Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Doris W. Carroll / This study examined factors relates to student ratings of instruction and student levels of motivation. Data came from archival data of 386,195 classes of faculty and students who completed the Faculty Information Form (FIF), completed by the instructor, and the Student Ratings Diagnostic Form (SRDF) completed by the student from the Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA) Center Student Ratings system. Descriptive statistics, correlation studies, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and pairwise comparisons were used to test the research hypotheses. Despite significant differences among student ratings of instruction and student motivation by course type, discipline, and student type, the amount of unknown variability in student ratings of instruction and student motivation is still very large. The findings from the study provide higher education institutions with information about differences between student ratings of instruction by institution type, course level, discipline, and course type as well as the impact of student motivation on student ratings of instruction.

This dissertation investigated the relationship between course characteristics and student ratings of instruction at a large research intensive university. Specifically, it examined the extent to which academic field, course level, and class size were associated with variation in mean class ratings. Past research consistently identifies differences between student ratings in different academic fields, but offers no unifying conceptual framework for the definition or categorization of academic fields. Therefore, two different approaches to categorizing classes into academic fields were compared - one based on the institution's own academic college system and one based on Holland's (1997) theory of academic environments. Because the data violated assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance, traditional ANOVA procedures were followed by post-hoc analyses using bootstrapping to more accurately estimate standard errors and confidence intervals. Bootstrapping was also used to determine the statistical significance of a difference between the effect sizes of academic college and Holland environment, a situation for which traditional statistical tests have not been developed. Findings replicate the general pattern of academic field differences found in prior research on student ratings and offer several unique contributions. They confirm the value of institution-specific approaches to defining academic fields and also indicate that Holland's theory of academic environments may be a useful conceptual framework for making sense of academic field differences in student ratings. Building on past studies that reported differences in mean ratings across academic fields, this study describes differences in the variance of ratings across academic fields. Finally, this study shows that class size and course level may impact student ratings differently - in terms of interaction effects and magnitude of effects - depending on the academic field of the course. / Ph. D.

本研究旨在瞭解探討北部某C大學實施學生評鑑教師教學之現況，並探討大學生回答開放性問題對該課程的優點與建議，進行文字探勘分析。 本研究利用問卷調查，在期末課程結束前，利用上網方式，對該課程進行填答。問卷所得資料進行敘述統計、因素分析、信度分析、獨立樣本t檢定、單因子變異數分析、皮爾森相關、多元迴歸與R軟體進行詞彙權重、文字雲、主題模型和群集分析。本研究結論如下： 一、學生評鑑教師教學現況以教學態度感受程度最高。 二、問卷各題項以「教師教學態度認真負責，且授足所需授課之時數」平均分數最高。 三、回饋性建議肯定「教學目標明確」最高，最需改善「彈性調整教學內容」。 四、學生評鑑教師教學因學生年級和課程類別不同而有顯著差異。 五、學生評鑑教師教學成效與學習成績呈低相關，以「教學評量」有預測力。 六、重要詞彙與文字雲發現「教學」、「內容」、「喜歡」及「同學」共同詞彙。 七、各學院主題模型命名，主要有觀察，考試與教學內容。 八、各學院集群分析結果，學生重視教學內容、學習過程與收穫及考試。 根據上述結果提出建議，以供教育行政主管機關、教師及未來研究者之參考。 / The purpose of this study was to explore the current situation of t in the C university of North, and finding the strength and suggestion of the class to opening question used text mining. Before the class will be over , a questionnaire survey, using the internet, was used to gather personal information and the measurement applied in this research. The questionnaire is analyized by descriptive statistics analysis, independent t test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, multiple regression, vocabulary weight, word cloud, topic model, and cluster analysis in R software. Conclusions obtained in this study are as in the followings: 1. The situation of student ratings of instruction scored over average on the effectiveness of teaching, with “teaching atttitude” the highest. 2.. The highest average scores of the items in the questionnaire were "serious and responsible teachers' teaching attitude and the number of hours required for teaching grants." 3. The feedback of suggestions is “The current of teaching objectives” and need to improve the “filxible adjustment of teaching content”. 4. The student ratings of instruction were vary significant in terms of student grade and course type. 5. Student ratings of instruction effectiveness and academic performance is low correlation, with "Teaching evaluation" predictive. 6. The findings on the important phrases and word clouds were “Teaching”, “Content”, “Likes”, and “Classmates”. 7. The naming of the theme model in each college is “Observation”, “Examination”, and “Teaching content”. 8. The results of cluster analysis each college were focused on “Teaching content”, “Learning process and gain”, and “Examination”. Based on the findings above, suggestions and recommendation were provided as a reference for educational administrators, and teachers, and as a guide for future research.

The concept of teaching effectiveness is challenging for researchers to define. Hypothesized as a multidimensional construct, it encompasses content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, personality characteristics of the teacher, and classroom dynamics. No single dimension, trait, or behavior, however, fully captures what it means to be an effective teacher. Measures, such as peer observation, self-report surveys, and student evaluations, assess teacher effectiveness in higher education. Student evaluations of teachers (SETs) assess multiple areas, including: course content, objectives, organization, and the nature, difficulty, and value of a course; teacher preparation, enthusiasm, and subject knowledge; teacher goals for structuring classroom activities and engaging students in academic pursuits (Cashin, 1995; Feldman, 1996; Marsh, 1984; Midgley, 1998). SETs can be seen as expressions of students’ perceptions about an instructor, a course, and a class, but what influences those perceptions? One concept, classroom community, hypothesizes that students’ sense of community is influenced by the quality of interaction with their instructors, fellow students, and course content. Investigations of classroom community associate higher sense of community with more positive academic outcomes. Teachers’ goals for structuring class activities and engaging students is another concept hypothesized to influence students’ perceptions. Teachers’ goal orientation towards their own teaching is also a factor that appears to influence academic outcomes. Using goal orientation theory, Kucsera, Roberts, Walls, Walker & Svinicki (2009) identified three orientations that influence how teachers approach teaching. To date little research has explored how teacher goal orientation might influence students’ perceptions. This study examined whether there is a relationship between teachers’ goal orientation towards their teaching, students’ perceptions of teacher goals for classroom structure and student engagement, sense of community, and student ratings of teacher effectiveness. Undergraduate business communications faculty completed a survey about their goals for their own teaching while their students took a survey about their sense of community in the classroom, their perceptions of their teachers’ goals for engaging them in academic work and an end-of-semester course instructor survey. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the data. Results generally indicated that students’ perceptions are associated with SETs outcomes while teachers’ goal orientations are not. / text

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