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You should take the time to develop a questionnaire that you can use to evaluate your course
and instruction. Since students are the recipients of your instruction, it would be logical to ask
their opinion of your instructional procedures. Their feedback could improve your future
courses.
When you receive feedback from students, be cautious when you interpret the results. Students
do not perceive your course as you or other instructors do. Students tend to give high ratings to
instructors who have a “flashy” presentation style and lower ratings to those who have an
excellent knowledge of the subject matter but have poor presentation skills. If students are
required to complete the questionnaire after they have completed a difficult test or challenging
activity, they may provide more negative comments than they would if the questionnaire was
offered at a different time. I expect that you might act similarly in the identical situation.
The items listed below will help you prepare and present student questionnaires.
Once you have obtained the completed questionnaires, check for commonalities in the
responses. Prioritize the items that need improvement. List the items that you do successfully.
Cautiously interpret the results. Ask yourself questions such as, “Did I really go over that
subject too quickly? Do I need to provide additional learning resources?”
Unless you review the results of the student questionnaire with another instructor, it is likely that
improvement on your part will be minimal. Choose an instructor you trust and respect or contact
your institution’s professional development department. Some instructors will discuss the
questionnaire results with their students and others will mount the results on the Internet so that
everyone can see the results. Thus, evaluation becomes an open process.
What follows is an example of a questionnaire that you could use with your students. It covers
the organization, delivery, and facilitation of a course. You may want to adapt it. Note that it
provides some, but not a lot of detail about the instructor’s facilitation skills. The example
provided on the next page begins with easy, non-threatening questions and asks for the
students suggestions. Then, it poses more challenging questions as it asks them to rate their
feelings – they must select a point on a rating scale. Finally it concludes with open-ended
questions that encourage them to state how the course could be improved. The questionnaire
is too long, but it is provided here so that you can select and adapt the questions that you feel
would be useful. This type of questionnaire provides much more detailed and helpful information
than “happy sheets” – those that simply ask students to say whether they liked or did not like the
course and sometimes ask what students liked about the course. It also contains some
questions that have been repeated in a different form to check that the students are being
consistent with their responses.
Design your own course evaluation questionnaire to provide you with answers to the following
basic questions:
Did students learn from the course? Were the instructional objectives achieved?
How successful was the course from the students’ point of view?
Were the instructional methods, resources, and evaluation strategies appropriate for
the objectives, content, and students?
How could the course be improved?
Note:
If you want to evaluate a distance or online course, refer to the article “Criteria for Evaluating the
Quality of Online Courses” by Clayton R. Wright. It can be accessed by conducting a Google or
Yahoo search.
If you are seeking questions that you can use to elicit whether students understand the subject
matter being presented or want to manage your classroom more effectively, refer to “Dealing
with Challenging Instructional Situations” which is published by The College Quarterly. The
article can be found on the Web.
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Evaluating Your Course: Developing a Student Questionnaire by Clayton R. Wright, crwr77[at]gmail.com 2
Student Questionnaire:
Course and Instructor Evaluation
Developed by Clayton R. Wright
crwr77[at]gmail.com
1. How many hours did you usually spend preparing for each class? __________ hours
All _____ Most ____ Half ____ Some ____ None ____
If you indicated “No”, what readings should have been included in the course? Be specific.
4. Did you need outside assistance or resources to complete the course? Yes ___ No ___
If you indicated “Yes”, what type of assistance or resources did you obtain and from where?
5. Was the work load too heavy ____, just right ____, or too light ____?
6. Did the course cover too much ____, too little ____, or just enough ___ information?
7. Did you receive sufficient feedback on assignments and tests? Yes __ Sometimes ___No___
If you answered “Sometimes” or “No”, what kind of feedback were you seeking?
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Evaluating Your Course: Developing a Student Questionnaire by Clayton R. Wright, crwr77[at]gmail.com 3
8. Was there sufficient local or national content that related the subject matter to your life?
Yes ___ No ___
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Evaluating Your Course: Developing a Student Questionnaire by Clayton R. Wright, crwr77[at]gmail.com 4
For the following questions, place an “X” in the appropriate box. Note that the scale progresses from
strongly disagree (a rating of 1) on the left to strongly agree (a rating of 5) on the right. If the question is
not appropriate, please put the symbol NA after the question.
Strongly Strongly
Disagree Agree
Statement
1 2 3 4 5
9 The course objectives were clearly stated.
10 The instructional methods, resources, and evaluation methods were
appropriate for the objectives.
11 The instruction provided fit the description given in the course outline.
12 The grading or evaluation system was adequately explained.
13 The required textbooks or learning materials were helpful in completing
the course.
14 Optional resources were provided and were helpful.
15 The class sessions were well organized. Ideas were presented logically.
16 Class time was used effectively.
17 New information and skills were linked to previous experiences.
18 The instructor took the time to arouse and motivate student interest in the
subject matter and to relate the content to future applications.
19 Adequate time was allotted to deal with important or difficult concepts.
45. Did the course meet your expectations? Please explain why it did or did not meet your expectations.
46. What did you like most about the course? List at least three items.
48. What changes in course procedures would you suggest? What would you like to add or delete from
the course?
50. Please provide additional comments in the remaining space. If necessary, use the back of this sheet.
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Evaluating Your Course: Developing a Student Questionnaire by Clayton R. Wright, crwr77[at]gmail.com 6