Suggestions for Use
Attitudinal surveys can be used at the beginning of a course to identify the ways students perceive they learn best or to determine their attitudes toward the course or discipline. This information can be used to adapt instructional strategies. Another use is a comparison between attitudes at the beginning of the semester (pretest) and again at the end of the semester (posttest). This allows the instructor to discover the impact of their course on student perceptions on the variety of topics mentioned above. They also can be used at any point during the semester to make corrections to existing curricula or methods in a course.
The surveys can be taken in any location and require little time. A very long survey with eighty or so items usually requires no more than 20 minutes. Gender, ethnicity, major, year in school, and previous coursework can all be included in a survey.
Another feature that makes data collection and analysis easier is to use an optical scanning form and scanner (e.g. Scantron). This allows these data to be directly imported into a spreadsheet or statistical application for analysis.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Locate an Attitudinal Survey that matches your areas of concern. Many surveys will have items where specific aspects of your course can be added. Beware of changing the core features of an attitudinal survey since you will likely lose the validity and reliability built into the survey.
- Make needed and appropriate modifications to the survey. Have someone else read any modifications to ensure that they are clear, unambiguous, and do not contain compound statements.
- If you are having students circle a response then little else is needed. If you are using scanning forms, you will also need an ample supply of number two pencils as well as the scanning forms.
- Be sure that the instructions are read to the students as well as being printed on the survey form. The scales that are used should be repeated on each page or separate section of the survey.
- Give the students as much time as they need. The time required to complete surveys is quite short. Even the longest survey (80 items or so) rarely takes more than 20 minutes.
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