TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEM FOR INSTRUCTIONAL-EVALUATION - IS THERE CONSENSUS REGARDING WHAT CONSTITUTES EFFECTIVE TEACHING

The judgment policies of faculty and students from 4 academic divisions were modeled using multiple regression to determine (a) what dimensions of teaching are considered most important, (b) whether faculty and students differ in their conceptions of effective teaching, and (c) whether the relative importance of the dimensions of teaching is seen as depending on the academic discipline being taught. 40 male faculty members and 40 male undergraduates rated profiles of 100 hypothetical instructors, which contained 7 quantified cues reflecting instructor performance on dimensions thought to be related to teaching effectiveness. The dimensions, in order of importance, were (a) amount of information imparted in the course (INFO), (b) arousal of student interest (AROU), (c) lecture and/or presentation style (LECT), (d) instructor's general knowledge of the field (KNOW), (e) intellectual demand of the course (DEMD), (f) general rapport with students (RAPR), and (g) clarity of course requirements and grading procedures (PROC). Findings suggest that a valid system of instructional evaluation should focus on INFO, AROU, LECT, and KNOW. Very few Ss varied the weight attached to the dimensions of teaching as a function of the area rate. Hierarchical grouping procedures were used to cluster raters according to policy homogeneity and 4 types of raters were identified. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.