A review of student evaluation of teaching: applications to veterinary medical education

Comparison of Veterinary Nutrition Exam Results After Classroom or Virtual Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a German University

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university teaching had to be kept up in spite of severe contact restrictions. Virtual teaching of animal nutrition was implemented at the Veterinary Faculty of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Germany, for both lectures and practical courses. Live online classes were held via Zoom®, and recordings were accessible afterwards. Animal nutrition is taught in the 5th and 6th term of the veterinary studies, followed by an oral state exam about subjects from both terms. In this study, the success of classroom vs. virtual teaching in veterinary animal nutrition was evaluated by comparison of exam results. Two exam cohorts (2019, before the pandemic; 2020, with one term of virtual teaching during the pandemic) were evaluated. The results indicated no significant difference of teaching method on the grades. However, there was a significantly higher probability of students not taking or failing the exam in the 2020 exam cohort, suggesting a general effect of the pandemic on the students. Additionally, two surveys were distributed among the students during summer term 2020 and winter term 2020/21, when virtual teaching due to the pandemic had been implemented for the first time. The survey results provide insights into the students' view of benefits and problems of virtual teaching in animal nutrition at the LMU. The majority was in favor of the live online format for lectures and courses in computed-based ration calculation, whilst feedstuff demonstrations were preferred in classroom setting.

Nonparticipant Student Observation of Faculty Classroom Teaching

Student evaluations are commonly used to evaluate teaching effectiveness. Nonparticipant observation uses individuals who are not a part of the learning process but rather are observers who can formulate observations about the teaching encounter, possibly with less bias than student evaluators. The purpose of this article is to analyze reports by inexperienced nonparticipant observers of faculty classroom teaching episodes. The hypothesis was that veterinary faculty have common characteristics in their classroom teaching that are observable by nonparticipant observers and that these are similar to characteristics observed historically by student evaluators. This study is a qualitative document analysis of written observations made by senior veterinary students attending pre-clinical classroom lectures by a faculty member. Each written report was analyzed using thematic concept analysis, and the researchers met multiple times throughout the process to discuss the analysis and develop conclusions about themes that were encountered consistently among observations. Common emergent themes included information formats, PowerPoint presentations, timing, organization, student engagement, and delivery. Nonparticipant observers may contribute valuable data that may enhance faculty development in pedagogy. Observations may serve to augment data from student evaluations, self-reflection, and peer assessment.

Student evaluations of teaching (SET): Guidelines for their use

Student evaluations of teaching (SET) provide a structured way of collecting feedback from students about the course and teacher's effectiveness. We reviewed literature describing use of SET across a broad range of disciplines in undergraduate and graduate education to provide guidelines for faculty in using SET in a nursing or other health professions program. On SET tools, students typically rate their satisfaction with a course and perceptions about the quality of the teaching. It is important to evaluate SET tools prior to their use including pilot testing tools with students because studies show students may not interpret items or questions on a SET tool as faculty intended. Common uses of the evaluation data from SET include improvement of courses and teaching, and for personnel decisions.

Challenges and Issues in the Evaluation of Teaching Quality: How Does it Affect Teachers' Professional Practice? A UK Perspective

Evaluation of the quality of higher education is undertaken for the purposes of ensuring accountability, accreditation, and improvement, all of which are highly relevant to veterinary teaching institutions in the current economic climate. If evaluation is to drive change, it needs to be able to influence teaching practice. This article reviews the literature relating to evaluation of teaching quality in higher education with a particular focus on teachers' professional practice. Student evaluation and peer observation of teaching are discussed as examples of widely used evaluation processes. These approaches clearly have the potential to influence teachers' practice. Institutions should strive to ensure the development of a supportive culture that prioritizes teaching quality while being aware of any potential consequences related to cost, faculty time, or negative emotional responses that might result from the use of different evaluation methods.