End-of-Course Evaluation Information and Process

Evaluation Options for 05-06

This year (05-06) is a transition year for the end-of-course evaluation process.  The options outlined in this website were established in order to bridge where we were with the cafeteria system and where we are going in terms of a broader assessment of teaching effectiveness.

At this time, the Center for Instructional Excellence, in close conjunction with Faculty Senate, is working to establish a culture of assessment at Purdue University Calumet as outlined in Senate Document 04-04.  This will take a variety of approaches.  Some of what is being planned includes:

Adoption of Flashlight 2.0 in the Fall of 2006
The next version of Flashlight, will allow for a tiered approach that is automated.  This will allow the university to ask each student in each section a small number of questions, the school/department to ask a second set of questions to each student in their sections, and the faculty member to ask a third, and final, set of questions to their students.  The beauty of this tiered system, is the the university is only able to see the results of the questions they ask; the school/department can only see the answers to the questions the university asked and what they asked; and the faculty member is the only person who has access to see the answers to all three levels of questions.

This creates an environment where faculty members can feel safe asking questions that will truly allow them to reflect on the quality of their teaching.

With Flashlight 2.0, results will be available for download by the faculty member as soon as the survey closes.  This way the faculty member can have immediate access to the results.

Flashlight 2.0 also  provides an automated environment.  Faculty will be notified by email as to when the survey is ready for them to add their specific questions.  The survey will close to faculty when it is scheduled to open to students and then reopen to the faculty for data analysis once the survey closes to students.

Overall, this will be a secure system allowing each group within the university the opportunity to ask the questions they need.

Development of School/Department Specific Evaluation Questions
As part of the implementation of Flashlight, the TLT Group recommends that each school and/or department go through a process known as Visual Knowledge Mapping (VKM) to determine what questions should be established.  This process encourages open and honest discussion about what quality teaching is within that discipline, what characteristic this type of teaching displays, and what questions can begin to assess these characteristics.

Once the school/department has established their questions, we can begin to remove the "eight questions from the cafeteria" within the centrally administered surveys in Fall of 2006 when Flashlight 2.0 is available.

Development of a "Tool Box" of Assessment Options
According to Senate document 04-04, "Purdue University Calumet will adopt a variety of methods for assessing teaching and learning."  The Center for Instructional Excellence is beginning to work with the Faculty Affairs committee of the Senate to determine how to best move forward with this initiative. 

For more details on what is coming, please watch the Center for Instructional Excellence's website.