Factors that influence student ratings of instruction

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of student ratings of instruction by analyzing their relationships with several variables, including gender, academic rank, specialty, teaching time, and teaching method, at a medical school.

METHODS: This study analyzed the student ratings of 297 courses at Ajou University School of Medicine in 2013. SPSS version 12.0 was used to analyze the data and statistics by t-test, analysis of variance, and Scheffe test.

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in student ratings between gender, rank, and specialty. However, student ratings were significantly influenced by teaching times and methods (p<0.05). Student ratings were high for teaching times of 10 hours or more and small-group learning, compared with lectures. There was relatively mean differences in students ratings by teaching times, specialty and rank, although the difference in ratings was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: Student ratings can be classified by teaching time and method for summative purposes. To apply student ratings to the evaluation of the performance of faculty, further studies are needed to analyze the variables that influence student ratings.