Developmental aspects in students' course selection

Elisha Babad*, John M. Darley, Henry Kaplowitz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Types of information provided in a Student Course Guide to assist in course selection (CS) were content-analyzed. College courses (N = 215) were coded on 9 variables - instructor and course characteristics, subject matter descriptors, and a "criticism" dimension - and were correlated with postcourse student ratings of teaching (SRT). Analyses for course levels revealed a developmental trend, shifting from instructor humor and expressive style to learning value variables as predictors of SRT: (a) In 100-level courses, SRTs were predicted from course guide descriptions of instructor's humor. (b) In 200-level courses, SRTs were predicted by instructor's personality and expressive style. (c) In 300-level courses, lack of criticism was the major predictor, followed by "interesting course" and instructor's humor. (d) At 400-level courses, only academic types of CS information predicted SRTs - interesting readings, interesting course, and instructor's knowledge and expertise.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)157-168
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Educational Psychology
Volume91
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1999

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