A course evaluation refers to the process of determining or surveying the extent to which the course objectives are being met.
Usually, the surveys are done using course evaluation forms and are designed to provide feedback that will eventually determine the quality of learning the course offers. Therefore, teachers, together with the board of management, can decide to create or improve the course for the betterment of learning.
At the same time, course evaluations help troubleshoot gaps within the educational system. For instance, the received feedbacks can be compared to the expected results. This can help the management determine which sector they underperformed and hence need for improvement.
Benefits of Taking Course Evaluations
Whether you are in your mid-course, or just about to complete your semester, taking a course evaluation presents various benefits not only to the learner but to the teacher as well.
Helps improve your progress
Fill out the course evaluation presents you with the opportunity to reflect on your learning progress as you continue with your course. Through the evaluation, you will be able to determine what you’ve learned over the past, what topics interested you most, and which ones you didn’t understand well. With this in mind, you can look for the best ways to make an improvement in the future.
Help make better learning decisions
Through course evaluations, learners became aware of their strengths and weaknesses. As such, they can decide to dwell on courses that best match their interests or select better classes when reporting for the new quarters. At the same time, course evaluations help students make better decisions when exploring options for a major.
Assesses the effectiveness of the teaching method
In some situations, course evaluations form part of the larger set of evidence used in assessing teaching performance and effectiveness. Plus, the evaluations help the teacher to stay on the rightful course of teaching.
How to Create an Course Evaluation Form
Creating an effective course evaluation form requires enough planning. First, you need to determine what your goals are and the type of information you would want to acquire. What’s more, you need to ask yourself to what use will the information be put. Once you have the above information in mind, you can then proceed with creating your course evaluation form. Here are some useful tips that you can use during the process.
Use clear concise and relevant questions
When creating the course evaluation form, it’s important that you stray relevant to your questions. This will help you get the rightful feedback from the learners. For instance, if you want to collect information from a specific course, make sure you ask the learner questions relating to the course in question. Also note that if you make your questions clear, the chances of misinterpretations will be significantly reduced.
Make use of different question styles
There are different styles in which you can frame your questions to get the desired response. Some of the question types include single response and multiple response questions. The other set of questions you can use, especially when soliciting short comment responses, is open-ended or close-ended questions.
Define your rating scales
If you want to gather relative information about a specific evaluation topic, you can use scale rate questions in the course evaluation form. When you decide to choose this direction, make sure you clearly define your scales. Make sure you define your scale for easy reading and interpretation. If you are using a scale of 1-5, the following can be your definition;
1- Highly Dissatisfied
2- Dissatisfied
3- Neutral
4- Satisfied
5- Highly satisfied
Keep it brief
As a golden rule of thumb, it’s always recommended that you only ask the most necessary questions. Keeping your evaluation directly to the point makes it easier for students to complete. Also, a short course evaluation form can generate a higher response rate as compared to a lengthy evaluation.
Confidentiality
In order to make your course evaluation process much more effective, you need to state the confidentiality measures in the course evaluation form. When you maintain privacy and confidentiality, students will be much more willing to provide sincere and candid responses. Also, confidentiality helps increase response rates.
If you want to read about student evaluation, click here.
Free Course Evaluation Forms
Following are free editable templates that can be customized too:
Frequently Asked Questions
Are course evaluations confidential?
Yes. Any comments, feedback, or responses included in a course evaluation are always kept private and confidential. In some institutions, the course valuations are only shown after the final grades have been submitted.
Why should I complete my course evaluations?
Course evaluations are vital as they help the administration assess the strengths of learners during their semester. Also, it helps the teachers know areas that need improvement.
Do course evaluations matter?
Yes. Course evaluations help earners and teachers make solid decisions about their academic futures; also, they help test the efficiency of teaching methods.