Assessing Teaching Effectiveness

Please offer your ideas on what constitutes effective teaching.

This brief survey is part of a project to evaluate seven university-wide items that would provide a core to all instruments used at SFSU to assess students' opinions of teaching effectiveness. Colleges, departments, and individual faculty would add addit ional items to the student feedback form to provide teaching effectiveness information unique to their own programs or teaching approaches.

The project is a collaborative effort between the Office of Academic Affairs and the Academic Senate. Please participate and provide anonymous feedback by entering your views below.

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Part I - SFSU Academic Senate Task Force

Each choice below shows the 15 characteristics of effective teaching that were identified by an SFSU Academic Senate Task Force on the Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness.

Please click on the bars and choose the three Senate Task Force identified criteria that you believe are most important.

1st choice 1. Organizes the course effectively. 2. Defines the course objectives, learning activities, requirements, and grading policies clearly. 3. Effectively uses assignments to enhance learning. 4. Makes the course material meaningful and shows significance of the subject. 5. Provides feedback on student progress. 6. Evaluation criteria are clearly presented and the instructor is fair in evaluating student work. 7. Encourages student participation. 8. Is sensitive and responsive to students as individuals. 9. Has command of the subject, including new developments in the field. 10. Presents class material in a clear and organized way. 11. Is enthusiastic in teaching. 12. Is available for discussion outside class time. 13. Stimulates students to think independently/critically. 14. Contributes to knowledge of the subject. 15. Rate the overall teaching effectiveness of the instructor.

2nd choice - 1. Organizes the course effectively. 2. Defines the course objectives, learning activities, requirements, and grading policies clearly. 3. Effectively uses assignments to enhance learning. 4. Makes the course material meaningful and shows significance of the subject. 5. Provides feedback on student progress. 6. Evaluation criteria are clearly presented and the instructor is fair in evaluating student work. 7. Encourages student participation. 8. Is sensitive and responsive to students as individuals. 9. Has command of the subject, including new developments in the field. 10. Presents class material in a clear and organized way. 11. Is enthusiastic in teaching. 12. Is available for discussion outside class time. 13. Stimulates students to think independently/critically. 14. Contributes to knowledge of the subject. 15. Rate the overall teaching effectiveness of the instructor.

3rd choice - 1. Organizes the course effectively. 2. Defines the course objectives, learning activities, requirements, and grading policies clearly. 3. Effectively uses assignments to enhance learning. 4. Makes the course material meaningful and shows significance of the subject. 5. Provides feedback on student progress. 6. Evaluation criteria are clearly presented and the instructor is fair in evaluating student work. 7. Encourages student participation. 8. Is sensitive and responsive to students as individuals. 9. Has command of the subject, including new developments in the field. 10. Presents class material in a clear and organized way. 11. Is enthusiastic in teaching. 12. Is available for discussion outside class time. 13. Stimulates students to think independently/critically. 14. Contributes to knowledge of the subject. 15. Rate the overall teaching effectiveness of the instructor.

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Part II - Literature on teaching effectiveness

The literature on teaching effectiveness reveals no standard, commonly agreed upon list of qualities related to effective teaching. The following list was developed based on what the various lists in the literature share in common.

Please click and choose the three that you believe are most important.

1st choice - 1. Organization of course knowledge and content. 2. Clear communication with students 3. Respectful, fair, and content-driven interactions with students 4. Concern for student learning 5. Provision of an environment for learning 6. Timely and fair feedback 7. Course difficulty and workload 8. Overall effectiveness of the instructor

2nd choice - 1. Organization of course knowledge and content. 2. Clear communication with students 3. Respectful, fair, and content-driven interactions with students 4. Concern for student learning 5. Provision of an environment for learning 6. Timely and fair feedback 7. Course difficulty and workload 8. Overall effectiveness of the instructor

3rd choice - 1. Organization of course knowledge and content. 2. Clear communication with students 3. Respectful, fair, and content-driven interactions with students 4. Concern for student learning 5. Provision of an environment for learning 6. Timely and fair feedback 7. Course difficulty and workload 8. Overall effectiveness of the instructor

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Part III - The Seven Proposed SFSU Core Items

The Seven Proposed SFSU Core Items
Please provide your feedback on the proposed seven core items listed below. Items 1-6 are rated according to a five point Likert scale (A=Strongly Agree to E=Strongly disagree). Item 7 is rated on a scale ranging from the most positive response (A=Highly Effective) to the least positive response (E=Ineffective).
1. The instructor defined the course objectives, learning activities, requirements and grading policies clearly in the syllabus. Feedback on item #1 2. The instructor organized the course in a way that facilitated my learning. Feedback on item #2 3. The instructor created an environment that stimulated my learning. Feedback on item #3 4. The instructor provided helpful and timely feedback on my performance and progress throughout the semester. Feedback on item #4 5. The instructor was open to a variety of points of view. Feedback on item #5 6. The instructor demonstrated respect for all students. Feedback on item #6 7. When I consider the contribution to my learning, this instructor's teaching was: Feedback on item #7

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I am (required)

Faculty
Student

If faculty, my faculty rank (optional) Full Professor Associate Professor Assistant Professor Instructor
If student, my student level (optional) Freshmen Sophomore Junior Senior Graduate

My College (optional) Behavioral and Social Sciences Business Creative Arts Education Ethnic Studies Extended Learning Health and Human Services Humanities Science and Engineering

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