Online Student Evaluation of Teaching: Will Professor "Hot and Easy" Win the Day?
Abstract
A qualitative content analysis of student comments on RateMyProfessors.com (RMP) identified the characteristics of professors rated as “good,” “average,” and “poor.” Comments contained instructor characteristics consistent with prior research on the qualities of effective and ineffective college teachers. To better understand how students might use the information on RMP in course selection, study participants’ preferences for professors of varying ratings for quality, ease, and physical attractiveness were assessed experimentally. Participants’ preferences for professors rated “good but hard” or “easy but poor” varied with their level of involvement in the course and with their gender. Uninvolved students and males showed a preference for an “easy but poor” professor. Preferences for the “easy but poor” professor were also significantly and negatively correlated with need for cognition, which means that “easy but poor” professors are preferred by students who do not enjoy engaging in effortful thought, and grade point average.
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