Vanessa,
So true and so important. The more feedback we get the more information we have to expand and improve our effectiveness in teaching as you mention. This should be a major part of how we approach our instructional planning effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Knowing how a student feels about your course can help the instructor gauge their effectiveness in conveying the material. Instructors can sometimes become complacent. Evaluating data in an ongoing manner fosters continuous improvement. If that data is provided by the students, than instructors will show continuous improvement in their teaching and connection and support of their students.
William,
Good point and it reminds me of a saying that is used in education. The quote goes "To teach is to learn twice, once as a student and once as the teacher." When your students instruct another student they are reinforcing what they have learned and are explaining in a way that is understandable by that other student. Through student feedback you are learning how to increase the your instructional effectiveness.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Student feedback allows me to see if I am on the projected pathway of completing the course objectives...not only that but are they picking up the information required to successfully understand these objectives. I often tell my students that if they can teach someone else what they have just learned then they have a good understanding of the subject...that feedback tells me as the instructor if they are learning.
My school does student surveys for each module (every 5 weeks) to get student feedback. Each instructor can see what the feedback was and how we can improve for the next module.
Amanda,
Listening is how we learn, whether we are students or teachers. Student feedback is so valuable in our instructional development. You comments reflect how instructors can grow, improve and refine their instruction by listening to their students. Good points!
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I listen to student feedback intently. Sometimes student feedback is negative because they don't like an assignment, but sometimes it is because assignments aren't productive, or applicable to what you're trying to teach.
Student feedback gives you a chance to re-engage students who may have "checked out" because they "didn't get it" by altering your teaching style, method, or even the assignments. Once your students get that their learning really is important enough for you to alter the way or even what you're teaching the students will begin to feel empowered and re-engage.
Molly,
Good point about student feedback. This is such a valuable resource to use as a part of instructional development. Their candid input can help use to improve, expand, change or structure our instructional delivery in a way that is better received and more easily understood.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to get student feedback. It helps me to tailor the class to their learning styles. That way they get the most out of the class. I see a lot of older instructors with the same teaching style they have always used. That is boring not only to the instructor but for the student. It doesn't leave room for new exciting methods such as new technologies or utilizing new web sites or incorporat
Rick,
Glad this worked so well for you. This type of feedback is what makes it fun to be in education. We learn from and support each other as we try to make our communication with our students as effective as it can be. I wish you continued success in your teaching.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary,
You're very right. I put 5 questions on the board. I used the cards (actually just a sheet of paper) and asked 1)Name, 2)Present or previous employment, 3)Family situation (largely because many make a point of providing for a growing family), 4) Why they enrolled in this program and 5) Future goals.
The response was greater then I imagined.
Having the answers in front of them reduced nervousness and appeared to give them a greater confidence in sharing about themselves. It was wonderful and the entire class learned quite a lot about their new classmates.
An added benefit is I collected what they wrote (and some filled half a page)so I can review what I learned about them in class.
GREAT IDEA. Thank you.
John,
Like your last sentence because it really reflects what being a teacher is all about. You are giving technical content to your students to enable them to problem solve. So as you say it takes collective thinking and varied experiences to come up with solutions to why a machine is not working and what it takes to get the machine back online. You are also a student centered instructor because you are right everybody does bring something to the learning environment.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Hello Gary I hope this finds you well,
I teach the how to's of machine repair to technicians. These students bring a wide array of knowledge with them. (some no array ;)
When they have a new way to solve an old problem i'm all ears, of course they have to have data to back up the talk.
And I throw it in my stuff file and share it with the next classes.
I ALWAYS SAY NOBODY IS SMARTER THAN ALL OF US TOGETHER. EVERYBODY BRINGS SOMETHING.
Always John.
John,
What are some ways you incorporate student feedback to make your class better?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Jeremy,
I agree and I ask for student feedback on a regular basis in my courses. After a quiz or project I give each student a 3X5 card and have him or her give me feedback about the value of how I tested them or the value of the project. Also, I ask for recommendations for improving the quiz or assignment. I always get good feedback and I have never had a student vent while writing feedback. They don't sign their names because it is my feedback not theirs so I want them to be candid and they are. I do this 3-4 times per course session so I have a very good feel of how the course is going plus I know how I can improve for the next session.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
i throw out the best, throw out the worst, and use the rest to make my class better
Student feedback gives an instructor a look at themselves from the student's point of view. It is important for instructors to realize what is valuable information versus simple affirmations of personal feelings. If used properly as a self-evaluation tool, student feedback can be invaluable.
Laurel,
The more we can provide feedback to our students the more informed they are as well as the more engaged they feel. They know their status in the course and what they need to do to continue their success or improve to enhance their status in the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree student feedback is very important. This lets us know we are getting our message through
Darrell,
Questioning is a valuable teaching tool that instructors need to use to check for understanding and content acquisition. Your strategy helps to make this happen throughout the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
