Effectiveness of Student Feedback in Modifying College Instruction

An experimental study was conducted at five colleges to investigate the extent to which college teachers modify their instructional practices after receiving student feedback. Variables included teaching experience, sex, and self-ratings of the instructor, as well as course subject area. On the basis of equilibrium theory, a major hypothesis of this study was that student ratings would produce changes in teachers who had rated themselves more favorably than their students had rated them. Results of a regression analysis generally supported this hypothesis. A second conclusion of the study was that additional time (i.e., more than a half of a semester), along with comparative data to help the individual teacher interpret his feedback, also helped produce modest changes in teachers' instructional practices.