IDEA Instruments
IDEA Instruments are course-feedback surveys used through Anthology Evaluate to provide formative suggestions for improving instruction and summative feedbac…
What IDEA Instruments is
IDEA Instruments are course-feedback surveys used through Anthology Evaluate to provide formative suggestions for improving instruction and summative feedback for faculty evaluation, with a focus on student learning. The Diagnostic Feedback instrument has 40 questions covering learning objectives, teaching methods, and overall impressions of the instructor and course. Learning Essentials uses 18 questions to summarize student progress and overall impressions, while Teaching Essentials uses 12 questions for formative feedback on teaching methods. A six-question Feedback tool lets instructors gather student input during the semester. Diagnostic Feedback and Teaching Essentials adjust specified ratings for factors such as student preparation, motivation, work habits, course difficulty, and class size; reports also show raw averages. Faculty receive customized reports with feedback and improvement resources. Students access course surveys through their campus Anthology portal. Evaluate supports LMS connections, including LTI launches and Blackboard integrations; a web service can query whether a student completed an evaluation. Institutions set up administrations and select instruments under campus policies. Pricing is available on request.
Good
- Includes instruments for different feedback needs
- Reports can show adjusted ratings and raw averages
- Faculty receive customized reports and improvement resources
- Supports LMS access and evaluation reminders
- Documents keyboard and screen-reader accessibility
Watch out
- Pricing is available on request
- Administrators select instruments for each administration
- Combining instruments in a term requires separate administrations
Who it suits
IDEA Instruments suit higher-education institutions seeking course-feedback analytics and resources focused on student learning. They are relevant to faculty and administrators who use course evaluations to understand instruction and student progress.
Verdict
IDEA Instruments offer several survey formats, from in-semester feedback to broader course evaluations. Institutions should account for administrator-led instrument selection and separate administrations when combining instruments.
The facts
Each one read from IDEA Instruments's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Accessibility
- Evaluate is designed with WCAG in mind and documents keyboard navigation, semantic page structure, and screen-reader compatibility.checked 4 Oct 2001
- Adjusted scores
- Diagnostic Feedback and Teaching Essentials adjust specified ratings for factors such as student background, motivation, work habits, course difficulty, and class size; reports also let users view raw averages.checked 4 Oct 2001
- Anytime feedback
- Feedback is a six-question tool for instructors to receive formative student feedback throughout the semester.checked 5 Oct 2001
- API
- Evaluate provides a web service that institutions can use to query whether a student completed an evaluation for a course section and term.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Choosing instruments
- Institutions may select instruments under campus policies, and combining different instruments in a term requires separate administrations for each instrument.checked 4 Oct 2001
- Diagnostic Feedback
- Diagnostic Feedback provides summative and formative feedback on student progress, teaching methods, and overall impressions of the instructor and course, using 40 questions.checked 5 Oct 2001
- In-semester feedback
- The six-question Feedback tool lets instructors collect formative student feedback during the semester.checked 4 Oct 2001
- Integrations
- Anthology Evaluate can integrate with Blackboard LMS through calendar events and evaluation reminders; setup requires matching course identifiers, and reminders require an LTI 1.3 connection.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Learning Essentials
- Learning Essentials provides summative feedback about average progress on relevant learning objectives and overall impressions, using 18 questions.checked 5 Oct 2001
- LMS integration
- Evaluate supports LTI connections that let students launch from their LMS and authenticate into Evaluate without signing in again.checked 4 Oct 2001
- Purpose
- IDEA Instruments provide formative feedback with suggestions for improvement and summative feedback that can contribute to faculty evaluation.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Reporting
- Faculty receive customized reports with feedback and resources for improvement in specified areas.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Research history
- Anthology says the IDEA instrument is built on more than 45 years of research.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Score adjustment
- Diagnostic Feedback adjusts relevant-objective progress and overall ratings for student preparation, work habits, motivation, course difficulty, and class size.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Security
- Blackboard states its security program aligns to NIST and that several products complete annual SOC 2 Type 2 examinations; the page does not specify IDEA's individual certification status.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Security and delivery
- Blackboard describes Evaluate as a SaaS solution with multiple authentication options, LTI integration, security protocols, and auditing.checked 4 Oct 2001
- Selection limit
- Faculty cannot technically select an instrument; an administrator selects it when setting up an administration, and campus policies may determine the choice.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Student access
- Students access surveys for all their courses from one place: their campus Anthology portal.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Support
- Evaluate support handles technical troubleshooting and can be contacted by ticket, phone, or chat.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Teaching Essentials
- Teaching Essentials provides formative feedback about teaching methods associated with instructor and course excellence, using 12 questions.checked 5 Oct 2001
- Who it serves
- The IDEA system provides course-feedback analytics, resources, and advice intended to improve student learning in higher education.checked 4 Oct 2001
Where it runs
- Browser support
- Evaluate is designed to work in major browsers, and its documentation recommends using current browser versions.checked 4 Oct 2001
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