TPC-Journal-V2-Issue1

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 1 83 Gellman, 1997). Although SET is not without its critics, it appears to be a pragmatic way to access and compare student perceptions of teachers’ effectiveness and therefore a potential measure of the relative efficacy of different class schedules. In an effort to better evaluate students’ course experiences, the influence of EG (Goldman, 1985) and XG (Greenwald & Gillmore, 1997) on SET is receiving considerable attention in the literature. The present study provided an opportunity to examine the relationship of SET to both EG and XG relative to four different class schedule formats. Research Questions In seeking to discover if particular class schedules were more effective in a team-taught career course, we evaluated grades and participant feedback from undergraduate students. The goal was to determine if any of the four differing class schedules produced significant differences in the course evaluation measures EG, XG, and SET. Although we were examining these measures from the students’ perspective and such measures are typically scored at the individual student level, we chose to examine class section level scores because XG and SET data were only available to us in this way. The first group of research questions examined differences between mean evaluative measures, aggregated by class format and averaged for classes that met one (W), two (MW/TuTh), or three times per week (MWF) for 16 weeks, or four times per week (MTuWTh) for 6 weeks. Research Question 1: Were there any significant differences in the career course evaluation measures among the four class formats? RQ 1.1: Are there differences in mean EG between formats? RQ 1.2: Are there differences in mean XG between formats? RQ 1.3: Are there differences in mean SET between formats? The second group of research questions explored the differences between the evaluation measures (EG, XG, and SET) within the sections. Research Question 2: Within any given format, are there significant differences between the mean of the aggregated class evaluation measures? RQ 2.1: Is the mean XG significantly different than the mean EG? RQ 2.2: Is the mean XG significantly different than the mean SET? RQ 2.3: Is the mean EG significantly different than the mean SET? Method Participants Over a 6-year period, 1,479 students were enrolled in 57 sections of a career course to fulfill elective requirements for the baccalaureate degree. The class met in a standard classroom in academic buildings on the campus. Although the class was offered for variable credit, over 95% of the students took it for 3 credit hours. The number of students per section ranged from 19–34 with a mean of 26.5. Ethnic diversity was generally proportional to the general student population of the university: Caucasian, 74%; African American, 12%; Hispanic American, 7%; Other, 4%; Asian, 3%; and American Indian, .4%. The course typically enrolled about 60% females and 40% males, including freshmen (15%), sophomores (45%), juniors (20%), and seniors (20%). Depending on the semester, between 15% and 25% of the course was composed of students with officially undeclared majors, and the large percentage of sophomores was the result of academic advisors referring these undeclared students to the class. While almost 40% of the members in a typical class reported satisfaction with their present career situation, about 60% were unsure, dissatisfied, or undecided. Course Grading Procedures Student grades were computed using scores earned on assignments contained in the performance contract. This contract was comprised of 28 different graded activities spread across the three units of the course. Given the use of the performance contract, students in this course should have had a very good idea of what their final grade would be when