Fact Book
Common Data Set
More Macalester Facts
Assessment at Macalester
Course Evaluations
Data Release Policy
Surveys
About Us
Links
Home
Institutional Research
Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105
651-696-6411
Page maintained by
brownec at macalester dot edu
25 March 2013
Course Evaluations
Course evaluation forms are once again available through the Institutional Research Office. As in the past, use of this form is completely voluntary.
See Sample Forms: We are using two forms - a short or long version - developed by the IDEA Center in Kansas.
-
Place Your Order: If you would like to use the IDEA forms, you must contact Cheryl Browne (x6411, brownec at macalester dot edu) in the Institutional Research Office by Monday, April 8 with your choice of which form to use and in which courses you will use them.
-
Return the Forms by the Last Day of Classes: In order to send reports to you in a timely manner, forms received by the Registrar by the last day of classes, Tuesday, May 7, will have reports available in by the end of May. The IDEA center requires ten business days to generate reports in addition to the time required at Macalester for sorting and shipping. Results for evaluations received after May 7 will be sent out in June.
Sample forms and reports: |
Please do NOT print copies from the web to use in your classes. Instead, request them through the Institutional Research Office by calling x6411 or sending email to brownec at macalester dot edu. The .pdf versions here are only viewing copies and do not print precisely enough to be scanned. |
Resources: |
What are the benefits of using the IDEA forms?
The IDEA forms allow for more sophisticated and helpful feedback for instructors. Rather than emphasizing the instructor's teaching techniques or personality, the IDEA system focuses on student learning and the methods used to facilitate it. The system solicits students' feedback on their own learning progress, effort, and motivation, as well as their perceptions of the instructor's use of 20 instructional strategies and teaching methods. In addition, the IDEA system solicits information from instructors regarding their overall goals, and highlights these for them in the analysis and report. The IDEA survey forms are the product of years of research and have been extensively tested for reliability and validity.
What forms are available?
The “long” version of the IDEA form provides detailed feedback about instructional practices, while the “short” form is more streamlined and provides more room for student comments. The IDEA Center recommends that faculty use the long form initially and at regular intervals to help provide benchmarks about their instructional skills. The short form can be used at all other times, but provides less detailed information about instructional methods in the classroom.
Can I personalize the IDEA form to my own classroom practices?The form allows for additional questions tailored to an instructor’s individual practices. These might address course specifics (such as a new approach or assignment type) or broader departmental goals .
How can students provide written comments about my course?
There is some space on both IDEA forms for written comments, but there are no specific questions that solicit written responses. You can write your own questions and have students provide written responses on a separate piece of paper. Any student written comments submitted on separate pages will be returned to you after final grades have been submitted.
How can I learn more about the IDEA forms?
You can visit the IDEA website or contact the Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching for additional information.