Measuring tutor ratings in relation to curriculum implementation

Abstract

Greater dependence on students' ratings of their teachers for academic purposes requires a better understanding of the curricular factors likely to influence these ratings. This study examined first-year medical students' evaluation of their tutors in a faculty which has a clearly-defined educational philosophy and learning method but different approaches to the implementation of its curricular strands. Students' ratings were higher for tutors who were required to follow specific procedures and tasks in tutorial sessions, and more variable for tutors in strands which required no set routines. Caring for students and facilitating their learning were the most important qualities expected of all tutors. It is still not clear which of these qualities are trainable skills. However, their accurate assessment may require regular, intermittent criterion-based observations rather than a single end-of-term rating of perception.

Initial responses of first-year medical students to problem-based learning in a behavioural science course: role of language background and course content

“…There is a paradox in expecting group skills and group sharing within a medical school that retains a highly competitive and individualistic culture. Finally, even in an integrated course, different methods of encouraging PBL may be needed for different subjects (Feletti & Sanson‐Fisher 1983). Specifically, a diagnostic focus (Barrows 1988) is inappropriately narrow for behavioural science at first‐year level, where, rather than finding definitive solutions to problems, students are encouraged to consider multiple factors and perspectives.…”

Student feedback: influencing the quality of teaching in a paediatric module

“…Formal didactic lectures found no favour with students (Grieve 1992). Students also tend to perceive sessions that have been planned and that have clearly defined educational objectives to be of more value (Feletti & Sanson‐Fisher 1983). It is also important to acknowledge that students, particularly in their early years, may find it difficult to judge the tutor's knowledge.…”

“…the effectiveness of the educational experience, is sometimes lost in the assessment of tutorials. It is important to have clear guidelines when soliciting feedback and to make appropriate use of the information obtained (Feletti & Sanson‐Fisher 1983; Orlander & Fincke 1994). From their feedback, students quite clearly preferred the sessions where the teacher had prepared something a little different.…”

Proposal of statistical analysis to support the assessment method of a Brazilian Industrial Engineering course

“…Therefore, it is suggested to use Cohen's Kappa method of analysis which is a more robust measure (Cohen, 1960). Some Kappa's coefficient agreement analysis can be viewed in works developed by Ayatollahi et al (2013), Lee et al (2011), Shankland et al (2010, and Feletti & Sanson-Fisher (1983). In order to maintain a consistent nomenclature to describe the relative strength of the agreement associated with Kappa statistics, labels are assigned to the corresponding time intervals of Kappa's coefficient as described by Landis & Koch (1977) and are indicated in Table 4.…”