interviews
Is there a format that could be useful for a person who is doing course evaluations and wants to interview students as to their observations? Would this normally be in a computer-based closed-ended format, or is there a reasonably useful way to get actual narrative from students? I'd be interested to know the experience of others.
Dahlia,
Guide the students to do what? Please add more clarification. Thanks!
Open ended should also have a direction to guide the students.
Jeffrey,
I ask students 2-3 times per the timeframe of the course what they would like for me to stop doing, start doing, and continue to do. If they ask me to stop doing something (like giving tests or quizzes), I explain why I cannot stop - relate it to achieving the learning outcomes. But if you can start doing whatever they want you to do, they see that you are listening to them and this in return helps them participate more on end of course evaluations.
Hope this helps.
Sometimes my harshest critics are students that haven't used the course tools/resources to their benefit. What is the best way to get non-participating students to engage in the process?
Bari,
Open ended questions provide such great information. Using a variety of types of assessment do provide more information.
I find that an open ended question for interview is more revealing than a questionaire meaurement of quality, Of course many students are reluctant to write about the class or give direct opinions (unless they are unhappy), so a mix of the 2 methods may be a better evaluation for use in reviewing the course.
Dr. Courts
Robert,
Excellent. You add excellent components to open-ended questions. It is important to remember that when asking questions.
Yes, open-ended questions are essentials. However, they should be open-ended questions from the students side in terms of learning, retention and comfort.
James,
Using questions effectively is a good teaching habit to get into. The questions will at least make them think about something whether they say it or not. Keep it up.
Good point. One of the things I typically do along the way is to ask questions questions at the end of each unit. I
Even if it is just a question like"what do you think?" it still seems to bring forth some good conversation...although not with everyone.
James,
I always ask an open ended question at the end of the course evaluation - "What would you suggest to improve the course." That always give me a lot of feedback.
