IDEA_Instr_Classroom_Admin.pdf (PDF Document) - A printable version of this page.
FOR FACULTY: How to Use IDEA During Course Evaluation Weeks
The following steps outline the procedures for administering the IDEA system. The DIAGNOSTIC FORM is the red student course evaluation form with 47 items.
Step 1: Complete a blue Faculty Information Form (FIF) for each class. Your FIF form should be place in the same envelope where students will be placing their forms.
Step 2: Distribute the red student forms (and the sheets with additional questions, if any). Remind the students to use a No. 2 PENCIL. (You might consider having some extra No. 2 pencils available. Surveys completed in ink cannot be processed.)
Step 3: Provide the students with the following general course information: (1) Institution; (2) Instructor; (3) Course number; (4) Time and days class meets. Direct the students to complete these sections on the front of their survey form. Instruct students that additional comments should be written on the separate piece of paper provided, and placed in the envelope with the red forms.
Step 4: The following instructions should be read aloud to the students:
Your ratings will be most helpful to the instructor and to the institution if you answer thoughtfully and honestly. Students sometimes wonder, "if the course was well taught and I learned a lot, should I rate every item high?" The answer is "No." IDEA focuses on what the instructor was trying to teach and on what you learned. As such, an instructor is not expected to do well on every item. In recognition of this, items not related to this course are not counted in the final evaluation.
Note: If the data will be used for personnel decisions, the students should also be told this, for example:
As student raters you should also know that the results of your ratings will be used as part of decisions related to promotion/tenure/salary increases. Fairness to both the individual and the institution require accurate and honest answers.
Step 5: To ensure objectivity, after the instructions have been given, the instructor should leave the room while the students complete the student response forms. Prior to your exit from the classroom, please make certain that your completed FIF form is in the envelope where students will be placing their forms. Have either a member of the class, a teaching assistant, or a colleague take responsibility for placing the materials in the provided, labeled envelope and returning them to the department secretary as soon as the students finish. The department secretary will collect all of the department’s surveys and return them to the IDEA Center for processing.
Please contact the CLEAR office with any questions.