Module evaluation: a comparison of standard evaluation with nominal group technique

Area of Science:

• Educational research
• Higher education pedagogy

Background:

• Effective educational evaluation is crucial for quality assurance and enhancing student experience in higher education.
• Quantitative surveys are the predominant method for course evaluation in existing literature.
• Nominal group technique (NGT) presents an alternative evaluation method with prior success in curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare data quality from NGT with standard written questionnaires.
• To assess the utility of NGT feedback for educators and institutions.
• To evaluate the feasibility and appropriateness of NGT for broader application.

Main Methods:

• A multi-method study comparing NGT and written questionnaires.
• Analysis of data generated by both evaluation techniques.
• Assessment of feedback usefulness and implementation feasibility.

Main Results:

• Both methods yielded data on similar topics; questionnaires produced concise, comparable answers.
• NGT's discussion phase facilitated in-depth exploration of student perspectives, unlike questionnaires.
• NGT data is less suitable for institutional quality assurance due to comparability issues.

Conclusions:

• NGT provides valuable, in-depth feedback for individual teachers to enhance teaching efficacy and student learning experiences.
• NGT is particularly beneficial for evaluating new courses, diagnosing issues in underperforming courses, and identifying best practices.
• Selective implementation of NGT for specific evaluation needs may be more practical for institutions than routine use.