A short questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of tutors in PBL: validity and reliability

The tutor plays a central role in problem-based learning (PBL). In many PBL-curricula the effectiveness of the tutor is evaluated in order to provide tutors with feedback. In the literature, several tutor evaluation instruments have been described. The problem with many of these instruments is that they are quite long, due to which students become 'tired' of filling them out. Using a short questionnaire is more convenient for students, but the question is whether such a short instrument can be valid and reliable. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the validity and reliability of a short questionnaire (11 items), representing five underlying factors. A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to assess the adequacy of the five factors. The results demonstrated that the five factor model had a good fit to the data. The alpha coefficients also demonstrated acceptable levels. In conclusion, the short tutor evaluation instrument (11 items) is reliable and valid and can be used for formative and summative purposes.