Earning positive evaluations from IT students: effective techniques

Achieving positive student evaluations may be more difficult in technology subjects than in some other disciplines. Research shows that the favorableness of student comments varies by discipline, with faculty in the arts and humanities receiving consistently higher ratings than faculty in science areas. Nevertheless the IT curriculum lends itself toward using technology in ways that promote positive interactions with students and overall satisfaction. Technology can be harnessed to foster innovative approaches to grading; implement testing methods that promote learning; increase the entertainment factor through active learning; and enhance the responsiveness of all students. Some specific methods include: generating a test bank from student input, demonstrating software using voice-over webcams, utilizing a cross-word puzzle format for concept learning, posing questions in a treasure-hunt format, and dramatizing ethical issues through scripts for student-actors. Capitalizing on students' enthusiasm for hands-on laboratory activities of all types and avoiding the conventional lecture format enables the IT instructor to effectively deliver course material in a manner that students find appealing.