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Does the Wording of Syllabi Affect Student Course Assessment in Introductory Political Science Classes?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2002

John T. Ishiyama  and
Stephen Hartlaub
John T. Ishiyama
Affiliation:
Truman State University
Stephen Hartlaub
Affiliation:
Frostburg State University
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Abstract

In this article, we examine the impact of syllabi wording on how students assess a hypothetical instructor for an introductory political science course at a medium-sized state institution. Student participants were recruited from political science classes at this institution and randomly assigned to two groups. The groups were asked to review a sample syllabus from an introductory political science class and answer a number of questions regarding the instructor, as well as a few demographic questions. The syllabi were identical except for the wording of the requirements. For one group, the requirements were expressed in “rewarding” terms; for the other, the requirements were expressed in “punishing” terms.

Type
THE TEACHER
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , September 2002 , pp. 567 - 570
Copyright
© 2002 by the American Political Science Association

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Footnotes

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House-Hilton, April 19–22, 2001. Chicago, Illinois.