Evaluation Services

Teaching and course evaluations to enhance students’ learning experience

Academic staff with teaching responsibilities are required to conduct evaluations of their teaching and courses, and further reflect on this as part of a process to enhance the quality of offerings. The CLTD believes that effective evaluation of teaching and courses requires academic staff to understand the purpose of evaluations and further create opportunities for meaningful evaluations to support reflective practice. The workshop aims to provide participants with an opportunity to do the following: • Examine the role of evaluations of teaching and courses to support quality enhancement for both teaching and courses • Develop an awareness of processes and the platform used at Wits to conduct meaningful evaluations • Explore ways in which students can be encouraged to participate constructively in evaluation processes • Prepare for using evaluation feedback in processes of continuous improvement of teaching and courses

Date: On Request

Duration: 3Hrs

Contact: Nompumelelo Mazibuko Nompumelelo.Mazibuko@wits.ac.za

Peer Reviews

Peer Review is a process through which valuable feedback on teaching practice and courses could be solicited by engaging the expertise of academic peers. Engaging in peer reviews provide academic staff an opportunity to triangulate data drawn through student feedback (questionnaires) in the process of self-reflection. Peer reviews create an opportunity for academic staff to examine and reflect collaboratively on teaching practice based on observed lessons and other selected teaching artefacts. The process is meant to be collegial and supportive in a manner that allows for professional learning of both the reviewer and the reviewee. The workshop targets all staff tasked with the responsibility to conduct reviews in the respective schools and those that want to be reviewed. The workshop provides participants with an opportunity to: • Examine the purpose of peer reviews and relevance in supporting development of teaching competence • Explore different models that are used when conducting peer reviews

• Engage with the guidelines for conducting meaningful peer reviews (i.e. clarify roles and responsibilities) • Address different concerns or challenges related to peer review processes • Explore the idea of a peer review as a scholarly and collaborative reflection activity

Date: On Request

Duration: 3Hrs

Contact: Nompumelelo Mazibuko Nompumelelo.Mazibuko@wits.ac.za

Evaluation Services

CLTD offers support to academic staff to elicit feedback on effectiveness of teaching and courses for the purposes of continuing professional learning, enhancement of learning and teaching practice as well as accountability. Different methods should be used to ensure a holistic evaluation of teaching practice. Each method offers different benefits, and the technique chosen should be appropriate to the need or exigency which has prompted the evaluation process.

Student feedback on teaching and courses using Blue Explorance

The CLTD recommends that lecturers use student feedback as a formative opportunity to learn from input. The results offer useful indicators of trends but have limited value in getting to the heart of facilitation practices. They are most useful when contextualised in information obtained from the more qualitative forms of evaluation as scores can often be the consequence of multiple factors, e.g. mismatched expectations.

For years, Wits has conducted student evaluations using the ALP system (Assessment of Lecturer Performance) via a paper-based system. In 2017 an online system called Blue Explorance was piloted and has since been launched as a Wits online system used to conduct evaluations. This move is meant to ensure efficient and effective evaluation processes. In 2020 the Blue Explorance system was launched across all faculties. This means all academic staff are expected to participate in the online system and the opportunity for paper-based evaluations will no longer be available.

In 2021 CLTD will continue to on board staff to the Blue Explorance system and further stabilise the use of the platform. This will be done through self-help material and customised workshops upon request by faculties.

To ensure adoption and effective use of Blue Explorance, the CLTD will continue to have engagements with all stakeholders. The following are different ways in which

staff will be supported to ensure they are able to use the system and faculties can arrange customised sessions around these areas:

Information sessions

Target: Academic staff Description

Blue Explorance Basics To create awareness of Blue Explorance: how the system works, the responsibilities of the different stakeholders, creating evaluation forms, and monitoring response rates 1 hour

Estimated Time

Sessions dates and times will be negotiated between schools / Faculties and the CLTD staff

Blue Explorance sessions for School Administrators

Target: School Admins Description

Blue Explorance Basics To create awareness of Blue Explorance process and Teacher App used to prepare evaluation data. For example, how Blue Explorance & Teacher App works, their responsibility in the process, how to access the Teacher App, how to load data on the App and awareness on support provided by CLTD to ensure their work is efficient. 1 hour

Sessions dates and times will be communicated to all school administrators before each evaluation project in the respective teaching blocks/ terms. Recordings of sessions will be emailed to all administrators for future reference and continuous support.

Estimated Time

Blue Explorance Open lunch hour discussions

Target: Academic Staff Description

Blue Explorance Open hour Open forum where CLTD Evaluation Services staff respond to questions and challenges experienced by staff when using Blue Explorance system.

1 hour 13:00—14:00

These sessions will be held twice a year (1 per semester) to address challenges experienced by academic staff. Webinar dates are as follows:

Estimated Time

Date: 29 April 2021 Date: 29 July 2021

Time: 13:00—14:00 Time: 13:00—14:00

Venue: TBC

Facilitator: TBC

Contact: Nompumelelo Mazibuko Nompumelelo.Mazibuko@wits.ac.za

Blue Explorance Intermediate

Target: Academic Staff Description Estimated Time

Established user—Blue Explorance intermediate To consolidate knowledge on Blue Explorance and further explore features that will enhance user experience such as: Question personalisation, subject view management, enhancing students’ participation and closing the feedback loop 1hr30min

Sessions will be organised and customised for each Faculty and/School as per arrangement between Faculty Academic Developers and CLTD staff.

Self-help material

The CLTD appreciates that academics have busy schedules hence not everyone will have the opportunity to participate in organised information sharing session. To address this easy-to-follow online materials are developed and will be made accessible to all staff. For example, the material includes step-by-step guides (on how to select questions, monitor students’ participation, and access reports). Related short video clips and a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document will be made available on the ‘Better Blended Learning’ site on ulwazi, as well as on the CLTD website.

Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID)

This technique is generally used to provide an in-depth exploration of challenges identified through student feedback and peer review or to intervene when there have been clear and serious impediments to the learning process or to the success of the teaching. It is also useful for getting information on the learning preferences and particular learning difficulties of students. It often highlights mismatched expectations where students have anticipated certain approaches to the teaching or specific content in the course. The frustration caused by this mismatch often leads to low ALP scores, and SGID can be useful in unpacking the background to such scores.

Learning and Teaching Advisors in the Faculties and Schools may be contacted for advice on using SGID.

Peer Reviews

CLTD recommends that lecturers use expertise from within their Faculty or disciplines to conduct peer reviews. The CLTD is open to School/Faculty requests for a peer review workshop to support both staff identified as reviewers and those staff that require a review.

As part of peer reviews staff are encouraged to use External Examiners Reports as they are produced by experts with extensive knowledge in subject matter and teaching in the discipline. External Examiners’ reports can also be useful in providing feedback on the quality and standards of teaching.

Learning and Teaching Advisors in the Faculties may be contacted for advice on using Peer Reviews. It is highly recommended that all reviewers go through training so that they are prepared for the responsibility.

Using Evaluations Constructively

Academic staff need to make informed choices and interpretations of what kinds of feedback each form of evaluation offers and about the value or weight of the different types of evidence garnered. CLTD’s preferred stance is to use evaluation of teaching and courses in a formative approach aimed at improvement, rather than to make categorical judgements about an individual’s teaching practice. CLTD is happy to assist academic staff and academic managers in this regard.

It is important to remember that both Peer Review and Small Group Instructional Diagnosis are highly intensive forms of getting quality feedback. They are labour and time intensive and given the limited resources in the university—it is advisable to prepare for and schedule these well in advance. As CLTD has limited resources we cannot offer these services as freely as we would like to, and we are encouraging academic staff to engage faculty or school colleagues to conduct reviews.

For general information on Evaluations of Teaching and Courses at Wits University, please use the following link to access the relevant policy:

http://intranet.wits.ac.za/exec/registrar/Policies/Forms/AllItems.aspx

For information on the Blue Explorance system and other evaluation matters, please contact the following CLTD staff:

• Mpumi Mazibuko  (011) 717—1483  Nompumelelo.Mazibuko@wits.ac.za

• Nthabiseng Mokoena  (011) 717—1469  nthabiseng.mokoena@wits.ac.za

For further information on conducting an evaluation of your teaching or interpreting and use of feedback data collected:

• Dr Rejoice Nsibande  011) 717—1474  Rejoice.Nsibande@wits.ac.za