Harry G. Murray

Teacher Personality Traits and Student Instructional Ratings in Six Types of University Courses.

Colleague ratings of 29 personality traits were studied in relation to student ratings of teaching effectiveness in a sample of 46 psychology teachers. Instructors were evaluated in six different types of university courses, ranging from freshman lecture classes to graduate research seminars. Major findings were as follows: (I) Rated teaching effectiveness varied substantially across different types of courses for a given instructor; (2) teaching effectiveness in each type of course could be predicted with considerable accuracy from colleague ratings of personality; and (3) the specific personality traits contributing to effective teaching differed markedly for different course types. It was concluded that psychology instructors tend to be differentially suited to different types of courses and furthermore that the compatibility of instructors to courses is determined in part by personality characteristics.

Personality, Classroom Behavior, and Student Ratings of College Teaching Effectiveness: A Path Analysis.

This study tested the hypothesis that classroom teaching behavior mediates the relation typically found between personality and college teaching effectiveness. Colleagues rated 37 full-time college instructors on 29 personality traits, and trained observers assessed the frequency with which the same instructors exhibited 95 specific classroom teaching behaviors. Instructional effectiveness was measured by global end-of-term student ratings averaged over a 5-year period. Path analyses revealed that approximately 50% of the relation between personality and teaching effectiveness was mediated by classroom behavior. Results are discussed in terms of the validity of student ratings of teaching and in relation to Dunkin and Biddles (1974) model of classroom teaching.

Does evaluation of teaching lead to improvement of teaching

Abstract Given the widespread use of student evaluation of teaching in North American colleges and universities, it is reasonable to ask whether student evaluation has accomplished one of its major intended outcomes, namely improvement of instructional quality. A review of research evidence from three independent sources (faculty surveys, field experiments and longitudinal comparisons) suggests that student evaluation does in fact contribute significantly to improvement of certain aspects of university teaching, particularly if evaluation is supplemented by expert consultation. Furthermore, there is no clear evidence that student evaluation has led to undesirable instructional side‐effects, such as grade inflation and entrenchment of traditional teaching methods.

The Impact of Formative and Summative Evaluation of Teaching in North American Universities.

ABSTRACT This paper reviews recent research evidence on formative (developmental) and summative (judgemental) evaluation of teaching in North American universities. The major conclusions of the review are as follows: (1) student ratings are the most common method of evaluating teaching in North American universities, and their popularity appears to be increasing; (2) student ratings have been found to provide reliable and valid information on limited aspects of teaching competence; (3) teaching evaluations make a difference in decisions on faculty salary, tenure and promotion; (4) evaluation of teaching has been shown to produce modest improvements in teaching effectiveness; (5) faculty satisfaction with teaching evaluation practices ranges from very high to very low, depending on institutional context; and (6) there is consensus that several specific improvements are needed in the current teaching evaluation system.

Interfaculty differences in classroom teaching behaviors and their relationship to student instructional ratings

This study tested for differences between instructors in three college faculties in the frequency with which they exhibited various classroom teaching behaviors, and in the correlation of these behaviors with perceived teaching effectiveness. Trained observers assessed the frequency of 95 classroom teaching behaviors shown by 124 teachers in the arts and humanities, the social science, and the natural science faculties. Teaching effectiveness was measured by formal end-of-term student ratings averaged over a three-year period. Behaviors reflecting “interpersonal orientation” occurred more frequently in arts and social science teachers than in natural science teachers, whereas behaviors reflecting “task orientation” occurred more frequently in natural and social science teachers than in arts teachers. However, the pattern of correlations between teaching behaviors and overall effectiveness ratings was quite similar in all three faculties. Results are discussed in terms of understanding, evaluating, and improving college teaching.

INTERACTION OF ABILITY LEVEL AND INTERPOLATED ACTIVITY (OPPORTUNITY FOR INCUBATION) IN HUMAN PROBLEM SOLVING

Performance on a functional fixedness problem was investigated under conditions of continuous work on the problem vs interpolation of unrelated activity, and in Ss of low vs high problem-solving ability. The performance of low-ability Ss was most proficient under the interpolated-activity condition, whereas for high-ability Ss performance was best under continuous work. It was suggested that different types of problem-solving processes occurred in low- and high-ability Ss, and that interpolated activity influenced these processes in opposite ways.

AGING, PERSONALITY, AND TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS IN ACADEMIC PSYCHOLOGISTS

Previous research suggests that university teaching effectiveness varies with the age and personality traits of the instructor. The present study examined the extent to which personality traits associated with teaching effectiveness change concomitantly with age, and thus mediate the relationship between age and teaching. Using a cross-sectional design, peer ratings of 29 personality traits and archival student evaluations of teaching were obtained for 33 full-time psychology professors varying in age from 33 to 64. Teaching effectiveness was found to be inversely related to age and to correlate significantly with several personality traits. Consistent with the mediation hypothesis, personality traits were identified that correlated positively with teaching and declined significantly with age (e.g., approval-seeking); or correlated negatively with teaching and increased with age (e.g., independent).

Predicting Student Ratings of College Teaching from Peer Ratings of Personality Types

Students respond best to a teacher who is friendly, fair, and flexible, if he has definite goals and can take the initiative in class.

Speech and drama training for lectures as a means of improving university teaching

Although considerable resources have been invested in programs for the improvement of college and university teaching, there is little data available on the effectiveness of these programs. The present study assessed the value of speech and drama training as a method of improving lecturing skills in university teachers. It was found that teachers who received speech and drama training showed significant improvement in student ratings of classroom teaching relative to control teachers. Rival hypotheses involving greater motivation to improve in experimental teachers and generalized placebo and self-help effects were ruled out on the basis of student rating data from previous courses and differential findings for target and nontarget rating scales. It is concluded that speech and drama training can make a small but significant contribution to the improvement of university teaching.

Effects of teacher clarity and student anxiety on student outcomes

A laboratory experiment was carried out with 120 undergraduate students to examine a possible aptitude–treatment interaction between teacher clarity and student test anxiety in relation to two outcome measures, namely student achievement and student motivation, with student intelligence statistically controlled. Students completed measures of intelligence and test anxiety and were randomly assigned to high teacher clarity or low teacher clarity conditions, defined by the presence or absence of specific teaching behaviours in a videotaped lecture with content held constant across conditions. Measures of motivation and self-efficacy for learning the material were completed immediately post-treatment, then one week later participants completed an achievement test based on the material contained in the lecture and assigned homework. Results revealed significant beneficial main effects for high vs. low teacher clarity for both achievement and motivation measures, but no aptitude–treatment interaction between teacher clarity and student test anxiety.