報 告Student Evaluation of Teachers
David Richard Evans
National College of Nursing, Japan；1‑2‑1Umezono, Kiyose‑shi, Tokyo, 〒 204‑8575, Japanevans＠adm.ncn.ac.jp【Abstract】 Little has been written about what students in general and students in Japan in particular think constitutes good andbad teaching.There has been much written about what academics believe makes a good teacher,but this survey of college students
reveals that these perceptions are not always the same. Forty‑eight students completed an open‑ended questionnaire on a varietyof questions related to their experiences of high school education.The results showed that students put far more importance on the
personality of the teacher,especially kindness/caring and humour than does most of the literature on the subject.In terms of actual
teaching, students value teachers who can make classes interesting and the content understandable. Students also regard teacher
enthusiasm for their subject as being important, as well as expert knowledge and intelligence. That the students should feel able
to ask a teacher for clarification should they not understand the class and for the teacher to be approachable was also an attributeof a good teacher.Studentsʼ
descriptions of bad teachers and bad teaching were in many ways the mirror opposites of what makes
up good teaching.The biggest problems students face are classes that are boring/uninteresting,or those that are pitched above thestudents level,and therefore incomprehensible.Students also dislike teachers who have a tendency to get angry,or who are unfair,or who look down on students.

【Keywords】 good teaching, kindness, interesting classes
In the last thirty years,student evaluation of teachers
has become a common and essential part of education inteachers reliably,regardless of how they themselves are
graded.

North America, Europe and Australia(Abrami et al.

The advantage of seeking student feedback,however,

1990,Aleamoni 1987,Centra & Gaubatz 2000,Greenwald

is that it is the students who witness and experience

1997, Marsh 1984, Wilson 1999, Peterson et al., 2000,).

what a teacher does week in week out,and as such they

Because of the impact of these evaluations on teachersʼ

are in an unrivalled position to know how they feelchances of promotion it has become a very contentious

about the subject.Inspectors who visit classes for short‑

subject. At the heart of this problem is the argument

term evaluations do not know what goes on in thethat students cannot accurately evaluate a teacherʼsclassroom on a weekly basis. It is quite possible, if notability to teach, as they themselves have not been

probable, that they witness atypical classes, as thetrained as teachers. Whilst students may not be able toteacher will prepare the classes more thoroughly than

pinpoint what is going wrong in terms of the mechanics

might usually be the case, and perhaps change his/herof the class, they can alert the teacher to the fact that

attitude towards the students when another adult is inthey are having problems understanding the class, andthe classroom. In terms of reliability therefore, student

also indicate whether the class is holding their interest.

feedback is better.

Teachers are also concerned that student ratings may

There is another important point, which is not given

exert an undue influence on teachers in terms of how

enough attention.Whilst much has been written on what

they grade,with teachers issuing ʻ
inflated gradesʼin theconstitutes good teaching from the viewpoint of educa-

hope that they themselves will be judged more favoura-tors and academics(McEwan 2002, Stephenson 2001,

bly(Chambers and Schmitt 2002). The debate on the

Young and Shaw 1999, Kreber and Cranton 2000,

fairness of student evaluations still rages on although

Lecouter & Delfabbro 2001,Goodwin & Stephens 1993),

most research indicates that the fears of teachers arecomparatively little has been written on what students

largely unfounded, and that students do evaluatebelieve makes teachers and their teaching, good.

⎜ 91 ⎜J Nurs Studies N C N J Vol.3 No.1 2004

As the consumers of education,students are those whoJapanese university students in a nursing college. Only

are best able to measure the impact that teachers makeone respondent was male. That those taking part wereon them.What an adult expert thinks is excellent teach-

university students is an important factor, as there

ing may not necessarily fit studentsʼcriteria. Centra

would seem to be differences in terms of what students(1975 cited by Petersen), ʻ
showed that adults are veryof different ages expect from their teachers.At younger

poor raters of even college‑age student views,let aloneages, some research has suggested that personality is athose of children and adolescents.ʼ
It is also possible that

more pertinent factor in good teaching than teachingacademics are more concerned with those things thattechniques. Peterson(2000), in research on elementary

can more easily be measured, rather than those in thehigh school studentsʼviews, argues that students areaffective domain that are less easily quantified. Whencapable of distinguishing between a teacher they likestudents are asked to fill in questionnaires on evaluating

and a teacher who improves their learning. ʻStudent

teachers,theyare rating statements chosen byothers,sosurveys are not merely popularity contests；students

it is possible that their own beliefs are not represented.

distinguish between merelyliking a teacher and one who

Over the years I have been struck at how an

enables their learning. While students can distinguishindividualʼ
s favourite teacher and best subject have been

between a teacher who supports learning and one who

the same. This anecdotal evidence suggests that thetreats them well, this study suggests that the former isinfluence a teacher has on a studentʼ
s future is quite

more important to older students and the latter is more

profound.It also stands to reason that seeking studentsʼ

(p.148)important to younger ones.ʼ

opinions is beneficial not only in so far as they can

The limitations of the research include the fact that asindicate to a teacher if they understand what is going in

the responses were written in English, some aspects

class, but also as it gives the students a voice in theirmight have been difficult for students to express, andown education.

that the sample size was relatively small.

The concern with student ratings then, is more withhow they are used, (in terms of administration and

Ⅱ．Method

promotion)rather than on their value as a form of
feedback for enabling a teacher to improve their perfor-

The students were asked to fill in a questionnaire

mance. Whether student evaluations should be used forasking about their feelings towards subjects andsuch matters as promotion is a vexing issue, but as ateachers at high school. The questions asked were,diagnostic tool for teachers to improve their own teaching, student feedback would seem to be an invaluable

What was your favourite subject?

resource.

What did you think of the teacher of that class? Why?

It is also the case, as Aleamoni reports(1987), that

What was your best subject at high school?

most research and use of the student rating forms has

What did you think of the teacher of that class? Why?

occurred at the college and university level, and it isWhat was your worst subject at high school? Why?

possible therefore, that the needs of students at highWhat did you think of the teacher of that class? Why?

school level are different,as the needs and expectations

Think of the teachers you have liked most. Why did youof students will change as they mature.

like them? What did they have in common?

Despite the limitations of studentsʼfeedback, theThink of the best teachers you have had. What madeadvantages outweigh the disadvantages.In the words ofthem good? What did they have in common?

Wilson, ʻ
the views of students may be prejudiced, mis-

Think of the teachers you disliked. Why didnʼt you liketaken, superficial, immature, but whatever their valid-

them? What did they have in common?

ity, they exist and exert a powerful influence on theeffectiveness of the course.ʼ

The responses to these questions have been categorised into four areas. Those that relate to the teachersʼ

Ⅰ．Subjects

personality for what students feel are good and badteachers, and in terms of what students feel to be good

The participants in this study were 48 first‑year

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and bad teaching behaviours.

⎜ 92 ⎜

There is inevitably an element of subjectivity in inter-

Good teaching

preting these comments, but on the whole it was notproblematical. As one might expect, a student tends tolike or dislike a teacher or subject either because of

In the questionnaire the students were asked totheir relationship with the teacher, or because of how

describe their favourite teacher and best teacher sepa-

the subject is taught(although this is not always therately, (if they were not the same), and as would becase). It was, however, clear what students believe

expected, favourite teachers related more to theconstitute good and bad teachers, and good and badteacherʼs personality traits, whereas the best teacher

teaching.

was more often described in terms of how he/she taught,

As this was an open‑ended questionnaire, some stu-in addition to having the same personality traits.

dents would give, for example, four different reasons

For the following section the traits and behaviours of

why they liked a teacher, whereas another would only

the studentsʼ
favourite and best teachers have been

give one.Consequently,the responses are recorded only

combined.

in terms of how often an attribute or teaching style was

Kindness/Caringreferred to, and therefore the results should not be

Not surprisingly, the most common response to this
(28 menquestion was that a teacher should beʻkindʼinterpreted as being anything more than suggestive.

tions). This in itself is hardly surprising, and is often
Ⅲ．Results

taken as a ʻgivenʼ
in academic work, but to these students this is the key element.Hadley& Hadley(1996)ina survey of 165 Japanese students found that kindness
was regarded as the most important attribute of a good

The link between the studentsʼfavourite teacher andteacher. In research in America, Peterson(2000, p.148)

their best subject was not as pronounced as anticipated.

was seemingly surprised when his research at highOf the 48 students in this survey, 10 students indicatedschools revealed ʻan unexpectedly strong sentiment onthat their favourite teacher was also the teacher of their

the part of students for caring and respectful treatment

best subject. It cannot be said with any certainty if itof pupilsʼ
.

was this liking of the teacher that inspired the student to

Most rating forms do not use such terminology as

be good at the subject, but it is a possible hypothesis.

kindness,perhaps because it is so difficult to define,but

A more intriguing finding was the link between awhen given free expression it is the qualitythat students

studentʼ
s least popular teacher and the studentʼ
s worstseem to value above all others.

subject.In 19cases the teacher that a student least liked

The philosopher Bertrand Russell,writing in the 1930

was also the teacher of their worst subject. Again, theʼs also regarded ʻkindlinessʼas the most importantreason for this link can only be speculation.It might beaspect of all.Cited by Hare(2002,p.494‑5)he wrote that

because the student was poor at the subject that theyʻmuch the most important of all qualifications in adisliked the teacher,but it is just as conceivable that theteacher is the feeling of spontaneous affection toward

teacher turned the student away from the subject.

those whom he teachesʼ. He continued to sayʻ
naturalMcEwan quotes Sanders and Rivers(1996, p.xiii), who

affection,or vital warmth,prompts the teacher to treat

found that ʻmost depressing of all is that ineffective

each child with reverence, developing a relationship ofteachers damage students and diminish learningʼandfriendliness rather than hostility as the students begin to

Stronge(2002, p.18), who suggests that, ʻless effective

realise that their teacher is working with them, in ateachers may actually extinguish studentsʼinterest in

spirit of enquiry to achieve a common purpose, andthe subjectʼ
.Whatever the reason for these correlations,

helping them flourish as human beings.ʼ

they seem to be more than coincidental.

By analysing studentsʼ
responses it is possible to illustrate what behaviours constitute kindness. Some are
more general in terms of dailyinteractions and others interms of behaviours in class. It should be possible forteachers, once aware of such actions, to put greater⎜ 93 ⎜J Nurs Studies N C N J Vol.3 No.1 2004

emphasis upon them in their own teaching.

who are not in this category feel this neglect keenly.

General attributes of kind teachers included the following.

Givvin(2001,p.324)expands on this point,ʻ
initial perceptions can also bias what teachers see and how they・Caring about students；wanting them to succeed

interpret student behaviour.For instance,a teacher who
believes that a student is lazy may not notice when the・Thinking about the studentsʼ
position(workload, level of understanding etc)

students exerts considerable effort. Thus, unlessteachers make a conscious effort to reassess their judge-

・Working hard for the benefit of the students

ments of students,their expectations and perceptions of・Giving up free time for the benefit of students

students may not adjust as a consequence of changes in(attending school events, extra help etc.)

studentsʼ
behaviours over time or differences across・Thinking well of students

situations.ʼ

・Trusting students

To help ourselves as teachers and to help students

・Making sure students are happy

achieve more, it is vital that students can make fresh・Being interested in studentsʼ
opinions

starts.This point also illustrates how important ʻforma-

Stronge(2000,p.14)believes the role of caring,means,tiveʼevaluation is.If a student receives onlyʻ
summativeʼʻ
bringing out the best in students through affirmation

feedback,with no indication of what to do to improve,itand encouragementʼ. This attitude would seem to beis hardlysurprising if theyʻgive upʼon a subject in whichinvaluable. Particularly when students are younger,butthey do not do well.Although it is very demanding for aperhaps at all ages, students need to build confidenceteacher to prepare individual formative feedback forthat they are good at any subject. Conversely, negative

students,not only does it enable a student to know what

feedback from a teacher can make a student believe

they are doing wrong and how to improve, but it alsothat they are poor at a subject. Stronge expands(p.30)

shows that the teacher is concerned about them as anon this point saying,

individual.

ʻEffective teachers believe in their students andexpect all of them to learn, regardless of their skill

In terms of classroom teaching actions,the following
were mentioned.

levels and starting points. M oreover, effective teachers

・Approachability

believe that students can learn；therefore, the students

・Not being critical of studentsʼmistakes so thatdo learn. Unfortunately, this self‑fulfilling prophecy

students are not too frightened to ask questions

works both ways.For example if a teacher believes that・Rephrasing when students didnʼ
t understand an

students are low performing,unreachable,and unable toexplanation

learn, the students perform poorly, seem unreachable,

・Helping with problems of non‑academic natureand do not learn. (p.30)ʼ

・Being able to trust the teacher

Stephenson(2001, p.2)also emphasises how damaging

・Encouraging students…when
it is for students to get negative feedback, ʻ・Appreciating studentsʼefforts

students truly believe that they have little or no ability

・Attending school functionsin an academic(or any other)domain, they tend to

These are clearly important elements in good teach-

assume this deficiency is stable over a long period ofing. As can be seen in the actions of poor teachers,

time and largelyunchangeable.Theyare inclined to stop

students need to feel able to question the teacher if they

trying and to give up‑a phenomenon known as learned

are unsure of what to do or if they do not understand.

helplessness.ʼ
As all teachers know it is very easy to

Talking to students is also the simplest wayof obtaining

pigeon‑hole students according to ability,and to expect

feedback on whether the students are following what islower standards from less able students,or poor behav-

being taught.

iour etc. and as a consequence, studentsʻ
live downʼ
tothis perception.

If a teacher is critical of students when responding toquestions it is inevitable that the students will cease to

One of the traits of bad teachers, according to thisask them. Russell notes, ʻ
if the studentʼ
s own emerging

survey, is that teachers are guilty of favouritism

independence is to be nurtured,criticism by the teacher

towards the more gifted students, and those students

must never be carried to such lengths as timidityin self‑

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expressionʼ
. Irony and sarcasm were mentioned asteacher. The importance of enthusiasm cannot be over-teacher behaviours that they did not like.

stated, as it is also very likely that ʻinteresting classesʼ

Another interesting result of this survey was that

do depend to some extent on the teacher being enthusias-

students were appreciative of teachers who ʻ
pushedʼtic.Students can sense when a teacher isʻ
going throughthem. They valued teachers who demanded high stan-

the motionsʼand are not really interested in teaching.

dards and were critical of those who were too lax or

Cothran(2003, p.439)quotes an American high school

who could not control a noisy class.

student as saying,ʻ
I feel…if the teacher doesnʼ
t want to

Humour/Making the class fun

be there, ‑theyʼ
re just there because they need a job then

The next most mentioned attribute of good teachersIʼm not gonna put any effort in eitherʼ. This attitude(26mentions)or the abilityto make classes
wasʻ
humourʼshows that having enthusiasm is a part of showingʻfunʼ.Although this might seem a rather trivial aspect ofrespect for students.
Expert knowledge/Being cleverbeing a good teacher,in terms of empathy,it shows thatthe teacher is concerned about the students. It also

The fourth most common feature of a good teacher

shows that the teacher is aware of students as individ-(14 mentions). Students
was having ʻ
expert knowledgeʼ

uals. Hadley & Hadley(1996)found that Japanese stu-

are evidently aware of when theyfeel the teacher knows

dents value this highly, as did Cothran(2003), withthe subject and when they donʼt.Young and Shaw(1999)

American high school students. He found that students

found when 912university students rated 25descriptions

were more likely to ʻ
go alongʼwith other demands/of effective teachers；subject matter knowledge wasrequests of the teacher if the lesson was fun. Medgyes

regarded as the most important.This criteria is perhaps(2002, p.5)points out that among other things humour,

not quite so essential for teachers at high school or・Brings students closer together

elementary school,but it is clear that students do feel it・Releases tension

to be important.

・Generates a happy classroom
・Enhances motivation
・Develops creative thinking

Making the class interesting

According to the students in this study, teachers tell-This was mentioned 15 times. In part this relates to

ing anecdotes from their own lives and about their own

ʻbeing enthusiastic about the subjectʼbut can also be

experiences enrich the classroom and can create abroken down into more tangible components.

positive feeling towards the subject being studied.Hadleyand Hadley(1996)believe that storytelling is particu-

According to the students making a class interesting
includes the following.

lar feature of theʻkohai‑sempaiʼrelationship, though it

・Individualistic/memorable style of teachingmight also be the mere fact that the teacher wishes toThis is perhaps the one aspect students mentioned

tell the students about his/her own life, which showsthat it is difficult for teachers to ʻdoʼ
anything about. It

that the teacher treats the students with respect andis difficult for a teacher to be something that they areconsequently this is appreciated. Cothran(2003), in anot, but the other aspects mentioned are rectifiable.
・M aking the class seem relevant

survey of high school students in America, quotes a
student giving the following advice to teachers,ʻ
let them

By relating the content of the class to the studentsʼ

know youʼ
re a real personʼ
. Teachers often feel it isreality, students will be able to see why they are learn-

important to create social distance between themselves

ing about it. Too often students cannot seeʻ
whyʼ
they

and their students, but Cothran(2003)found that stu-need to learn about some aspect of a subject, but thedents felt this to be a negative state of affairs and more

better teachers are able to make their students see thelikely to lead to discipline problems.

relevance. By being aware of the age and interests ofEnthusiasm for the subject

students teachers should be able to achieve this. Often

The third most mentioned quality(15 mentions)of a

the use of practical examples that connect with a stu-

good teacher was that they should beʻ
enthusiastic about

dentsʼ
everyday life will illustrate the point clearly.

the subjectʼ.In this choice,the students are in agreementwith what academics feel makes a good university⎜ 95 ⎜

・Asking questions to students so that all students are involved in the class

J Nurs Studies N C N J Vol.3 No.1 2004

Questioning is generally regarded as a critical compo-

from one another. What a teacher may not be able tonent of teaching and learning. Not only does it provide

explain to a student, another student might be able tothe teacher with immediate feedback on whether or not

do. If students are mature enough to work in groups,

students understand the class, but it also encourages

they also give both the teacher and student the opportu-

students to payattention as theymight be called upon tonity to ask questions in a less intimidating atmosphererespond.In the words of Stronge(2002,p.46),ʻ
questionsthan in front of a whole class.

are most valuable when they receive responses‑correct・Interesting content

or incorrect‑because responses encourage student

Although teachers may not feel it is their responsibil-

engagement；demonstrate understanding or misconcep-

ity to entertain students, if they present the lesson in ation,and further discussion.Questions should be consid-

novel way, or include some memorable aspect,students

ered carefully and prepared in advance of a lesson toare more likely to remember whatever the key points

ensure that they support the goals that emphasize themight be. Story‑telling, humour, questioning, student

key points,along with maintaining appropriate levels ofparticipation will all make the class seem more interest-difficulty and complexityʼ
. By engaging students in an

ing, even if the content itself is dry.

interactive process, it is thought that students learning

Making the class easy to understandThis was mentioned 9times and in some ways follows

will be enhanced.It should also help stop students falling
asleep.

on from making the class interesting, as by making a・Teaching about life not just the subject

class interesting to students it will also be understand-・Teaching in different styles

able.Pitching a class at an appropriate level is obviously

Teaching in different styles is bound to create morea key element to teaching from all perspectives,and yetinterest than always teaching the same way. Students

in response to the question ofʻ
what makes a badhave different learning styles, and a variety of styles isteacherʼ
it is clear that this is a common failing.

more likely to help a mix of student styles. As Stronge

As mentioned earlier,testing plays an important part(2002)says, ʻeffective teachers routinely combine

in teaching.The purpose of tests(or quizzes)is to enable

instructional techniques that involve individual, small‑the teacher to find out how much of what is being

group, and whole‑class instruction.ʼ
It would seem thatʻ
taughtʼis actually being understood.

typically most teachers will adapt a ʻlecture styleʼ

Stronge(2002, p.55)says of effective teachers, ʻ
theyapproach, but this is not without its critics. Stronge,

monitor student progress informally through such tech-(2002, p.44)says of this style, ʻ
it often overloads andniques as scanning and circulating around the room, oroverwhelms students with data, making it likely that

simply talking to individuals or small groups of students

they will confuse the facts presentedʼ
.Due to class sizes

about specific tasks or activities. These teachers makeof forty or more,a lecture style or having students work

notes about difficulties they observe and spend time

individually is more easily managed than pair or groupthinking about how they can better reach students.ʼ

work, but the students in this survey seem to prefer a

Clarity of explanation/Rephrasing

more inter‑active approach to learning,as the following

Six students mentioned clarity of explanation. This

list indicates.

goes in tandem with making the class easy to under-・Giving students the chance to do things bythemselves

stand.One individual mentioned ʻmaking the lesson relevantʼ
which indicates that teachers should try to relate

・Allowing students the opportunity to ask ques-

abstract ideas to the reality of the students. According
to Horan(1991cited in Hatvia et al.(2001,p.701))exem-

tions
・Challenging students to think and develop theirplary teachers, ʻmake course content relevant to stu-

own view

dents by giving examples and connecting course goals to・Doing group work so that students can discuss

the expectations and experiences of their students.ʼFiveand argue with each otherstudents noted the importance of teachers being able to・Free exchanges of opinion

re‑explain something in a different way, as being an

・Teachers and students studying together

example of good teaching. Having many examples to

There is also the possibility that students can learn

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illustrate theoretical points in particular should benefit⎜ 96 ⎜

student comprehension.
Teacher was always angry/Too strict
Bad teachingStudents make the distinction between being strict,which is perceived as a good teaching attribute,and ʻ
tooLittle research, if any, has been done specifically on

strictʼ, which is seen as being unreasonable. Most com-

what makes a bad teacher.Byimplication,those aspects

monly referred to instances are those in which thethat are contrary to ʻ
good teachingʼare poor,but again,

teacher does not even listen to a studentʼs point of view,

there are some interesting revelations from the students.

but immediately assumes that the student is guilty ofsome misdemeanour. One student in describing the way
good teachers rebuke students summed this up very

Boring classes

succinctly in saying, ʻwhen they told us off it was to

The biggest problem according to 25 students was

make us great, not to release their stressʼ
.

boring classes. Five described this, asʻ
the class was

Favouritism/Lack of fairness

sleepyʼ. Whilst this might be due to such outside influ-

Students are acutely aware of what they perceive toences as the weather, or having a class following lunch

be a teacherʼs bias in favour ofʻ
betterʼ
students. As

or a sportʼ
s class, getting students to get out of their

mentioned before the danger of a teacher having low

seats and to move around might prevent sleepinessexpectations of lesser students is likely to crystallize

which is not teaching induced.

their difficulties and to make them feel inadequate in theSome specific entries that can be categorised undersubject. If a teacher keeps a record by marking thethis heading are related to teaching styles.Six students

register every time they ask a student to answer acomplained that such teachersʻ
just wrote on the black-question they are likely to avoid the risk of teaching toboardʼ
, another six that the teacherʻ
only read the text-

favoured students.

bookʼand another six that they onlyʻ
learnt things byStudents are also keenly aware ofʻdouble standardsʼ

heartʼ
. Not only would these teaching styles seem toin which the teacherʼs response to a student is dependent

negatively affect student motivation, but also they areupon who asks the question, rather than the question

not conducive to effective learning.

itself.Lack of constancy over time is another issue that

Howard and Henney(1998)say of university students

students feel makes a bad teacher(Cothran et al. 2003).

that theyʻ
learn more when they take an active role in

They are obviously aware of what occurred before,and

their learning‑seeing themselves as engaged partici-

if the response is different to a previous situation, theypants in their education rather than passive participants

lose confidence in the teacher and believe that theof knowledge from expertsʼ
. This point is borne out by

teacher is unfair.At younger ages particularly,students

the comments of the students here.

might not be able to overcome such slights,imagined orClasses were too difficult/Could not understandotherwise, and a seemingly innocuous occurrence could

the teacher

turn a student against a teacher, and perhaps even theThis is not a surprising complaint,with 16mentions ofsubject too.

this problem. Included in the comments was the diffi-

Indifference to students/Looking down on students

culty students had in understanding the teacherʼs expla-This again emphasises how important the basic

nations. According to Stronge(2002, p.4), research has

human relationship between the teacher and the student

shown that ʻ
students taught by teachers with greater

is. That a teacher should respect the student is impera-

verbal ability learn more than those taught by teachers

tive. Peterson et al. (2000, p.150), note how importantwith lower verbal abilityʼ
. To compensate for this, if

this aspect is； ʻ
student views of the teacher are impor-teachers prepare their explanations, illustrative exam-tant for perceptions within a school system and as

ples and instructions before the class,theymayfind that

accurate indicators of performance. Our advice totheir students are better able to grasp what they areteachers is to be concerned with relations to students assaying.

important people. While this can be difficult with large
classes, or multiple classes with large numbers of students during the day,these characteristics are important⎜ 97 ⎜J Nurs Studies N C N J Vol.3 No.1 2004

for student judgement about teacher quality.ʼThis lastenvironment.ʼ

point is central as teachers may often feelʻ
too busyʼ
todevote the time to students that theyneed.As the role of■Bibliography

record keeping and reports grows, so the most funda-

Abrami,P.C.,Cohen,P.A.,dʼ
Aollonia,S.(1990)ʻ
Validity ofStudent Ratings of Instruction：What We Know and
What We Do NotʼJournal of Educational Psychology 82,
2,219‑231.

mental relationship in teaching gets squeezed. Having
time for students and treating them with care anddignity is of paramount importance in the eyes of students. If teachers do this, then they may find that studentsʼ
performance in class also improves, as well as
their own rapport with the students.

Aleamoni, L.M. (1987)ʻ
Student Rating Myths versus
Research FactsʼJournal of Personnel Evaluation in
Education, 111‑119.
Chambers,B.A & Schmitt,N. (2002)ʻ
Inequity in the Performance Evaluation Process：How You Rate M e Affects
how I Rate YouʼJournal of Personnel Evaluation in
Education. 16：2, 103‑112.

Ⅳ．Conclusion
The opinions of the students show that a pre‑requisiteof good teaching is that the teacher has a kind andrespectful attitude towards the students. Students arealso aware that these alone do not make a teacher good,
but if theyare in place,then students will be receptive tothe teacher. In the classroom, students share the mostcommonly held beliefs of researchers into classroom
practice, that classes should be interesting, that theteacher should have good knowledge of their subject andbe enthusiastic about their subject.
The biggest problems that teachers seem to have,according to the students,are in pitching the level of theclass beyond the ability level of the students,and in not
being able to engage the studentsʼinterest. If teachers
make a point of obtaining feedback, either throughseeking studentsʼ
opinions via feedback forms, or bymonitoring class activities, they should soon becomeaware of this problem. To improve the interest level ofthe class, teachers could experiment with different
styles of teaching,which involve the students in actively
taking part. Students are also appreciative of teachers
telling interesting anecdotes,and of the use of humour inthe class.
The students in this study were asked to think abouthigh school teachers, but some elements of good teaching would seem to true for all ages. In concluding areview of the literature on exemplary university
teachers, Hatvia et al. (2001, p.701)concluded, ʻin sum,…teachers are well prepared and organised,present thematerial clearly, stimulate studentsʼinterest, engagement, and motivation in studying the material throughtheir enthusiasm/expressiveness, have positive rapport
with students, show high expectations of them, encourage them, and generally maintain a positive classroom

国立看護大学校研究紀要

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2004年

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学生による教員評価
David Richard Evans
国立看護大学校；〒 204‑8574 東京都清瀬市梅園 1‑2‑1【要旨】 学術的な視点での望ましい教師の要素に関する出版物は多くあるが，一般的な学生に対しての教授法の考え方に関する出版は少数である。本研究では 48名の大学生を対象に望ましい教師および望ましくない教師に関して様々な質問を自由回答式質問紙を用いて調査を行なった。その結果，学生は，講義の主題よりむしろ教師の人間性を重視し，特に教師の親切さや学生に対しての熱心さ，ユーモアといった要素を重視する傾向にあった。実践的な教授法においては，学生は，教師が興味深くまた理解しやすい内容の講義を提供することに価値を置いていることが明らかになった。学生は教師が自身の専門分野に強い関心があり，さらにその分野に卓越した知識を習得していること，知性的であることを望ましいと考えていた。また，学生は教師への近づきやすさ・質問のしやすさも望ましい教師の必要な要素としていた。 学生が記述した望ま
しくない教師および教授法は，望ましい教師の回答に比べ多岐にわたった。代表的なものは，講義が退屈であること，興味が湧かないこと，難易度が高いこと，そして包括的ではないことであった。学生の好まない教師の要素は，怒りやすい，公平ではない，そして学生を見下すといった行動を伴う教師であった。このことから既存の望ましい教師の要素と学生が望ましいと考える教師の認識は常に一致するわけではないことが明らかになった。

⎜ 99 ⎜J Nurs Studies N C N J Vol.3 No.1 2004