Additional Module Excursion – Münster Evaluation Questionnaire (MFE-ZEx)

Abstract

The additional module excursion – Münster Questionnaire for Evaluation (MFE-ZEx) is a short, 5-item instrument developed in German for the teaching evaluation (Lehrevaluation) system at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. It functions as a specific supplementary module to the core MFE questionnaires (MFE-Sr for seminars and MFE-Vr for lectures).

The purpose of the MFE-ZEx is to assess the quality and educational impact of excursions, particularly focusing on how these activities contribute to students’ professional orientation and their understanding of how psychology knowledge is applied in practice. As of the last documentation, the scale is currently classified as untested (unerprobt) due to a lack of sufficient empirical data following item modifications implemented to align with the requirements of the new Bachelor curriculum.

Keywords

Teaching evaluation, Higher Education, Excursion, Professional orientation, MFE, Psychology, Quality assurance, Online survey.

Authors

Ina Grötemeier, Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Meinald Thielsch.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the MFE-ZEx module is to provide a specific, time-efficient method for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of excursions offered within academic courses at the Department of Psychology at the University of Münster. This module allows instructors to tailor the evaluation process to the unique didactic concepts of their specific course formats.

The development of the MFE system, including its supplementary modules, was driven by the goal of achieving high data collection economy, especially crucial for web-based surveys conducted toward the end of the semester when students face high academic pressure. By using targeted additional modules like MFE-ZEx, the overall length of the evaluation is minimized for students whose courses do not include excursions, while ensuring that relevant feedback is collected when they do.

Construct

The scale measures specific aspects of Teaching Evaluation related to mandatory or supplementary excursions. The core construct assessed is the perceived Practical and Professional Relevance of Excursions.

The items specifically target the extent to which the excursion facilitates career orientation, demonstrates concrete professional activities, illustrates the practical application of psychological theory, and successfully integrates the experience within the overall seminar context. This focus aligns with the broader institutional goal of quality assurance in higher education and ensuring curricular relevance for future professional practice.

Validity

Currently, there are no specific empirical data regarding the Validity of the MFE-ZEx scale reported. The scale underwent item revisions in 2010 to ensure its content alignment with the curriculum requirements of the new Bachelor’s degree program, suggesting an effort toward enhancing content validity.

However, due to the historical infrequent use of the module in the former Diplom program and the pending data collection for the revised version, empirical measures of construct or criterion validity are not yet available. The scale is classified as untested (unerprobt).

Reliability

No specific information regarding the Reliability of the MFE-ZEx scale is currently documented. The status of development is classified as untested (unerprobt).

The short 5-item nature of the scale, while contributing to high assessment economy, suggests that internal consistency measures (such as Cronbach’s Alpha) will need to be calculated once sufficient data from the revised instrument version are collected and analyzed. Evaluation of teaching quality is an important instrument for quality assurance in higher education institutions.

Factor Analysis

No information concerning Factor Analysis or the internal structure of the MFE-ZEx module is available. The scale consists of only five items, suggesting it is intended to measure a single, focused dimension: Excursion Quality and Relevance.

The module’s development was based on analyzing characteristics of good teaching (Grabbe, 2003) and separating specific content areas from general evaluation instruments, implying a theoretical basis for its construction, though empirical confirmation of unidimensionality is pending upon future data analysis.

Instrument

Test Type: Specific supplementary module for course evaluation (Lehrevaluation).

Format: Web-based survey administered online via the University of Münster’s evaluation platform.

Language Available: German (deutsch).

Population Group: University Students (Psychology Department).

Age Group: Not specified, typically young adults (university age).

Population Details: Students enrolled in courses (seminars or lectures) at the Department of Psychology at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster that include an excursion component.

Test Methodology: The MFE-ZEx employs a 7-point Likert scale response format, ranging from 1 = “stimme gar nicht zu” (strongly disagree) to 7 = “stimme vollkommen zu” (strongly agree). An additional non-response option, “nicht sinnvoll beantwortbar” (not sensibly answerable), is also provided to maintain data quality. The module is usually presented immediately following the core MFE evaluation instruments (MFE-Sr and MFE-Vr).

Keywords

Münster, MFE-ZEx, Student feedback, Curriculum assessment, Psychometrics, Academic quality, Web-based evaluation.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source documentation.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Meinald Thielsch).

Correspondence Address: Ina Grötemeier and Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Meinald Thielsch, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Institut für Psychologie, Fliednerstr. 21, 48149 Münster, Germany.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale is part of the internal evaluation system of the Department of Psychology at the University of Münster. The initial design and integration of supplementary modules began around 2003. Major revisions to the MFE-ZEx item wording occurred in the summer semester of 2010 to align with the new Bachelor curriculum requirements. Information regarding external permissions or fees for use outside the university system is not provided in the source documentation.

Reference’s

Bechler, J. & Thielsch, M. T. (2012). Evaluation im Bachelor: Was sich ändert und wie man damit umgehen kann. In E. K. W. G. R. E. W. W. K. A. G. M. T. H. W. (Hrsg.), Psychologie im Bachelor-Studium: Bestandsaufnahme und Perspektiven (S. 119-128). Lengerich: Pabst.

Göritz, A. S., Soucek, R. & Bacher, J. (2005). Online-Befragungen: Eine Einführung für Anfänger. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Grabbe, A. (2003). Entwicklung und Evaluation eines Fragebogens zur Erfassung der Qualität von Seminaren aus Studierendensicht. Unveröffentlichte Diplomarbeit, Fachbereich Psychologie, Universität Münster.

Haaser, H., Thielsch, M. T. & Moeck, P. (2007). Webbasierte Lehrevaluation: Ein Erfahrungsbericht. Psychologie & Gesellschaftskritik, 31, 41-59.

Moeck, P. & Thielsch, M. T. (2004). Der Münsteraner Fragebogen zur Evaluation von Seminaren (MFE-S) und Vorlesungen (MFE-V). ZIS-Dokumentation Ausgewählter Testverfahren, 13 (2), 1-13. Bonn: ZIS.

Rindermann, H. (1996). Evaluation der Lehre. In M. W. (Hrsg.), Psychologische Grundlagen der Hochschuldidaktik (S. 289-312). Weinheim: Beltz.

Schmidt, U. & Loßnitzer, S. (2010). Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Studienzufriedenheit (FES). ZIS-Dokumentation Ausgewählter Testverfahren, 28 (3), 1-17. Bonn: ZIS.

Thielsch, M. T. & Weltzin, T. (2012). Akzeptanz und Nutzung der Online-Lehrevaluation an der Universität Münster. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung, 7, 150-164.

Items of the additional module excursion – Münster questionnaire for evaluation (MFE-ZEx)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The MFE-ZEx is usually preceded by general information including demographic features of participants: demografische Merkmale.

The scale items are administered as a supplementary module directly after the basis modules for Evaluation of Seminars (MFE-Sr) and Lectures (MFE-Vr).

Items

Response Format

7-stufiges Antwortformat mit den Optionen 1 = “stimme gar nicht zu”, 2 = “stimme nicht zu”, 3 = “stimme eher nicht zu”, 4 = “neutral”, 5 = “stimme eher zu”, 6 = “stimme zu” und 7 = “stimme vollkommen zu”. Zusätzlich steht die Antwortoption “nicht sinnvoll beantwortbar” zur Verfügung.