Student Feedback: The 411

authored by: makena neal, Brendan Guenther, and Dave Goodrich

Description: Why, what, and how of gathering, analyzing, and responding to learner feedback.

This resource was informed by teaching and learning colleagues at the following organizations and institutions: Stanford University, University of Washington, Duke University, Faculty Focus… 

Why is effective feedback important?

Gathering feedback from students is a necessary mechanism for providing educators with insights on our teaching in a manner that also gives us time to reflect and act on those insights. Feedback is descriptive, evaluative, and suggestive. That is, good feedback shows us what we are doing, provides some sense of how we are doing relative to our goals, and provides some suggestions for how we might improve. Having said this, simple descriptive feedback can be quite powerful.

Processing feedback requires critical self-reflection. There is immense value in regular reflective practice regardless of your role or responsibilities. Taking time to critically examine how our experiences align with our expectations creates opportunities for us to identify opportunities for learning. Engaging in reflection as an iterative practice creates a norm of growth and improvement for educators, students, and their teaching and learning spaces alike. Research on the impact of student feedback on teaching suggests that student feedback can be a strong motivator for improving the effectiveness of your course. 

Importance of Providing Meaningful Student Feedback

What kinds of feedback are there?  

On Background: What do students want from instructors

Some national surveys help us understand college students broadly, and anticipate their preferences and needs.

• What Students Want from Their Instructors (In Their Own Words) | EDUCAUSE 
• 2019 Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology | EDUCAUSE 

Collecting feedback from our students is inherently important for helping us improve the effectiveness of our teaching. Generally, there are two main “buckets” of feedback that are used: Formative assessments (e.g., implementing changes in your teaching based on student feedback collected during the learning period [semester]), and Summative assessments (e.g., interpreting end-of-semester evaluations, drawing themes from students’ qualitative feedback, deciding upon actions you will take in future courses). 

Formative 

Formative (including mid-semester feedback) creates an opportunity for us as educators to engage learners in the process of reflective practice. Intentional reflection through mid-semester feedback can help explore the initial assumptions made about a class, gain insights from learners, and develop a more comprehensive awareness of teaching practice. This reflective practice strengthens teaching practice because the knowledge gained through this process of reflection happens with students who have a stake in the course.

• Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) to monitor how well students are meeting learning objectives and processing course content. Some of the commonly employed CATs include:
  • Minute papers 
  • Directed paraphrasing 
  • Student generated test questions 
  • Classroom Response Systems (e.g. iClicker)   
• Stop/Start/Continue/Change: ask learners to list one thing the educator should stop doing, could start doing, something they should continue doing, and one aspect of change about the course or learning experience. This creates an easy format for learners to provide feedback, while increasing the potential for easily actionable feedback for the educator.
  • Hoon, A., Oliver, E., Szpakowska, K., & Newton, P. (2015). Use of the ‘Stop, Start, Continue’ method is associated with the production of constructive qualitative feedback by students in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(5), 755–767. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.956282
  • An adaptation of this is “plus/delta” (positives and opportunities for change) or  “roses & thorns” (positives and challenges)
• Zoom polling: (learn more about utilizing this Zoom feature here: Polling for meetings – Zoom Help Center)
  • to check in on how people are feeling after a reading or activity
    • Knowing where where students are emotionally influences how they engage and how as an instructor, Ashley considers structuring the remaining dialogue
  • Basics on course prep
    • Knowing whether or not students have purchased the course readings and whether or not they have arrived is good for level setting expectations. 
• “Exit ticket” in Zoom chat or using iClicker Cloud in-person :
  • Directive: Drop one word or phrase about how you’re feelings as we wrap up class
    • Educators can use the chat from synchronous class to send synthesis email to students containing: overview of the meeting, highlights from the discussions, and reminders of expectations and upcoming deadlines
• Class (verbal) dialogue:
  • Tools like “Polleverywhere” or “TopHat” allow students to send in questions and comments to the call anonymously and in real time. These comments/questions can be used to continue driving and prompting class conversation. 
• Intro check in –
  • Educators can log on 15 min early to synchronous courses/meetings— play music, display a meme or prompt – asking for responses as learners log in.
    • Example: What’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for doing in the past week?
  • Start class/meeting officially with an overview of the day then addresses the comments from the intro check-ins generally.
• [Small, semi-regular] Anonymous Surveys
  • Educators can use tools like Google Form to distribute short surveys [semi]regularly to learners. The survey should be anonymous, so learners can share feedback without fear of retaliation.
    • As a part of this practice, educators should compile the results into key ideas and themes to share with students at the following meeting which 1) it helps students feel heard, and 2) it reifies that students are often not alone in their feelings/feedback. 
    • Transparency in regards to decision making is a valuable practice for educators, and the data from these brief check-ins can provide evidence for why decisions are being made and calling out changes in real time. 
    • Consider using “Intercept Surveys” immediately after students experience the portion of the course (assignment or instruction) that you want feedback on.

Mid-semester Feedback

Mid-term feedback allows us to “check-in” with students with enough time to tweak teaching prior to the end of the semester. “Soliciting mid-semester feedback can improve our end-of-course evaluations, as it will both improve the quality of the course itself and provide students with early opportunities to raise concerns with the course.” Effective methods may include a whole class interview process or gathering written feedback from a survey.

After deciding to collect mid-semester feedback…What’s next?

• Explain to students why you are collecting anonymous feedback in the middle of the semester. 
• Provide an overview of the process, including when it will take place, how you plan to use the feedback, and when you will share results with the class.
• Share advice on how students can give constructive feedback, such as describe, evaluate, and suggest (the instrument itself enables all three).
• You can share the survey in the body of a message to students (via e-mail, d2l, or other previously determined mode of course communication).

Here is some sample language you could include in a message (feel free to copy/paste or adapt):

In an effort to make sure our class is providing a valuable learning experience for you and your classmates, I’ll be sending out a “mid-semester feedback” survey. This is your opportunity to anonymously share your thoughts on what is working in class and what could be better. No identifying information is collected as a part of the survey and the results are shared with me as a single dataset. I will not be able to identify individual student identities. Your feedback will help me  to design and facilitate this course in a way that is meaningful for you.f there are things I could change to make the course more effective I want to know. I’ll use this feedback to inform the remainder of the semester. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Summative End of Semester Feedback

Students rate specific aspects of each course to inform possible changes in instruction and they also provide an overall rating of the course as a whole, enabling instructors to compare student perceptions of one course to another. A set of open-ended questions allows students to elaborate on their numeric ratings and provides instructors with more in-depth feedback. 

You can use just a few open-ended questions, or a mixture of open-ended and closed-ended questions so that you not only get a sense of how many students agree with certain statements, but also allow a space to collect feedback you may not be anticipating. It’s best to use just a few questions so this process is relatively quick and easy.

• Examples of open-ended questions:
  • What aspects of this course are helping you learn? Give two examples.
  • What has been the most valuable assignment/class session/activity so far?
  • What suggestions do you have to improve the instructor’s teaching?
  • What could be changed to help your learning? Be specific.
• A Faculty Focus article provided additional suggestions for open ended questions, such as asking students to respond to any three of these statements. In this course:
  • it most helped my learning of the content when…because…
  • it would have helped my learning of the content if…because…
  • the assignment that contributed the most to my learning was… because…
  • the reading that contributed the most to my learning was… because…
  • the kinds of homework problems that contributed most to my learning were…because…
  • the approach I took to my own learning that contributed the most for me was…because…
  • the biggest obstacle for me in my learning the material was… because…
  • a resource I know about that you might consider using is…because…
  • I was most willing to take risks with learning new material when… because…
  • during the first day, I remember thinking…because…
  • what I think I will remember five years from now is…because…
• Examples of rating scale questions (1 = Never; 5 = Always)
  • I understand what is expected of me in preparation and participation.
  • I feel encouraged to participate in class and respond to others.
  • I get clear responses to what I say in class; I find out how to improve.
  • The assignments are clear to me; I know what the task is.
  • The instructor effectively directs and stimulates discussion.
  • The instructor explains the material clearly.
  • The instructor shows genuine interest in students.
  • The instructor provides helpful comments on papers/exams.
  • The instructor is tolerant of different opinions expressed in class.
  • The instructor adjusts the pace of class to the students’ level of understanding.
  • The instructor seems well-prepared.
  • The instructor stimulates my interest in the material.
  • The instructor is effective, overall, in helping me learn.

• SIRS / SOCT
• Custom Questions

How do students give valuable feedback?

• Some advice for students to consider before submitting feedback surveys
  • Provide Constructive Feedback | Mercury – McGill University 
• Receiving and Giving Effective Feedback | Centre for Teaching Excellence | University of Waterloo 

What can instructors do with feedback or in response to feedback?

When teachers get rating results after the course has concluded, the students who gave the feedback don’t see any follow-up. In some cases, they see teachers who they (and many other students) have evaluated poorly continue to teach as they always have. These students then conclude that the feedback they provided wasn’t taken seriously by the teacher or the institution. When a teacher talks about evaluation results with students, it’s a visible demonstration that their feedback has value and that can motivate students to offer more specific feedback. Responding to feedback shows that you care about the students’ opinions, increases class buy-in for implemented changes, and helps students understand why certain policies are in place. (This piece by Dr. Maryellen Weimer describes more reasons to talk to students about their feedback.)

• Consider both positive and negative comments
  • It is easy to be swayed by negative feedback, so be sure to review the positive feedback as well. 
  • Educators can model constructive ways of talking about negative feedback. If the teacher can discuss student objections without becoming defensive, apologize (if appropriate), honestly consider other options, express willingness to try different approaches, explore compromises—all of this speaks volumes about the teacher’s commitment to the course
  • To address suggestions for improvement, you can group them into three categories: 

• Those you can change this semester, for example, the turnaround time on homework assignments
• Those that must wait until the next time the course is offered, for example, the textbook
• Those that you either cannot, or for pedagogical reasons, will not change, for example, the topic sequence.
  • Consider asking a colleague or a CTLI educational developer to help you identify options for making changes.
• Let students know what, if anything, will change as a result of their feedback
• Discussion of possible solutions gives the teacher a range of options to consider. And, if the teacher implements a student-proposed alternative, often that increases class buy-in and improves the likelihood of success.
• Aim to do this in the class after the feedback session, or after the survey deadline. Students appreciate knowing that their voice has been heard. Some things you can address include:
  • Clarify any confusions or misunderstandings about your goals and their expectations. For example, students might want sections to be a review of the lecture, while you intend for sections to focus and deepen their knowledge of a particular topic.
  • Briefly talk about which suggestions you will implement this term, which need to wait until the next time the course is offered, and which you will not act upon and why.
  • Let students know what they can do to help improve their experience, by reiterating suggestions that they made during the feedback session. You can also make suggestions based on their feedback. For example, if they report that they are often confused, invite them to ask questions more often.
• Sharing and discussing the student-led feedback increases students’ receptiveness to teacher feedback. Because they’ve been listened to, there’s now some pressure on them to reciprocate in kind.

What does the research say?

Aleamoni, L.M. (1999). Student rating myths versus research facts: From 1924 to 1998. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 13(2), 153-166. doi: 10.1023/A:1008168421283 

Sixteen of the most common myths regarding student ratings of instructors and instruction are looked at from the perspective of the research that has been conducted on them over the past seventy-four years. 

Benton, S.L. & Cashin, W.E. (2014). Student ratings of teaching: A summary of research and literature. IDEA Paper #50. IDEA.

 We have attempted to summarize the conclusions of the major reviews of the student ratings research and literature from the 1970s to 2010.

Linse, A. R. (2017). Interpreting and using student ratings data: Guidance for faculty serving as administrators and on evaluation committees. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 54, 94-106. doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.12.004 

This article is about the accurate interpretation of student ratings data and the appropriate use of that data to evaluate faculty. 

Richardson, J. T. E. (2005). Instruments for obtaining student feedback: A review of the literature. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(4), 387–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930500099193

Richardson reviews the published research literature concerning the use of formal instruments to obtain student feedback in higher education.