Evaluating the Quality of Instruction in Art: A Social Judgment Analysis

This study applied the methods and analytical procedures of social judgment theory to the study of teaching effectiveness in the arts. Four groups of judges, with varying levels of experience in art, rated the quality of 35 hypothetical art teachers on a series of seven dimensions relating to effectiveness of teaching. Results indicated that subjects in all groups displayed very similar strategies, giving most weight to the teachers' enthusiasm, knowledge, supportiveness, and communication skills in the evaluation of instructional quality. Subjects also showed little awareness of the dimensions they employed in making such judgments.