The Whys and Hows of Midterm Feedback
WHY WE COLLECT FEEDBACK
It's important to start with the reasons why collecting mid-quarter feedback is important.
It's important to YOU because you gather important info that you can act on before final evaluations (often high-stakes evals) happen. Unlike end-of-term course evaluations, midterm evaluations offer you the opportunity not only to make adjustments in your teaching "mid-stream," but also to return to the class with thoughtful commentary on your students' feedback and suggestions. Asking for student comments on midterm course evaluations may also help you to identify and address issues related to classroom dynamics that students might otherwise be reluctant to mention, such as issues that arise when other students are not fully participating in group work or are disrupting class by arriving late, talking to their peers, or surfing the internet on their laptops. Even when students do not address these issues themselves, midterm is an excellent time to reinforce course policies and expectations related to these issues--without "calling out" individual students.
It's important to STUDENTS because asking for feedback makes it clear that you take their experiences seriously and that you are dedicated to improving the course and their learning. While you should always encourage students to talk with you if they have concerns about the course, students often need another, "low-stakes" (and, perhaps, anonymous) means of communicating with you about those concerns. Moreover, providing students a chance to respond to the course, will encourage them to communicate responses that they may not feel comfortable providing in person--including positive comments.
The reasons to do this boil down to a short list:
- Avoid surprises in end-of-the-quarter evaluations
- Opportunities to talk about the course, your approach and teaching philosophy
- Time to improve – formative assessment for you
- Perception of willingness to adapt course materials/approaches
- Student metacognitive awareness about their own learning
* Please note that mid-quarter feedback instruments don’t take the place of the college’s official student evaluation processes.
The following quote from an Inside Higher Ed article sums it up well:
“I love getting feedback from my classes. Absolutely love it. I don’t love it because it makes me feel good, or because I’m anxious to please, or because I treat my students like consumers. Rather, I find mid-semester evaluations to be a useful way to locate potential disconnects between what I think we’re doing, and what my students think we’re doing. I want to know what’s hitting home with them, and what’s totally falling flat. This is vitally important to me because I make assumptions, I jump to conclusions, I screw up. Mid-semester evaluations help me get to know my class better, and offer a helpful corrective to my own biases. And every time, every single time, my students are insightful and kind and brave enough to call my attention to my oversights. Evaluating at mid-semester, rather than waiting until the course is over, gives me the opportunity to adjust my actions, and I am so grateful for the chance.”
“Mid-Semester Evaluations” Laura B McGrath Inside Higher Ed 2014
HOW TO COLLECT FEEDBACK
Keep in mind that following up and being transparent about changes that you implement based on collected responses is key for success, regardless of the form used. Consider devoting class time to sharing the common responses or categories from the feedback collection, providing a clear context for feedback and allowing class discussion about those topics.
Here's three steps that will help you plan, as well as questions to consider in each step:
- Plan and design a survey/questionnaire/feedback instrument
What do you want to know? How much time do you want to devote to this? What is the best format (anonymous? written out? face to face?)?
- Administer it
When is the best time of the quarter (before or after a major assignment? when is too early or too late?) ? How do you best prepare students? How do you get in the best mental place to be open to criticism?
- Follow up
What will you change? What needs to stay the same? Why? What reasons and information about the process will you share with the class?
Finally, consider these questions with all types of feedback forms and share your approach with students:
- How will you share the purpose with the class, explaining how it will be used? (Consider stating something like: “I want your opinion on how the class is going and what might be improved over the rest of the course.”)
- Is it anonymous? (Keep in mind that some students will want you to know what they are saying or suggesting, but others need the promise of anonymity to feel safe enough to be honest.)
- Is this mandatory or optional? Are there any consequences for not completing it? (Consider stating something like: “You do not have to fill out the evaluation, although I would sincerely appreciate your feedback.”)
Additional Online Articles and Links about Collecting Mid-Quarter Feedback
McGrath, Laura B. “Mid-Semester Evaluations.” Inside Higher Ed march 11, 2014 https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/mid-semester-evaluations (Links to an external site.)
“Maximizing Your Mid-Semester Evaluations: Advice for getting helpful feedback from your students.” By Anne Guarnera (Links to an external site.) Inside Higher Ed March 8, 2016 https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/maximizing-your-mid-semester-evaluations (Links to an external site.)