Online Course Evaluation
Several colleagues have asked how they can assess online courses this term. Previously, I have shared research on the low correlations between student evaluations of teaching (SETs) and effective teaching [Mid Semester Teaching Research (2018/10/20); Active Learning and Student Evaluations (2018/9/14); Student Evaluation of Teaching [Again] (2018/12/14); and Observation of Online Courses (2020/2/29)]. Instead key attributes of effective teaching could be gathered through Twelve Strategies to Measure Teaching Effectiveness (Berk, 2005). However, gathering student perceptions of the learning experience can be one useful data point in creating a complete picture of effective teaching.
Therefore, to help support current online teaching, I would like to share this recent article (October 2020) entitled, "Development of an Online Course Satisfaction Scale" by Bayrak, Tibi and Altun. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable, valid, and practical instrument to measure online students’ satisfaction. The data were collected in 2018 at a large public university in courses offered by 57 faculty through an LMS with both synchronous and asynchronous features. The research resulted in a valid, reliable ten-item instrument to measure student satisfaction of online experiences. Concurrent, criterion and construct validity were measured; and construct reliability and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were calculated.
The instrument includes the following items, which students respond to using a 5-point Likert type, between 1 - strongly disagree and 5 - strongly agree. Each item began with "I am satisfied ...
to communicate effectively with my teachers throughout the term.
with the support of my teachers in accessing educational materials.
that my teachers are enthusiastic about online learning.
to receive timely feedback from my teachers online.
that the units have been set up on a specific schedule.
that the presentations and learning materials are consistent.
that the language used in the presentation of the content is clear.
with the speed of the online system.
that the online system is easy to use.
that my needs are met in the online learning environment.
One way to integrate these items could be to ask students to respond during the middle of the term to help us identify specific aspects of our online teaching that may need updating.
Bayrak, F., Tıbı, M., & Altun, A. (2020). Development of an online course satisfaction scale. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education , 21 (4) , 110-123 . DOI: 10.17718/tojde.803378
