The latter takes time and may

result in issues being shelved or not being tackled at all.

Feedback to students is as important as feedback from students. Institutions need to ensure that

students are told of the results of feedback and of any actions taken in response to it. When actions

cannot be taken, the reasons need to be conveyed to students and, if possible, their further reactions

obtained.

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7. Conclusion

Feedback has been called the lifeblood of learning and is thought to be particularly beneficial if

provided under conditions that are stress free. Frequent feedback may help the teachers to plan the

curriculum and improve upon the teaching and evaluation methodologies adopted in their

institutions. For this reason, it is important to determine the feedback provided from these

evaluations to improve teaching and evaluation methods. It is very essential to synchronize

teaching and evaluation methods with special requirements of engineering students. The

suggestions based on this study will be implemented during the next semester of the academic term.

If a teacher feels that a particular comment is unfair or prejudiced, she/he may defend

herself/himself in writing on the negative points raised in the questionnaire. The teacher’s defense

will be an integral part of the evaluation system.

In the present study, we found that out of 101 theory subjects taught by the teachers, the teaching of

77 subjects are graded excellent and 24 subjects as good by the students (that is the students are

satisfied with teaching of most of the subjects). Further, a study was also made to quantify the

preferences for each question given by the students. This has helped the faculty to concentrate more

on higher preferential questions leading to maximum satisfaction of the students.

Acknowledgement

We express our sincere gratitudes to all our colleagues who have helped us in getting the students

feedback and submitted the evaluation reports of their individual subjects for preparing this paper.

We also express our gratitudes to all the authors who have uploaded the contents on the web which

is made available free.

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Evaluation of Students Feedback - A Case Study

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