The 1st National Quality Assurance

Conference November 17-18, 2011

Student Feedback on Teaching and Learning at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus

Sandra Ingrid Gift and Candice HicksonQuality Assurance Unit

The UWI1

• Various mechanisms to collect student feedback

Focus on:

• Surveys conducted by the Quality Assurance Unit

• Questionnaire• Sample of convenience• Findings based on feedback from 718

students

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The questionnaire: open-ended questions:

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Most Valued aspects

• Disliked aspects

• Other comments

• Suggestions and Recommendations for Improvement

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• Emphasis on the learner’s perspective

• Student participation in the review process is enshrined as a value.

• “…students as a whole provide a thoughtful perspective on their own experience at an institution.”(Kane, Williams & Cappuccini-Ansfield, 2008, p.154 )

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• Student feedback ought not to be considered in isolation of “…students’ level of engagement, commitment and interest in their programmes of study” (Tomasco (1980), and Calderon et al., (1996) cited in Keane & Mac Labhrainn, 2005,)

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Teaching made up of multiple factors:

The following identified as important:

• Subject matter mastery

• Curriculum development

• Course design

• Delivery of instruction

• Availability to students and

• Administrative arrangements

(Cashin,1989, cited in Keane & Mac Labhrainn, 2005,p.6) 6

Dimensions of effective teaching are considered to be:

• Learning value

• Instructor enthusiasm

• Group interaction

• Individual rapport

• Organisation/clarity

• Breadth of coverage,

• Examinations/grading

• Assignments/readings and

• Workload difficulty

(Marsh, 1984 cited in Keane & Mac Labhrainn, 2005,p.6)7

Effective teachers are said, inter alia, to

• Treat students with respect and caring

• Use active, hands-on student learning

• Vary their instructional modes

• Provide frequent feedback to students on their performance

• Offer real-world practical examples

(Seldin, 1997a in Seldin, 1999, p.3 cited in Keane & Mac Labhrainn, 2005, pp.6-7)

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ANALYSIS OF STUDENT FEEDBACK

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UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION

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32%

12% 12%

36%

13%

8%

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

11

14%

12%

10%

17%

15% 15%

HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

12

25%

12%

11%12%

16%

32%

HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

13

18%

16%

9%

8%

14%

26%

HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

14

15%

11%

10%

8%

17%

21%

HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

ENGINEERING

15

23%

21%

13%

27%

20%

18%

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

16

24%

17%

12%

10%

15%

33%

ENGINEERING

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

17

16%

15%

13%

10%

12%

31%

ENGINEERING

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

18

32%

11%

6%

23%

11% 11%

ENGINEERING

UNDERGRADUATES RECENT GRADUATES

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16%

13%

12%

20%

14%

12%

ENGINEERING

CONCLUSION

• Students do indeed provide a thoughtful perspective on their own teaching and learning experience

• Students identify for themselves the various dimensions of effective teaching

• Student feedback can appear to be contradictory and difficult to interpret without full information about the reasons for their responses…the more qualitative comments, the better.

• The UWI should consider benchmarking student satisfaction over time in a consistent feedback cycle.

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

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