Resumen de Teaching evaluation practices in engineering programs: current approaches and usefulness
Keisha A. Villanueva, Shane A. Brown, Nicole P. Pitterson, David S. Hurwitz, Ann Sitomer
The evaluation of teaching is a critical aspect in higher education. There is substantial knowledge based on best teachingevaluation practices that can be used, yet there is a lack of research regarding teaching evaluation practices that are usedspecifically in engineering programs. This research characterized teaching evaluation practices within engineeringprograms across the country, to understand and assess the current state of practice. Three research questions wereexplored: (1) What teaching evaluation practices are used in engineering programs? (2) Which practices are used forformative and/or summative purposes? (3) What practices do engineering faculty report as useful? An exploratorysequential mixed-method design, utilizing interview and survey methods was used. In the qualitative phase, data werecollected using semi-structured interviews followed by the quantitative phase, which included the development of a surveyto more fully understand the evaluation practices of the interviewed participants. Thirty-four educators, including courseinstructors, department heads, and program coordinators in engineering programs participated. The result of this studyshowed that end-of-course student evaluation of teaching (SET) is the most common approach. In addition to SET, otherapproaches to teaching evaluation include classroom observation by peers or non-peers, evaluation of classroommaterials, and student mid-course evaluations. It was also identified that the formative practices used mainly to gatherstudent feedback or to improve faculty teaching are useful to the participants. Although there is substantial interest inimproving teaching evaluation practices, generally current practices are still much different from identified best practicessuch as evaluating active learning approaches in the classroom, constructive alignment of outcomes, activities andassessments as well as the frequency and quality of feedback to students. The teaching evaluation system in engineeringprograms can be improved when educators become aware of and choose to adopt approaches that have been demonstratedto improve teaching and student learning.
