Getting Feedback
Getting feedback from students about how they are experiencing the class is critical if you are interested in making any mid-course changes. There are a number of different ways to do this. One of the easiest is to use the Survey feature of Blackboard. You will be able to read comments from students, know which students submitted comments, but will not be able to attach specific statements to specific students. For step-by-step instructions on how to do this, see Using Blackboard to Collect Midterm Feedback from Students. In the past, when TEP actually collected feedback for instructors, we only asked two questions, “what is going well?” and “what suggestions do you have to improve the course?” You would be amazed at the amount of good information you will receive from such seemingly simple questions.
A more involved questionnaire to solicit feedback from students appears below. Some variation of this might also prove useful to you.
The Classroom Critical Incident Questionnaire
(Brookfield, S. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Page 115.)
Please take about five minutes to respond to each of the questions below about
this week's class. Don't put your name on the form--your responses are anonymous.
When you have finished writing, put the form on the table by the door. I will
be sharing the responses with the group. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
What you write will help me make the class more responsive to your concerns.
- At what moment in the class this week did you feel most engaged with what was happening?
- At what moment in the class this week did you feel most distanced from what was happening?
- What action that anyone (teacher or student) took in class this week did you find most affirming and helpful?
- What action that anyone (teacher or student) took in class this week did you find most puzzling or confusing?
- What about the class this week surprised you the most? (This could be something about your own reactions to what went on, or something that someone did, or anything else that occurs to you.)
