The Role of Instructor Accent on Student Learning & Instructor Evaluation in a Digital Learning Environment
Authors: Vinovskis Carissa , Lee Lisa 
Published: June 2021

Student evaluations are one of the most common modalities by which instructors in higher education are assessed professionally. However, research indicates that student evaluations of instructors may be directly or indirectly influenced by factors unrelated to the efficacy of the teacher. As digital resources & online classes become more ubiquitous, student interactions with teachers grow limited, possibly rendering evaluations of instructors more susceptible to pre‐existing student bias. Recent studies show that students evaluate digital resources and instructors differently based on perceived gender & age of the narrator, despite positive learning outcomes, but little research has examined whether the same is true based on perceived instructor ethnicity. To study how instructor accent affects student learning and evaluation of instructors in a digital learning environment, an IRB‐exempt study was designed and 4 digital resources on the histology of the pituitary gland were produced. All the 4 modules were identical in content, but each module was narrated in a distinct accent (standard American, Chinese, Indian & British) by one individual. Graduate and professional health science students who had not yet learned the educational content were recruited to participate in the study and were randomized into 4 groups, with each group given access to 1 resource. Student learning outcomes were measured by pre‐ vs. post‐quiz comparison using a paired t‐test. Student perceptions of the digital resources & their narrator were assessed using a Likert‐scale survey that evaluated both the learning module (7 questions) and the instructor (16 questions). Likert survey responses were analyzed with a two‐way Repeated‐Measures MANOVA. The survey also allowed for written comments, which were thematically analyzed. Common keywords and phrases were coded, and frequency noted. 58 students participated in the study. Results demonstrated a statistically significant increase in post‐quiz performance (p=7e−21), regardless of assigned digital resource, signifying learning occurred irrespective of perceived instructor ethnicity. Despite identical content, students rated the organization & effectiveness of the module differently, depending on narrator accent. An American narrator rated higher than a Chinese narrator in terms of organization (p=0.03), but a British narrator rated higher than an American narrator in terms of helping students gain new appreciation for the material (p=0.04). Students also rated the instructor differently on characteristics such as enthusiasm and whether they enjoyed listening to the instructor present information. The British narrator was rated higher for pleasing characteristics (p=0.02), but the Indian instructor was rated higher for seeming to present material in a well‐organized manner (p=0.04) & the Chinese instructor was rated higher for identifying appropriate concepts (p=0.03). This study reveals for the first time, students' ethnic bias in the evaluation of educational resources and instructors in digital environment, which may have important implications in the increasingly diverse and digital world of education.

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.