Student ratings of instruction in the USA: Hidden assumptions and missing conceptions about ‘good˚s teaching

Abstract

ABSTRACT A typical evaluation instrument used in the USA is subjected to critical analysis with reference to two paradigms of teaching, the transmission model and the engaged-critical model. This analysis reveals that the evaluation form is not representative of all conceptions of teaching, but is more consistent with the transmission paradigm. As a prescriptive cultural and educational artifact, the survey instrument implicitly militates against alternative models of teaching. The article questions the ‘neutrality˚s of a document that purports to transcend different disciplines, epistemologies, teaching methods, conceptions of learning, and institutional use.