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Definitions
- Learning Materials
- The documents, items, books, and other material prescribed and/or provided to students in the course. This can include things such as lecture slides, textbooks, tutorial activity sheets, marking rubrics, and assignment briefings.
- Learning Activities
- This has to do with the course structure, and includes things such as assignment types, exam formats, tutorial activities (e.g. Q&A, mini tests, discussions), lectures, field trips, lab time, and other activities.
- Blackboard Management
- Relates to the management and structure of the course Blackboard mini-site. Includes things such as frequency of announcements, upload times of learning materials (e.g. uploading lecture notes a week before the lecture), ease of navigation, contact information availability, and grade information.
- Course Content
- The quality of the course content in terms of relevance to the field, real-world applications, engagement (is it interesting?), and detail.
- Course Structure
- Relates to things such as assignment types, exam formats, types of assessment (exams, quizzes, assignments, etc.), appropriateness of assessment difficulty, staff structure (ample tutors/tutorials). Also covers things such as assessment due dates and assessment marking criteria/strategy.
- Contact Availability
- Whether or not there were enough people to reply to all student emails, and if emails were replied to or not. This section also relates to student consultation times and availability. A low score on this section indicates sparse consultation availability and barely any email contact with students.
- Course Difficulty
- The raters opinion as to the overall difficulty of this course. This rating is likely to be based on multiple confounded attitudes and beliefs towards the course. A low rating on this criteria implies an easy course, and a high rating implies a hard course.
- Helpfulness
- In regard to their communication to students both in a lecture context and on a one-to-one basis, helpfulness refers to the lecturers ability to solve any problems a student may have and/or clarify certain points.
- Clarity
- Refers to the lecturers ability to explain points and be understood by the average student. Things that may hinder a Clarity rating: a strong accent, limited English vocabulary, and a rapid speaking pace.
- Easiness
- Refers to the lecturers overall demeanor and relates to their “easy going-ness.” This relates closely to Approachability.
- Approachability
- Refers to the ease with which students feel they can approach the lecturer for a question, help, or feedback. A low rating on Approachability indicates that students feel intimidated by the lecturer and feel uneasy in approaching them.
- Organisation
- The level with which the lecturer is organised in terms of their blackboard management, student feedback, student queries, lecture materials (upload date, quality of notes), activity preparation, lecture preparation, and grade releases.
- Availability
- This refers mostly to the availability of the lecturer for contact by students. Whether it be through email, telephone, or in person, the lecturer should be available for questions and feedback.