Who are we, what do we do?
From the IDEA website:
IDEA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve learning in higher education through research, assessment and professional development. IDEA supports the evaluation and development of both programs and people. Extensive data collection, research, and feedback from our clients have resulted in continuous enhancement of our services. The emphasis of IDEA always remains on improving teaching, learning, and the higher education process, while remaining true to our Core Values of Integrity, Quality, Collaboration, Service, and Knowledge.
Individual Development and Educational Assessment
40 Years of Service for Higher Education
The success of your institution of higher education is the reason IDEA exists. As a nonprofit organization, we have partnered since 1975 with colleges and universities across the country to reach the same goal — continuous individual and institutional improvement and achievement.
1
With a range of nationally normed, research‐driven, flexible assessment services, IDEA helps faculty members solicit feedback and evaluate teaching as it relates to curricular goals and the measurement of learning. We help faculty, deans, administrators, and department chairs assess how their own and the institution’s objectives are realized.
1
Partnership – 4 yearsThe IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction System is easy to administer because of our partnership with Campus Labs.
IDEA partnered with Campus Labs to enhance the technology platform experience for our higher educational partners.
Campus Labs is the leading technology platform and service provider for higher educational assessment.
Campus Labs provides the only specialized, comprehensive assessment system to combine data collection, reporting, organization, and institution‐wide integration.
2
3
The IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction System isAn online instructional assessment system designed to improve teaching effectiveness.It is not simply a platform for student evaluations of instructorsThe IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction System provides
Ability to see feedback for individual courses and academic unitsIs part of a full comprehensive system of instructional assessmentConnects instructors to dependable resources for continual improvement
4
How is the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction System different?As we’ve seen, it is NOT based on students’ subjective evaluation of instructors but on
their observation of teaching methods and their achievement of learning objectives identified as important or essential by the instructor of the course
What Makes IDEA Unique?
IDEA services are built on an extensive, nation‐wide research program and provide critical insight to guide personal and programmatic reflection. Each service offers targeted feedback for improving personal performance – while positively impacting the institution’s processes and outcomes.
These three goals—insight, improvement, impact—lie at the heart of our model, which involves:
Utilizing our longitudinal databases to ensure a rich and informed assessment;
Continually testing and documenting the reliability and validity of our instruments;
Guiding improvement efforts through specific, research‐based recommendations unique to each individual’s objectives and current behavior;
5
Soliciting critical feedback from faculty, staff or students;
Accounting for influences on learning and performance over which the instructor or administrator has little or no control;
Assessing individual impact, as well as collective progress through the use of group summary reports;
Using IDEA rating and feedback systems on an ongoing basis, as part of a larger strategy of individual, program or institutional improvement.
5
And it:Is part of a full comprehensive system of instructional assessment
6
The IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction System also providesFeedback on Learning Objectives and Teaching MethodsThe focus of the system is on teaching and learning, and not students’ feelings about instructors
7
The student ratings instruments are available in three forms. Diagnostic Feedback, Learning Outcomes, and Teaching Essentials
Diagnostic Feedback provides both summative and formative feedback about average student progress on relevant course objectives, instructor teaching methods, and overall impressions of the instructor and course. This is the choice for a comprehensive assessment of teaching and learning.
Learning Essentials provides summative feedback about average student progress on relevant learning objectives and overall impressions of the instructor and course. This instrument is appropriate for courses exclusively interested in assessment of learning outcomes such as a lab course where there is little to no direct, instructor teaching involved.
Teaching Essentials provides formative feedback about teaching methods highly correlated with instructor and course excellence. No information is collected about student ratings of progress on course objectives. So this instrument provides feedback on ways to improve teaching exclusively.
In addition to the three, primary ratings instruments, there is also our Instant Feedback tool.
8
Instant Feedback gathers immediate student responses after each class or unit, weekly, or whenever desired, so faculty can see the impact of changes they have made in their class. The Instant Feedback is based on the research of the Teaching Essentials instrument. The Feedback Report is sent directly and solely to the faculty so it can be used for immediate development, changes, course adjustments, and longitudinal tracking throughout the course.
8
Instructors identify the important or essential learning objectives in a specific course, and students report on their achievement of these objectives.
9
IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction surveys can be taken anywhere…
For highest response rates we strongly recommend they be completed in class (captive audience model) and that the faculty explain how the results are used, even showing a report, or a sample report, to the students. The better the students understand their importance, the more likely they are to comply.
10
The Campus Labs technology platform allows for a variety of data collection options, including an intuitive mobile interface. Students have appreciated the ability to do the surveys easily on mobile devices. One client I spoke to recently mentioned their response rates had actually risen from when they used our legacy paper platform last semester due to the use of mobile delivery.
11
12
13
14
The IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction provides:Ability to see feedback for individual courses and academic units as you see here
15
IDEA accounts for factors beyond instructors’ control, such as class size and student motivation. The “Adjusted scores” take these factors into consideration, and faculty and administrators are provided with guidance about when and how to interpret all the scores.
IDEA also provides comparative data for academic disciplines, institutions, and national norms.
16
17
And the feedback for instructors is connected to resources for continual improvement of teaching effectiveness.
IDEA and the Professional and Organizational Development in Higher Education have partnered to deliver expert advice on Learning Objectives and Teaching Methods. And even more resources are on the way.
18
19
20
21
22
23
Instructors and administrators can see results online from summative views to in‐depth analyses of the feedback.
24
Instant Feedback provides assessment for faculty to gather information from students in real time about their perceptions of learning7 questions are based on high‐impact teaching practices‐
Focus is on the strengths ‐ what the students perceive as going wellReflect on the feedback of areas that need improvement and make adjustments for the next courseWhen faculty see an upward trend of improvement, they are more likely to gradually work to improve teaching throughout the academic term
25
26
IDEA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving teaching, learning, and leadership in higher education with 40 years of experience and research devoted to making the Student Ratings of Instruction System the most effective tool available for instructional assessment.
The IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction System is comprised of instruments supported by valid and reliable evidence.
IDEA items align with accreditation and professional standards in higher education, including the Association of American Colleges and University, the Liberal Education and America’s Promise outcomes (AAC&U LEAP), the Lumina Foundation Degree Qualification Profile outcomes (DQP), National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and regional institutional accreditors.
27
With the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction System, you have the:Ability to utilize 4 valid and reliable instructional assessment instrumentsAdditional functionality to support formative assessment during a courseEasy selection of learning objectivesStatistical control for extraneous variablesAlignment with higher educational accreditation standardsStreamlined communication to studentsMobile‐ready experience for studentsQuick access to formative and summative reportsEngaging reports with simple online viewing optionsComparative results from academic discipline, institutional, and national data
Questions?
28
Please contact us for more information and for a live demonstration of the online platform.
29