Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of a Teaching Evaluation Process

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2007 by Surratt, Christopher K, Desselle, Shane P

Objective. To assess PharmD students' perceptions of the usefulness of Duquesne University's Teaching Effectiveness Questionnaire (TEQ), the instrument currently employed for student evaluation of teaching.

Methods. Opinions of PharmD students regarding the TEQ were measured using a survey instrument comprised of Likert-type scales eliciting perceptions, behaviors, and self-reported biases.

Results. PharmD students viewed student evaluation of teaching as appropriate and necessary, but conceded that the faculty members receiving the best evaluations were not always the most effective teachers. Most students indicated a willingness to complete the TEQ when given the opportunity but expressed frustration that their feedback did not appear to improve subsequent teaching efforts.

Conclusion. The current TEQ mechanism for student evaluation of teaching is clearly useful but nevertheless imperfect with respect to its ability to improve teaching. Future research may examine other aspects of pharmacy students' roles as evaluators of teaching.

Keywords: assessment, questionnaire, survey, evaluation, teaching

INTRODUCTION

Even after years of study and considerable debate, the value of student evaluations of faculty teaching remains a contentious issue. Opponents of student evaluations cite the well-known ''Dr. Fox'' study, in which a nonsensical lecture delivered by a persuasive actor was afforded high ratings by a professional audience.1 Student evaluation proponents point out the many flaws in this study as well as evidence that students are careful discerners of teaching quality.2 Overall, students appear to be appropriate, albeit imperfect, evaluators of good teaching, and are better judges of some aspects (eg, creating an environment conducive to learning) than others (eg, expertise of the faculty member).3

A survey of nearly 700 pharmacy faculty members found that this population was neutral regarding whether student ratings were the best mechanism for evaluating their teaching.4Aprimary criticism of student evaluations of teaching among Duquesne University School of Pharmacy (DUSOP) faculty members is that the process amounts to a teacher ''popularity contest.'' According to this argument, the highest TEQ scores go to professors who(1) focus on entertaining the students during a lecture; (2) teach courses that students believe are ''more important''; and (3) liberally dispense ''A'' grades. However, the literature on student ratings of teaching (discussed below) suggests that such practices may not necessarily lead to high TEQ scores. Ironically, scores from pharmacy faculty self-evaluation of teaching do not differ significantly from student rating scores of the same teaching effort.5

The finding that a charismatic individual posing as an instructor could elicit high teaching ratings1 implies that the presentation style or personality of the instructor may influence the TEQ score. While students appreciate friendly, humorous instructors, these attributes are minor considerations in student evaluations of teaching. In fact, students criticized even popular instructors if the course was disorganized or unmotivating.6 If an instructor employs humor, anecdotes, or other strategies to fill class time chiefly in an effort to be popular or to decrease his or her workload, students may not learn the material necessary to pass board examinations and become competent pharmacists. On the other hand, by employing such strategies judiciously in an ''active learning'' environment that allows for feedback and discussion during the lecture, the instructor may stimulate learning and inquiry. Expressiveness and enthusiasm on the part of the instructor enhances learning and may mildly increase student rating scores of teaching,7 but instructor popularity itself does not assure good scores.6

If the level of rigor for the course is higher than average, one might expect students to penalize the instructor via the evaluation. This line of thinking also implies that instructors who teach ''low concept'' courses or courses that require little student effort outside of class will be rewarded with high TEQ scores. The literature on the subject suggests quite the opposite. Students are reported to give higher rating scores when the course is perceived tobe difficult or require hardwork.7-9Nevertheless, instructors in science courses receive lower student ratings than those teaching non-science courses,6,10 an inconsistency, assuming that science courses are more difficult. It may follow that instructors of science-based pharmacy courses are rated lower than instructors of non-science pharmacy courses in a pharmacy curriculum; alternatively, students may select pharmacy as a major primarily for their interest in science-based courses and thus may evaluate nonscience pharmacy courses lower.

The assumption that students tend to rate instructors higher who give higher grades is questionable at best. From reviews6,7 of over 60 articles dealing with the subject, the consensus is that there is little or no correlation between higher student ratings of teaching and higher grades for that course. For those studies in which a positive correlation between higher ratings and higher grades was observed, it has been hypothesized that the students who learned more earned higher grades and gave higher ratings.7