NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1013003
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Mar
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Use of RateMyProfessors.com Data as a Supplemental Tool for the Assessment of General Chemistry Instruction
Bergin, Adam; Sharp, Kevan; Gatlin, Todd A.; Villalta-Cerdas, Adrian; Gower, Austin; Sandi-Urena, Santiago
Journal of Chemical Education, v90 n3 p289-295 Mar 2013
Commercial online instructor evaluations have gained traction in influencing students' decisions on professor and course selections at universities. RateMyProfessors.com (RMP) is the most popular of such evaluation tools and houses a wealth of information from the students' viewpoint. The purpose of this study was to determine whether RMP data could be used to analyze and inform general chemistry instruction at a particular institution. The entire RMP database for the general chemistry program was sampled to produce a subset of 60 random RMP entries from six instructors. Each entry was composed of ratings in several areas and open-ended comments. The quantitative RMP data were consistent with measures from the institutional Student Evaluation of Instruction forms corresponding to the same instructors. In addition, a survey investigating RMP use patterns demonstrated that general chemistry students who contributed to RMP were not significantly different from the rest of the cohort across seven academic and demographic comparison criteria. The RMP qualitative information was analyzed using an inductive approach from which seven categories emerged as important to students' learning environment. This analytical model allows for categorizing students' statements in a systematic and meaningful manner to extract valuable supplemental information usable for program evaluation. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A