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Description:
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This research in the spring of 1999 investigated how to improve the student ratings of college faculty utilizing the theory of cognitive dissonance . The study explored how dissonance , created when a faculty member experienced lower than expected midsemester student ratings in comparison with his or her self -ratings , could be resolved by the faculty member changing his or her teaching behavior . The purposes were to test this theory and to recommend new procedures for the use of student ratings in faculty evaluations . It was predicted that midsemester written feedback to the faculty would enhance their teaching effectiveness and a consultation workshop at midsemester would enhance teaching effectiveness even more . The three faculty groups included : a control group , a written feedback group , and a consultation group . The null hypotheses stated -there would be no significant difference : (a ) among the three groups with respect to end of semester student ratings , (b ) between the mid - and end -of -semester student ratings for faculty in the feedback group , (c ) between the mid - and end -of -semester student ratings for faculty in the consultation group , and (d ) in the differences between the consultation and feedback groups .
The experimental design used was a Pretest -Posttest Control -Group design . The student rating instrument used was the Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA ) Student Rating of Instruction System . The sample population consisted of sixty -one faculty members from a small , private liberal arts college . The student ratings were processed at the IDEA Center in Manhatten , Kansas . Data analysis included analysis of covariance and variance . |