Alternative forms of evaluation

Whilst most teaching environments can benefit from the summative evaluation feedback on learning offered by ANUSET, this does not mean other ongoing forms of evaluation are unnecessary. Moreover, in some contexts alternative forms of summative evaluation may also be more productive. Some examples include:

Focus groups

Focus groups are structured feedback sessions that gather information from some or all students in a course. It is a form of evaluation that can be equally used in the formative stage of courses (such as mid-semester), at the end or even after time has elapsed.

When well designed, this structured and highly interactive form of evaluation most often ensures both rich and deep feedback that is mediated by differing and debated student viewpoints. Depending on the feedback needs identified, focus groups can be:

• either formal (with an independent facilitator and anonymity) or quite informal (with teaching staff and open exchange);

• expansive (dealing with major issues of course design, delivery or assessment) or confined (to specific learning questions);

• collaborative (with an identified common purpose) or provocative (to prompt creativity, innovative ideas or critical analysis).

Regardless, focus groups enable students to compare and contrast their own and their colleagues’ views in a public forum. They put individual and unusual views to the test by exposing them to the scrutiny of the group. Another clear advantage is that it is also a very visible commitment of seeking detailed student feedback and therefore, if acted upon, helps develop positive student-teacher relationships.

Peer evaluation and Self evaluation

Peer review is a collegial, mutually beneficial form of teaching evaluation in which information about teaching and learning is formulated, exchanged, challenged, tested and re-formulated between colleagues, as a standard part of professional practice. In essence, peer review is an opportunity to obtain structured feedback from a colleague or mentor to improve and enhance teaching and learning outcomes. It provides a potent opportunity (be it formal or informal) to evaluate teaching practice and learning outcomes with a colleague who has a strong contextual familiarity: making it ideally a highly productive and at times even intuitive process. Using a Community of Practice [1] model is also an ideal way for teachers to engage openly in a collaborative dialogue around learning to generate new pedagogical strategies.

Self evaluation is active and ongoing inquiry into such things as the effectiveness of learning design, learning activities, learner engagement and assessment. It means consciously exploring insights, dilemmas and successes in teaching and learning practice to improve teaching practice and learning outcomes. Often this is linked to:

• clarifying teaching objectives;
• identifying strengths and weaknesses in achieving these objectives;
• narrowing down any areas for improvement;
• devising courses of action for improvement; and
• further reflecting on these changes as they are put into practice.

An excellent resource developed by CEDAM on peer and self evaluation is:

Åkerlind, G. & Pettigrove, M. 1996. Peer Review and Self-Evaluation: a toolkit for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning [2]. ANU: CEDAM.

Ideas for gathering feedback from your students

Pettigrove, M. & Collins, R. 1996.  Gathering Students' Views of Teaching and Learning: A Toolkit Resource Booklet for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning [3]. ANU: CEDAM.

Forms of rapid feedback

Not all evaluation needs to be structured: sometimes extremely useful feedback can come from quite simple strategies. Examples of this can include:

Rapid review: (e.g., Minute Papers) based on two or three simple open-ended questions that can explore various issues in teaching and learning so that you can maintain or improve upon them as the course progresses. Issues to explore might include:

• Are the learning goals of the course being met? Are students learning what you expected them to learn?
• What was taught well? What needs clarification?
• Are the important points fully understood?
• Are there any problems that need to be addressed?
• What do students think about specific aspects of the course (e.g., materials, activities, assessment)?

Evaluation on the run: regular short informal evaluations or informal student focus groups which are used as the course develops to ensure it is meeting learner needs (to assess levels of learner engagement).

Evaluation case studies: designed to evaluate student understanding of key components or concepts of a course and the gaps that remain (for formative data).

Concept mapping: asking students to demonstrate visually the relationship between concepts and issues in a course, which can often graphically demonstrate prevailing gaps or misconceptions (for macro analysis of student learning).

Action research

Action research is a systematic and reflective inquiry that transforms teaching practice into a form of situated and active investigation into motives, actions and consequences. As such, in higher education action research can be the foundation of critically reflective practice that drives ongoing professional growth and higher levels of intentional and sustained pedagogical change. In essence, it is a form of meta-evaluation.