The impact of individual consultation on student ratings of teaching |
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| Authors: | Sergio Piccinin Carolina Cristi Marcia McCoy |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Canada E-mail: piccinin@uottawa.ca;3. University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Abstract The present study addressed the impact of individual consultation on teaching improvement as measured by changes in student ratings. Subjects included 91 professors who presented naturally for individual consultation services over a seven‐year period at the teaching centre of a Canadian university. Interventions by the consultant fell into three categories: 1) Feedback‐Consultation, 2) Feedback‐Consultation‐Class Observation, and 3) Feedback‐Consultation‐Class Observation and Student Consultation. End of term student ratings for the course that was the subject of the consultation were compared with student ratings for the same course taught between one and three years prior to the consultation service, and for the same course taught between one to three years following consultation. The results showed that, overall, consultation was effective in improving the quality of the consultees’ teaching, as evidenced by an increase in mean student ratings of instruction. This effect persisted post consultation. Not all intervention groups, however, showed the same pattern of results. Change was evident immediately after the intervention except in the case of brief consultation, although follow‐up data showed improved teaching for the latter group. Control data provided evidence that the change in student ratings post consultation could reasonably be attributed to consultation effects. |
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