The course evaluation survey is comprised of 7 main questions most commonly known as the 7 dimensions. These 7 dimensions provide students with guided questions in evaluating the teaching and learning process of a course.
As another fall semester begins again, it is often a good time to reflect on these dimensions by reviewing previous course evaluation scores and student feedback in order to seek ways to be continuously improving your courses.
It may be helpful to outline each dimension with some possible classroom strategies that could be incorporated. To get you started, we have outlined each dimension along with one or two strategies you may find useful for each.
- The instructor was enthusiastic about the subject matter of the course.
- Share your passion for the topic by incorporating your work experiences, research findings and publication work into your lectures.
- The instructor communicated the course material clearly.
- Set up course content in organized modules by weeks, chapters or units within Canvas.
- The instructor engaged students by encouraging participation during class.
- Chunk your lectures into 10-15 min. segments. Have students interact with the content for the next 10 mins. before returning to another segment of your lecture. Reference the CTL website for additional active learning strategies.
- The instructor engaged students by encouraging course preparation, reflection, or other activities outside of class.
- Offer homework or pre-class activities that allow students to apply the concepts to their current real world situations.
- Offer social media or collaborative platforms such as google docs in order to share their files with peers and work in real time.
- The instructor provided timely feedback on my work (homework, assignments, exams, etc.)
- Utilize grading tools such as Gradescope that allow you to pre-populate your feedback based on student responses.
- The instructor displayed a personal interest in students and their learning.
- Provide timely feedback.
- Try to arrive early to class and stay a few minutes after (if room schedule allows) to have informal conversations with students.
- The instructor uses technology appropriately.
- Introduce one or two technologies that complement your lectures. For example, try a digital interactive whiteboard such as jamboard.
- Engage students with polling questions via iClicker.
Taking time to reflect and plan strategies for each of these dimensions at the beginning of the semester will be beneficial at the end of the semester as students evaluate these seven dimensions and provide feedback on what worked well. If you would like to discuss the Student rating of instruction in more detail, please feel free to reach out to the CTL at 487-3000.