Frequently Asked Questions
You may find the answers to your questions about the use of MonQueST here in the FAQs section (Frequently Asked Questions). However, if the answer to your query is not here just remember that you can contact
the Evaluations Administration by email or by telephoning (03) 9905 5143.
Each question describes some aspect of teaching or learning that a student might observe or experience in class. Students respond by reporting how often they recall these aspects as having occurred across all the classes taken by the staff member. The research literature indicates a strong link between these kinds of observations and good teaching in terms of positive learning outcomes.
There are also categories of response which allow students to indicate if they have attended too few classes to form a judgment, or if the question is inappropriate.
None of the questionnaires is likely to require much more than about 10 minutes of student
time.
Although none of the questionnaires is likely to require much more than about 10 minutes of student time, they do require quite specific recollections of experiences and observations. The exercise will therefore require some effort, and excessive use could result in student antipathy. If staff spread their MonQueST usage across their teaching, then the chances of students being deluged with questionnaires is lessened.
As a guide, a staff member could administer to any one class about every two to four years. This would mean that over a three-year period full coverage of teaching responsibilities could be achieved, with updating occurring in rolling fashion in subsequent years.
There is however one context in which a concentrated use of MonQueST might be justified. The questionnaires might be used as one source of information pre- and post- some substantial subject or teaching modifications. For instance, you might have a MonQueST evaluation conduced in a subject in one semester, make your modifications to that subject, run a repeat evaluation at the subject's next teaching, and then compare the results.
You are the only person who can request that a MonQueST evaluation be conducted on your teaching. Your personal results, including any written comments, are returned to you alone. The confidentiality of your results will be maintained at all times. Indeed, the Academic Board resolutions that established MonQueST require this. It is up to you to decide who can see your results and whether to use them as part of a teaching profile or dossier. Your personal results will NOT be released to anyone but yourself, unless you give explicit, written direction to do so.
Sometimes it might be useful for staff who cooperate in teaching one subject to share MonQueST results. They might want to receive each other's reports, and even have aggregated reports generated. This is possible, but because of confidentiality requirements the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) will need to receive written advice from each staff member involved. If such a group use of MonQueST is a possibility contact CHEQ for further information.
Note: in the case of an aggregated report, the aggregated result could not be used as an official MonQueST evaluation for any individual staff member.
Do MonQueST questionnaires give you an accurate picture of your teaching? Are the questions asked in a way that students discriminate 'good' from 'average' teaching ? How consistently do students respond ? How can yoube sure they are rating what you actually do ?There have been a number of studies on the MonQueST questionnaires since their introduction in 1994. Students have been found to differentiate better between good, average and poor teaching using the MonQueST format than alternative phrasing formats. Students have been found to respond more consistently using the MonQueST question format than alternative formats. Student responses using the MonQueST format have been found to closely match independent observations of the teaching. In summary, these studies have shown MonQueST questionnaires to give good, reliable, interpretable results with relatively small class sizes, although a minimum class size of 15 are still recommended.
If you would like a more detailed explanation then you can download a brochure.
After conducting and processing your MonQueST evaluation, you will be sent a report that presents the results of your evaluation. CHEQ have developed a two-part guide to interpreting that report
- Report Layout clarifies how to read the tables or graphs that comprise the report
- Specific Concerns discusses some methodological aspects in greater detail. This is a good starting point if you have looked at the graphs and have had concerns about a particular aspect of your report.
|
