5 MyKoha: Lecturer Evaluations 

At the end of your course, students are asked their opinion about the course (End of Course Survey), and about every lecturer who teaches on that course (Kaiako Evaluation Survey). All courses on all NZQA approved programmes are surveyed. 

What do we ask? 

1. My lecturer made me feel safe and welcomed in the course 
2. My lecturer was well prepared for each session (e.g., class, workshop, lecture, tutorial).  
3. The lecturer(s) was/were knowledgeable about the subject they were teaching. 
4. My lecturer clearly explained key ideas and difficult material.  
5. My lecturer was responsive when I needed support.  
6. A single free text field: ‘Do you have any other feedback?’ 

Notice the items above in bold. These questions were asked in the Start of Course Survey. We ask it again so that if there were issues early on with these things, this survey can show that you responded promptly to your students about this. 

Why is Kaiako Evaluation Survey important? 

Your students are going to be asked what they think about their lecturer (you know this in advance), so make sure that you take the time to give the students a great experience with you. We want students to enjoy their study and to stay with us, so here’s what you can do throughout the course: 

1. Make your students feel safe and welcome. 
   • Whether these are first year level two students or third year bachelor students, it is your responsibility to make your students feel welcome. If you need to, do some warm up or icebreaker activities to set everyone at ease. 
2. Be well prepared. 
   • This isn’t the same as being knowledgeable. This means that you’ve always organised anything needed for classes, e.g. materials and lecture notes, that you’ve planned your lessons and that you’ve put e.g. homework on Canvas before it’s required so that students don’t have to ask, Where’s X? 
3. Be knowledgeable 
   • Know your stuff. You wouldn’t be working here if you didn’t, but make sure that you communicate your knowledge to students in a way that they understand, and that you can talk around your subject when required. It’s not enough to know only the material you’re teaching; know more in case the students ask. 
4. Explain key ideas and difficult material clearly. 
   • If there are any key ideas that might be confusing, take the time to explain these to the students. This might mean putting extra material on Canvas or reorganising your schedule for a cohort if it takes longer for them to grasp a topic. 
5. Be responsive. 
   • Your students are going to need reassurance from you. Provide your contact information to the students and always respond to queries within a reasonable time. Inform students of when to contact you, your preferred method of communication and an allocated time to meet you face-to-face. Let them know that you can respond to queries but you also have other commitments besides work. 

How do I get my students to complete the survey? 

Two weeks before the end of the course, this survey is distributed through Canvas directly to students. It will be open for three weeks (until one week after the end of the course).  

Reserve time in class for students to complete the survey. They will be able to complete this survey and the End of Course Survey at the same time. These surveys only take a few minutes to complete. 

For more in the MyKoha series

1 My Koha: MIT’s Survey System 

2 MyKoha: First Impression Surveys 

3 MyKoha: Start of Course Survey 

4 MyKoha: End of Course Survey 

5 MyKoha: Lecturer Evaluations 

6 MyKoha: How to conduct a survey

7 MyKoha: Survey Results, What Next? 

8 MyKoha: Changes