Evaluation of Student Surveys

When I first started teaching online back in 2017, the course evaluation process bothered me. Initially, I was excited to get feedback from my students about their learning experience. Then I saw the survey questions. Even though there were about 15 of them, none actually helped me improve the course. They were all extremely generic and left me scratching my head, unsure of what to do with the information. It’s not like I could ask follow-up questions or suggest improvements to the survey itself. Understandably, the institution used these evaluations for its own data points, and there wasn’t much chance of me influencing that process. So, I decided to take a different approach. What if I created my own informal course evaluations that were completely optional? In this survey, I could ask course-specific and teaching-style questions to figure out how to improve the course before the next run started. After several revisions, I came up with these questions: - Overall course rating (1–5 stars) - What was your favorite part (if any) of this course? - What did you find the least helpful (if any) during this course? - Please rate the relevancy of the learning materials (readings and videos) to your academic journey, career, or instructional design journey. (1 = not relevant at all, 10 = extremely relevant) - Please rate the relevancy of the learning activities and assessments to your academic journey, career, or instructional design journey. (1 = not relevant at all, 10 = extremely relevant) - Did you find my teaching style and feedback helpful for your assignments? - What suggestions do you have for improving the course (if any)? - Are there any other comments you'd like to share with me? I was—and still am—pleasantly surprised at how many students complete both the optional course survey and the official one. If you're looking for more meaningful feedback about your courses, I recommend giving this a try! This process has really helped me improve my learning experiences over time.

🎯 It's all about feedback: student evaluations We all need feedback to grow—at work, in science, and in teaching. In industry or national labs, our managers (who may not know every technical detail) still give us valuable input on teamwork and professional growth, and contribution to the team success. In academia, we get constant feedback via paper and grant reviews, and through student course evaluations. Many colleagues ask, “How can students evaluate professors?” Student comments can be blunt or even harsh, testing your moral fiber to read them. But feedback, however imperfect, is essential to improve. What matters isn’t just what I know, but how well I communicate and support learning. To make evaluations more useful, I explain why they matter and how I’ll act on them. Then, at semester’s end, I steel myself to review the results—and I can clearly see how things evolve! Spring 2024 vs. Spring 2025 (averages) Metric 2024 Avg → 2025 Avg Instructor contributed to understanding 4.40 → 4.60 Course challenged you 4.60 → 5.00 Atmosphere invited extra help 4.20 → 4.50 Responded to inquiries in 48–72 hrs 4.40 → 4.56 Respectful & positive environment 4.40 → 4.90 Useful feedback on assignments 4.20 → 4.11 Sessions well organized 4.60 → 4.70 Materials enhanced learning 4.40 → 4.70 Hours/week outside class ~6–7 hrs → ~8–9 hrs Key takeaways • Higher engagement: Response rate up, students feel more challenged • Stronger climate: Positive, supportive scores climbed across the board • Room to grow: “Useful feedback” dipped slightly—time to refine assignment comments Grateful for every piece of feedback. Here’s to iterating and communicating even more effectively next semester!

🌟 Embracing Growth Through Feedback in Academia! 📚 As an early-career academician, I've come to realize the invaluable role that student feedback plays in shaping our journey in higher education. 🎓🚀 Continuous improvement is key, and students' perspectives provide a compass for navigating the evolving landscape of education. 🔍 Why is Student Feedback Crucial? 👩🏫 Insightful Reflection: You may think I'm best in your head but feedback will be a mirror reflecting your teaching methods and effectiveness. 👩🏫 Tailoring Teaching: Customisation in the service sector always works. Understanding what resonates with students aids in adapting and enhancing pedagogical approaches and classroom experience. 👩🏫 Student Engagement: Fostering an open feedback loop encourages active participation and a collaborative learning environment. While student feedback is an invaluable tool for improvement, it's essential to recognize potential disadvantages associated with this process in universities: 1️⃣ Bias and Subjectivity: Feedback can be influenced by personal biases, expectations, or even unrelated factors, making it subjective and potentially unfair. 3️⃣ Timing Challenges: Feedback collected at the end of a course may limit its utility for making immediate adjustments. Midterm feedback can address this, but it might not cover the entire learning experience. 4️⃣ Focus on "Likeability" Over Learning: In some cases, students may prioritize evaluating an instructor based on personal preferences or likability rather than on the effectiveness of the educational content. 5️⃣ Lack of Constructive Detail: Feedback forms may not always elicit detailed responses, making it challenging for educators to understand the specific aspects that require improvement. 6️⃣ Overemphasis on Quantitative Data: Relying solely on numerical ratings may oversimplify the complex dynamics of teaching and learning, missing nuances that qualitative feedback can provide. Acknowledging these challenges is crucial for universities to refine their feedback processes and ensure a more comprehensive and fair evaluation of academic experiences. 💡 Enhancing the Feedback Process: 1️⃣ Anonymous Platforms: Provide a safe space for candid feedback, ensuring students feel comfortable expressing their thoughts. 2️⃣ Midterm Feedback Sessions: Introduce checkpoints for feedback midway through the semester to implement timely adjustments. 3️⃣ Diverse Feedback Channels: Embrace technology, surveys, and open forums to capture a comprehensive range of opinions. 4️⃣ Continuous Communication: Foster open dialogues with students, emphasizing the reciprocal nature of the learning experience. Let's celebrate the power of feedback in our academic journeys! 🌐✨ How have you found student feedback instrumental in your teaching or learning experiences? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #Education #FeedbackMatters #AcademicJourney #ContinuousImprovement

📊 Student evaluations are never as straightforward as they seem. Those clean, bright numbers look so confident and clear, but they mask a lot of important detail, without which we can't make the right kinds of change for the right students (and teachers, and course materials, and...). If you're regularly incorporating student evaluations into your operational and strategic decisions, are you also considering: - Rigour, response rates and bias - Over-reliance on quantitative measures and/or single sources of data - Impact on teaching staff - Formative vs. summative use of data - Unhelpful comparisons of very different disciplines, study modes and cohort sizes - CAULLT - recently hosted a webinar sharing the outcomes of a grant project looking at how teaching and learning leaders use student evaluation surveys. Gail Crimmins and Dr Sarah Casey presented the findings and launched a Good Practice Guide on Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching to support effective use of these surveys. If you couldn't make it, here are my notes... (my highlights and interpretation - there's more in the guide and published article!). #HigherEducation #Evaluation #StudentResearch