Getting quick, open-ended feedback from students
Why?
Giving students the opportunity to comment on the unit and teaching has
been found to have a number of advantages -
- it increases student involvement and interest in the class,
- it shows students that staff are interested in them and what they are
learning,
- it provides staff with information on what is working in their classes
and what might need improvement and
- it allows for some changes to be made within the running of that
class.
How?
Download a copy of this questionnaire in .rtf format.
A number of staff on campus have used the following technique, which is
based on the Small Group Instructional Diagnosis* (SGID). This simplified
version can be used for classes of any size.
* Clark, J. & Bekey, J. (1979). Use of Small Groups in
Instructional Evaluation. POD Quarterly, 1, 87-95
Students are asked three questions.
- What aspect(s) of this unit did you like the most?
or you may prefer to ask
What aspect(s) of this unit did you find most helpful to your learning?
- What do you think needs improvement?
- How do you recommend that your suggested improvement be accomplished?
Questions should be on an A4 sheet, with enough space below each one
to allow for detailed responses.
When?
Students can generally provide useful feedback after about 4-5 weeks of
classes in the unit. Many staff have found that running this questionnaire
in the teaching session before the first non-teaching break allows them
time to review student comments and suggestions before next meeting with
the class.
What next?
A simple analysis of the student feedback can be done by dividing the
sheets so that responses to Question 1 are separated from the responses to
Questions 2 and 3. Each set of responses is then sorted according to the
themes addressed. This will give you an overview of the strength of student
opinion on any one issue.
Responding to students.
Research undertaken by the TLC shows that responding to students on the
feedback they have provided has an overall positive effect on their view of
the unit. As well as showing students how their feedback is used, it gives
them some evidence that their views are being listened to.
Your response to students should -
- give a summary of what students like about the unit and the main
suggestions for improvement made,
- inform them of what changes you are making during this running of the
unit,
- outline what changes may only be possible to consider for the next
running of the unit and
- indicate what you are not prepared to change and why.
Other ways of collecting feedback
Student Surveys Index
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