Scaling Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scaling Study - Essay Example The study is seen to be useful by instructors as feedback about their teaching, by students to select a particular course, and by university administrators for use in employee selection. The questionnaire is reliable in that the students were given the questionnaire at the end of the teaching session. The comments about instructor and course and suggestions about how to improve the course further establish the validity of the questionnaire. The students seem to be in a better position to comment and criticize the course content than the syllabus designers. The students center their attention on how well they were taught and what they learned. So the questionnaire is effective in understanding if the course and the instructor are on the right track: An evaluation often points to problem identification rather than problem solution, and thus should be considered one part of a continuous process of examination, adaption, improvement and evaluation. (Examples and Research on the Use of Questionnaires) The students were asked to determine the appropriateness of the recommended texts and the proposed aims and purpose of the course content. These questions received favorable ratings from the students. Barring a single student all the students found the course content very interesting and relevant. ... Almost all the students rated the instructor very poorly. The report showed that there was lack of enthusiasm in the instructor's way of teaching and he did not provide sufficient illustrations while teaching which made some students lose interest in the course. Also the instructor made little effort in helping the students who had difficulty in the course. The use of aids though helpful was not sufficient in illustrating the course contents. As a result the course was not difficult for those who are expected to achieve higher grades. But for certain students who found the course content very interesting but were not expected to achieve higher grades, the lack of effective teaching methodology made it very difficult to understand the course content. The students were also asked open ended questions as to what changes in the curriculum or the teaching method would be more effective. Almost all of them suggested little or no changes in the course content. But as far as teaching was con cerned there were many comments and suggestions. Thus the questionnaire was helpful in pointing out where the weakness lay. It helped in determining the need for a change in teaching methodology and not the course content. A systematic program of evaluation of teaching staff is more than a management information system, because the focus is value, worth, merit, and effectiveness and an interactive communication network among the parties (teaching staff and administrators) is a crucial part of an evaluation program. (Examples and Research on the Use of Questionnaires) Recommendations by students Questions like encouragement of class discussions by the instructor received poor ratings. Similarly use of aids and personal help to