Teacher Education Instruments

Student Course Evaluations

Instrument 2: RMTEC Course Checklist

Project: Rocky Mountain Teacher Education Collaborative (RMTEC)
University of Northern Colorado/Colorado State University, CSMATE

Funding Source: NSF: Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (DUE)

Purpose: To gather data about teaching practices in and instructional effectiveness of courses taught by participants of the collaborative; to provide feedback to individual instructors and staff members

Administered To: Students participating in new and established classes in the teacher education collaborative

Topics Covered:

• Impact on Outcomes: student understanding
• Impact Variables: alignment, assessment, assignments, autonomy, classroom activities, collaboration, field activities, instructional methods, integration, mentor teaching, practical value, process skills, psychological climate, student/teacher interaction, technology use
• Plans & Expectations (Student): academic interests, career interests
• Project Development/Continuation: improvements
• Background Characteristics & Activities (Student): academic level, current coursework, purpose for participation
• Demographics (Student): age, ethnicity, gender

Format/Length: 30 questions, 28 closed- and 2 open-ended, plus 12 demographic questions. The closed-ended questions are 5-point Likert scales ranging from "didn't happen" to "happened and extremely helpful." The demographic questions are short answer/checklist.

Special Features: Efficient layout/format; covers a wide variety of topics relevant to classroom instruction. Each question on the checklist reflects the goals and objectives of the collaboratives' strategic plan.

Part I. Instructional Strategies that Helped You to Learn. The following items represent dimensions of instruction that might have been implemented in your course. If particular instructional strategies were not implemented, please check "Didn't Happen." If they were implemented, please indicate the degree to which the strategies were helpful to you in learning course concepts and content. Please check one response for each item.

Strategy	Didn't Happen	Happened and Not helpful	Happened and Somewhat helpful	Happened and Very helpful	Happened and Extremely helpful
1. Cooperative groups (teams or small groups)
2. Supportive atmosphere for learning new ideas
3. Use of technology to support learning (computers, calculators, etc.)
4. Solving problems related to everyday life or of professional significance
5. Use of several different types of teaching methods
6. Having experienced public-school teachers involved in the teaching of this course (called "mentor teachers" or "teachers-in-residence")
7. Asked to take responsibility for my own learning
8. In-class activities that encouraged me to evaluate understanding of course concepts
9. In-class discussions with other students
10. Activities that involved reading, writing, and other methods of communication to increase my learning
11. Examinations that really required me to think about concepts and critically analyze information
12. Assignments that really required me to think about concepts and critically analyze information
13. Frequent feedback about my learning from other students in the course
14. Frequent feedback about my learning from course instructor(s)
15. Chances for me to influence what goes on in the course
16. Consistency between course concepts and state and national standards in math, science, and education (if you don't know what standards are, please do not respond to this)
17. Related connections between this course and other areas of math and science
18. Connecting ideas in this course with other (non-science/math) fields
19. Having an opportunity to explore ideas in which I am interested
20. Being asked to build on things I already knew
21. Solving problems with complex rather than simple solutions
22. Being in learning settings that show respect for diversity
23. Opportunities to demonstrate my understanding in more than one way
24. Given opportunity to ask questions in class
25. Having a chance to manipulate concrete objects (such as models of molecules to help me learn course concepts
26. Course activities that allowed me to pose questions and seek evidence to answer them
27. Laboratory experiences that enhanced my knowledge of course concepts
28. Field experiences that enhanced my knowledge of course concepts

Part II. Additional Comments.

PLEASE ADD ANY OTHER COMMENTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ABOUT THE STRENGTHS OF THIS COURSE. (Any comments about which aspect of the course produced the most learning for you will be very helpful.)

WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR IMPROVING THIS COURSE?

Part III. Background Information. In this section, please provide the following information about the course, yourself and why you are taking this course.

Course Name: ___________________________ Course Number: ____________

Instructor's Name: _________________________

Which University Do You Attend? ___ CSU ___ MSCD ___ UNC

Your Gender: ___ Male ___ Female Your Age in Years: ______

___Freshman

___Sophomore

___Junior

___Senior

___Graduate

___Non-Degree/Licensure Only

Why are you taking this course? (Check all that apply.)