Improved Student Evaluations of Teaching

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are one of the official means to gauge the performance and effectiveness of an instructor at higher-education institutions. They are often used for promotion/tenure decisions as well as to guide faculty into becoming effective instructors. But the question is whether, as currently implemented at UT Austin, SETs are reliable indicators of (a) effective teaching, and (b) long-lasting, impactful learning? A number of studies have shown that SETs proctored during the last days of classes are often a reflection of “student satisfaction”, “likeability” of the instructor, and/or student performance in the course. Furthermore, it has been documented that under-represented minority faculty tend not to do well with SETs; there are inevitable perceptions about race and gender by students which can bias the outcome. Some studies have also shown that SETs can lead to grade inflation, poor teaching, and superficial learning, together with avoidance to challenge students to think “outside the box”. This PTF project will explore the implementation of alternative ways to appraise effective learning and teaching than currently done with standard SETs.