Intended course objectives and perception of teaching effectiveness

Abstract

In this study the relationship between intended course objectives and teaching effectiveness was investigated. Teaching effectiveness was indexed through student evaluations of teaching (SETs) and lecturer self-evaluations (LSEs), with a focus on course evaluation. Rated learning of intended course objectives was derived by two parallel questionnaires administered to 1647 students and 84 lecturers in 84 psychology courses. In particular, lecturers rated the importance of 11 course objectives for their course, while students rated their perceived achievement throughout the course according to the same 11 course objectives. Corresponding importance and achievement ratings were used to calculate separate measures of students' achievement of intended and unintended course objectives. Results show that students' perceived achievement of intended course objectives was associated with better SETs and LSEs. No association with SETs or LSEs were found for students' perceived achievement of unintended course objectives. These findings support the importance of having clear course objectives for effective student learning.