First year students’ perceptions of the importance of good teaching: not all things are equal.

Abstract

First year undergraduate students at Griffith University were surveyed to explore their perceived importance of various aspects of good teaching typically used to assess course quality. There were significant differences between males and females, disciplines, passing and failing students, and native and non-native English speakers in terms of the strength of rated importance of different aspects of good teaching. These differences could influence CEQ ratings for courses depending on the enrolment profile. From the students' perspective four aspects of good teaching consistently emerged as the most important (i) being good at explaining things, (ii) being approachable, (iii) having enthusiasm for the subject matter, and (iv) providing helpful feedback. The next most important aspects were: making expectations clear, making subject matter interesting and using assessment strategies that did not reward memorisation.