Steve,
Peers do typically provide different feedback than students. It's good to get feedback in a variety of ways and decipher the feedback to help you improve the course.
Hello everyone,
The feedback I give greatest weight to when I am assessing the need to revise a course comes from my colleagues, invariably those whose duty it is to observe and critique the online courses of their fellow faculty. I typically find that this form of feedback is highly informed, reasonably detached, always practical, and consistently clear. These qualities make it easier not only to acknowledge areas that need improvement but also to implement means of improvement. Additionally, I consider student evaluations of the course, especially as they pertain to unclear material or difficulties with course navigation.
Mark A. Coppelli
A combination of self-reflection and detailed feedback from students on various metrics would most help "closing the loop".
Gary, by feedback from students here, do you mean end of course surveys or feedback on various kinds of course content, delivery, etc.? I find that end of course surveys don't really provide much in the way of actionable direction for me to incorporate into revision.
In the past feedback from students and peers has had the most impact on my courses. The students can really point out what works and what doesn't. Peers generally bring new perspectives on content and delivery.
I have to say that in the online environment, the peer part is especially challenging because I can't just walk down the hall and ask a colleague to visit a lecture or view content. While the online universities that I work for are collegial, I don't have the same personal contact with colleagues that I used to.
I have never done informal assessments of content like the "three clear points, three muddy points," but that seems like a really good idea and I think I'll test that out.
Jingxi,
That is an excellent idea. I have one colleague that shows previous student projects that earned a B and challenges the students to do better to earn an A. Thanks for your input.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
Hi, Sarah:
I really like the idea of showing the previous student feedbacks to the current students, especially if changes have been made based on those feedbacks, so that they can see how useful their feedbacks are.
Acually, we can get feedbacks all the time if we pay attention. There are many times when I am doing online lectures using slides that I have used before, based on the students reaction and questions, I may get ideas on how I can improve my slides. I usally make the change right after the presentation.
Jingxi
Daniel,
You provide a good variety with these evaluations. You include it native and summarize assessments. Nice job.
Thanks.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
Robin ,
You are right. Choosing one is difficult. Variety is the key. Thanks.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
Amanda,
The final course evaluation does provide us with good information. I encourage you to do formative evaluations as well. Thanks.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
cynthia,
Good point. It is almost like the loop keeps moving on us and we can never quite get it closed. Thanks for your input.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
Otis,
Sounds like you have ample opportunities for evaluations. The variety of feedback will be beneficial. Thanks.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
Marie,
If you have little flexibility, make sure you provide the feedback you get with whoever may design the course. This feedback will help hem understand what needs to change.
Thanks.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
Detra,
The key is to get a variety of feedback. That provides us, as instructors, with more information which we ca use to improve.
Thanks.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
If I only have to pick three modes of evaluation (I know that is not necessarily the question, but looking at just three...) I would pick:
1) The quick test questions per unit. Giving something along the lines of "What are three points that you understood the least from this unit?" This allows the instructor to go back and look at the course material designed to teach the specific lesson.
2) Peer-review. It is always helpful to hear how other professors have handled subject matter, examinations, and other elements of the same class.
3)pretest / posttest. This may be the only way to actually figure out what the students really learned in the class. Also, by taking enough pretests, one can fine-tune the objectives of the course. Perhaps the students do not need the most rudimentary portions of the class. Posttests allow you to figure out if the class is regularly getting through all of the objectives the class has laid out.
It's hard to just pick one. However if I had to pick one it would be student feedback and grades. This tells me how I'm doing in getting the material across to students. I've learned a lot from student feedback. Of course we have to have a good questionnaire for the feedback to try and get a comprehensive view of the student's experience.
Maybe the final student evaluation? After all, they are truly the ones who are "using" and interacting in the class the most.
I think we can 'almost' close the loop, but not totally. I think we must always be evaluating and enhancing to keep up with such simple areas as technology, industry and expectations of students, organizations and higher learner organizations.
Hi Tena and classmates,
Wow, this is a hard one to answer. I must think about how each school I teach at and how it closes the loop.
I must say student/teacher evaluation. Please let me explain this and how it works. There is an identical evaluation that is sent out to each student in the course and myself. It covers several different areas of the course and what you think about the instructor. It gives a student a chance to evaluate the course and its resources in its entirety. So it is just not how he/she feel about the instructor which I feel is fair.
When the evaluation is sent to me, now it is a reflection moment of how I will assess what I did over the term of the course. I will also get to evaluate the resources or the tools that the university gave me to instruct the course. In this evaluation you (student and instructor)get a chance to say what we are doing good or what is not and should be changed. We do this every term, in every session; so it is ongoing. As an instructor is part of your quarterly appraisal.
I do like peer reviews when it comes to content. A different perspective on a topic will enhance my understanding of the topic and give me another viewpoint to work with that allows me to give my best to the students.
I also like to get initial feedback from the students to see what they are expecting from this course and match their expectations and goals with the requirements of the curriculum presented by the college. Obviously, as instructors we have a syllabus that we must follow and objectives that we are required to accomplish during the class experience. There is a little flexibility in how we present the material. Knowing what the students are expecting will help me make improvements in what methods I use to present the material to them as long as I stay within the guidelines of the college requirements.
I feel there is always room for improvement and I want to ensure that the students are getting what they need to be successful in their chosen professions.
