Mid-Course Feedback
Mid-semester surveys are a great way to gauge what students are thinking about a course and how an instructor can potentially address concerns before the end of the semester. This feedback strategy asks students to reflect on what helps and hinders their learning and solicits their suggestions for improvement.
Questions to Consider
- Use some or all of the questions used in your end-of-semester course evaluation. That would give you an opportunity to receive that feedback early and either make changes or explain why changes cannot or will not be made.
- Use a “Stop-Start-Continue” survey and ask;
-
- “What should we STOP doing in this class because it is not helping you learn?
- What can we START doing in this class that would help you learn?
- What should we CONTINUE doing in this class that is helping you learn?”
Additionally, you can include questions specific to the class to address concerns that have arisen so far in the semester or that have been on your mind since you designed or redesigned the course.
What To Do With the Feedback?
After collecting and analyzing the feedback data comes the process of communicating your findings back out to your students; This is a crucial part of the mid-semester survey process. Present your “findings,” to the class– this shows them how their input is thoughtfully used to improve the course. If you feel inclined to make any changes, explain what in their feedback led you to those changes. If you will not make changes, explain how your decision was made.
Your CTAL colleagues are happy to review mid-course feedback and work with you to determine what changes, if any, should be made.
Need a survey template?
Google forms provide an easy way to share a link with the class (and collect their responses in a spreadsheet that only you can access). Feel free to copy, tweak, and share this survey template
