Soliciting student feedback

Stop–Start–Continue

Pose three questions:

1. What would you like me to Stop doing in this course?
2. What would you like me to Start doing in this course?
3. What would you like me to Continue doing in this course?

Suggested timing:

Late week 2/early week 3 of the term, and ideally while still in class. You can use this check-in at any point in the term, provided you still have time to make changes that the students will experience.

Suggested framing:

When you introduce this activity, remind students there will be some things that are outside your control, but others that you might be able to shift, so you'd appreciate their early input into making those adjustments.

Suggested format:

Using a scrap of paper or an anonymous survey via Qualtrics, MS Forms, or Canvas quizzes (be sure these are set to "anonymous"). The advantage of the online formats over paper is that it's easy to download the responses and share them with students. 

Suggested follow-up process:

Share ALL the responses you received for the three questions in class (e.g. on a slide). You can then let students know, for instance:

• Which topics in their comments are outside your control (e.g., time of day, room, having to grade assignments), plus the areas that you're going to act on immediately.
• Which aspects you're able to make changes on immediately.
• Which aspects look interesting for a future class, so you'll be thinking about those after this run of the course has finished

Engagement survey

Pose these three questions:

1. On a scale of 0–10, how engaged are you in this class? (Note: You can also change the ending to “... with course materials,” for example.)
2. What is one thing you can do to increase your rating by 1 point?
3. What is one thing I can do to increase your rating by 1 point?

Suggested timing:

Late week 2/early week 3 of the term, and ideally while still in class (unless your class is asynchronous). You can use this check-in at any point in the term, provided you still have time to make changes that the students will experience.

Suggested framing:

When you introduce this activity, remind students there will be some things that are outside your control, but others that you might be able to shift, so you'd appreciate their early input into making those adjustments.

Suggested format:

Using a scrap of paper or an survey via Qualtrics, MS Forms, or Canvas quizzes. The advantage of the online formats over paper is that it's easy to download the responses and share them with students. 

We suggest you weigh up whether you want this to be anonymous. Some faculty find it helpful to know which students are feeling a little disconnected from the course. Others believe they'll receive more honest feedback from students if the responses are anonymous. 

Suggested follow-up process:

Share ALL the responses you received for the three questions in class (e.g. on a slide). Be sure not to use students' names for any of it, unless you explicitly have permission. You can then let students know, for instance:

• Which topics in their comments are outside your control (e.g., time of day, room, having to grade assignments), plus the areas that you're going to act on immediately.
• Which aspects you're able to make changes on immediately.
• What aspects THEY can be working on, and how to do that (for instance, by connecting them with other areas of campus - Learning Assistance Programs, Writing Center, etc.)
• Which aspects look interesting for a future class, so you'll be thinking about those after this run of the course has finished

Just one thing

Pose one question:

• What one thing would you most like me to do differently in this course?

Note that you may want to give students a few examples of things that you can change (structure of assignment briefings, use of case studies), and some things that you can't change (time of day, classroom).

Particularly in larger classes, this check-in provides you quick data on what will make the greatest difference to the class overall. 

Suggested format:

Students use a scrap of paper or an anonymous survey via Qualtrics, MS Forms, or Canvas quizzes (be sure these are set to "anonymous"). The advantage of the online formats over paper is that it's easy to download the responses and share them with students. 

Suggested follow-up process:

Share ALL the responses you received for the three questions in class (e.g. on a slide). You can then let students know, for instance:

• Which topics in their comments are outside your control (e.g., time of day, room, having to grade assignments), plus the areas that you're going to act on immediately.
• Which aspects you're able to make changes on immediately.
• Which aspects look interesting for a future class, so you'll be thinking about those after this run of the course has finished.

If the data are inconclusive, share that feedback with students (so that they can see they're all asking for different things), and then try out a different check-in method for more focused input. If you're unsure how to do this, request a consultation with a colleague in the Center.

Muddiest point

Pose one question:

• What one thing was most unclear or confusing in today's class?

Note that, unlike some of the other check-ins listed on this page, this one is specifically about class content.

Suggested timing:

The muddiest point is a simple method for gathering feedback after any class. Some faculty make it a regular practice at the end of each class or at the end of a unit of learning in the course. You're then able address the common muddiest points at the beginning of the following class.

Suggested format:

Students use a scrap of paper or an anonymous survey via Qualtrics, MS Forms, or Canvas quizzes (be sure these are set to "anonymous"). The advantage of the online formats over paper is that it's easy to download the responses and share them with students. 

Suggested follow-up process:

• At the beginning of the next class, share ALL the responses you received (e.g. on a slide).
• Focus on the one or two items that have caused the greatest difficulty for the group as a whole.
• Let students know that if they'd like to talk about any of the other muddiest points that there wasn't time to cover, they can see you after/before class or in office hours.

Note: It's often best to allocate a specific amount of time to cover muddiest points so that you are able to stay on track. If a muddiest point is a major building block of learning for the course, however, it may be better to sacrifice time on a later topic to ensure that students are confident about this foundational material.

Before the evaluation window opens

• Let the students know that the evaluations period will be open for the final week of classes, closing at 11:59 pm on the last day of classes for the term (which may not be the last day of your own class).
• (For synchronous courses) Let the students know you will set aside 10 minutes during class in that final week for students to complete the evaluations, and ask them to have a device with them to fill the evaluations out.
• Provide students with one or two specific examples of how you have used feedback from past evaluations to improve this specific class - things that they have experienced thanks to the feedback of their predecessors in the course.
• Tell students that their responses are completely anonymous, and that you will only see results after grades are released. (To build students' trust further, you could also let them see what you can see on Canvas, and that the only information provided there is the current response rate for your courses, but not any actual feedback.)
• Help students recognize what kinds of feedback are useful and usable to faculty. For instance,
  • Show students a few different comments from previous evaluations and ask them to categorize those comments as "useful," "not useful," or "ambiguous." They work in small groups to decide which category applies, and then you debrief, sharing your own perspectives. This takes about 15 minutes.
  • Encourage students to focus on what has or hasn't helped them learn.
  • Encourage students to think about what actionable recommendations they can make for improvements, rather than just saying which aspects didn't work. Again you can provide examples of how that looks.

In class during the evaluation window

• Set 10 minutes aside during class in that final week for students to complete the evaluations. 
  • Note that as soon as the evaluation window opens, a dialog box appears at the top of their Canvas pages when they log in. Ideally, then you'd set aside time during the FIRST class during that final week so that students don't keep receiving reminders.
• Briefly remind students how you've used previous feedback to change the current class.
• Remind students that actionable recommendations are especially helpful for improving the overall learning experience.
• Remind students that their responses are completely anonymous, and that you will only see results after grades are released. (To build students' trust further, you could also let them see what you can see on Canvas, and that the only information provided there is the current response rate for your courses, but not any actual feedback.)
• Leave the room for the full 10 minutes while they complete the evaluations.