Student evaluations of teaching effectiveness: the interpretation of observational data and the principle of faute de mieux

Student opinion surveys are important but widely misunderstood tools for evaluating teaching effectiveness. In this brief review, an analogy is drawn between the use and interpretation of observational data for public health and biomedical research and the use of student opinion data in evaluating teach ing effectiveness. Sources of systematic error in the form of selection bias, information bias, and confounding are defined and illustrated. Original data concerning intermittent quid pro quo confounding (i.e., the effect of expected grades on student evaluations of teaching) are presented. Finally, the principle of faute de mieux ( lack of anything better ) and the interpretation of less-than-pristine data are considered

Walking in One\u27s Own Shoes

ILLNESS IN THE ANALYST:IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TREATMENT RELATIONSHIP Harvey J . Schwartz, M.D. and Ann-Louise S. Silver, M.D., Editors International Universities Press, New York 1990, 347 pp., $42.5

So Much Success, So Little Joy

GOOD GRIEF: THE STORY OF CHARLES M. SCHULTZ Rheta Grimsley Johnson Pharos Books, New York 1989 $17.95, 256 pgs

The effect of discussion groups on a field placement program comparison of two groups of undergraduate students

The purpose of the present research was to study changes that students with field placements experience with the addition of discussion groups to the regular supervision. The participants were 29 undergraduate students enrolled in psychology courses requiring field placements. These students volunteered to be in discussion groups concerning placements. Thirteen students were in the experimental condition of discussion groups and 16 were in the control group with no additional resource support or supervision. The discussion groups met weekly for approximately 50 minutes during the winter term and were led by advanced psychology honours students. At the beginning of the program, all students were given Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (1965); Fey’s Acceptance of Others (1955); semantic differential scales (Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1958) on their field placement site, target population, psychology undergraduate students, and advanced psychology undergraduate students, and they were asked whether they had made a career decision. In addition, a questionnaire on student learning and satisfaction with the placement program was given. No differences were found between the two groups. Limitations of the study were the small sample size and short duration of the program (one term)