Spring 2002

The Teaching Analysis Poll: Everyone Wins

With support from President Casteen, in 1998 the TRC commissioned a controlled, quantitative study to determine whether students perceive improvement in teaching after participating in a Teaching Analysis Poll.  Thirty-two U.Va. instructors teaching 37 courses took part in this study, asking their students to complete the same 14-question evaluation before mid-semester and at the end of the semester.  A TAP was conducted for 25 courses; in the control group of 12 courses no TAP was performed. The initial mid-semester responses of students in the control group and TAP group did not differ significantly in any of the 14 areas evaluated. 

When the students' end-of-semester evaluations were compared with those at mid-semester, however, students in the TAP group noted that their teachers had significantly improved in four areas related to teacher-student communication:

1) determining whether the students understand them in class

2) making themselves available to students outside of class

3) fostering a classroom atmosphere conducive to student participation

4) making expectations clear

The TRC's research corresponds to the results of many similar studies: student learning is enhanced when instructors make mid-semester course adjustments based on accurate, meaningful , interpretable, feedback.  Students recognize, understand, and respond positively to changes made to improve the course, even those the instructor considers minor. The results are in: Teaching Analysis Polls help instructors teach better and help students learn better!

For more details about the study or to request a TAP for your course this semester, contact the TRC. You can also request a TAP online.