For formative course evaluation I start each week with a discussion board statement and question about the week's topic to draw the students into the discussion board. Their participation and feedback lets me know if the student is understanding the material and are they able to visualize how it is applied in the work place. I also provide students with additional resource material to aid in understanding each week's material. I am able to assess if the students are using the material, by their responses and when they make reference to the instructor's material.
Victoria,
When you can connect students' experiences to the course content, they will see the benefit of learning and many times buy into the learning more. This may also help students develop a relationship with their peers. Nice job.
I will invite students to share personal experiences that relate to the topic at hand. This oftentimes builds in success and also gives me an idea of what they already know in a more familiar context. I am very strategic around the question(s) that I ask as to ensure that I can bridge responses to the content.
I also use a "What to stop, what to begin and what to continue" approach midway through my course to assess whether the design is meeting the course objectives. I use this as a reflective piece added to a "Midcourse Progress Review" where I invite the students to first tell me how they feel they are doing.
I think that by asking students to share feedback on how I-or the course-is serving them helps to demystify the process of addressing personal strengths and weaknesses.
samia,
Spreading the polls out helps provide time for students and the instructor to utilize previous feedback and make edits to their learning/teaching. Thanks!
samia,
Absolutely. Using those polls can help the instructor immediately recognize what the students understand and what my still cause confusion. Thanks!
Christen, I too use part of the last chat to ask students for their feedback and tips to improve the course, the delivery, and the feedback. I tend to use the polls in week 3,5,7 live chats for formative evaluations.
Sorry, I may be repeating myself here but I do find Live Chat Polls to be great in collecting data for formative course evaluations.
Ed,
So many times we have to go "outside the book" and not just "outside the box." ;-)
Thanks!
John ,
I like that term "topic starter." Anything we can do to help students thing about what they are learning an how it applies to real life and their future, is great. Thanks!
I also do a topic starter for students. Additionally, if materials in the book are insufficient, I'll also supply external links to quality sources to help students complete their assignments.
I always post a topic starter for each week's DB which relates to the topic of the week but is geared to getting students thinking about how the topic will effect them in their future career goals and how best to relate what we are studying to them. In this way I get not only formative feedback on how to adjust Live Chats and Video lectures but help students increase the efficacy of their learning
Michael,
That's perfect. We have to consider the students' comments throughout the course and edit what we can as we move forward in the course. Thanks!
In addition to course evaluations, I take into account the comments and suggestions students make during live chats and in emails -- these comments and suggestions help me recalibrate during each session, and let me better prepare for the next one.
Peter,
Great. Do you mind sharing the professionalism questions?
That would be helpful to many others, I'm sure.
In one of my online classes I use a formative survey tied in with professionalism questions. I get more input when students feel it is part of the class and I get delivery suggestions.
Deborah,
Great questions to ask. I use the Start, Stop, Continue methods. I ask "What should I start doing?" "What should I stop doing?" and "What should I continue to do?" If I can't stop doing what they request, I tell them why. I typically cannot stop doing something if it connects directly to the learning objectives. But, we have to explain that.
I carefully review student feedback during and at the end of a class. Many people have mentioned the discussion boards. I do this also asking “How can I improve….†Type of questions or “What would have made this assignment clearer…?â€
When teaching Project Management, I tell students on real life projects you should always have a “health check†to see how a project is going and what can be done differently. I try to model this behavior and collect formative data at the same time
Phyllis,
You are right. We can use the discussion boards for so many different reasons. Formative feedback is a great thing to do through this process. Thanks!
In terms of course evaluations, the discussion boards can also serve as a guide to conduct formative feedback. I sometime place additional questions in the discussion board to gauge if the students are understanding literary concepts from their readings or understanding the course objects for a particular assignment. If students are having difficulty in mastering the concepts for the week, it will be noticeable in the discussions. The evaluations of the weekly discussion boards can serve as a monitor of course design effectiveness.
Phyllis Gooden
Thomas,
The feedback we get from students is awesome. We have to take their feedback into consideration so that we can edit our courses and teaching to make the course and learning better. Thanks!
