Student feedback provides valuable information about students’ learning experiences in class and can be used to adjust current and future teaching practices. Instructors may use this feedback for their own professional development however they wish, but it is not reported to departments or colleges.
The Center for Teaching is available to assist instructors at their request through the following process:
Interested instructors should complete this form. A Center staff member will be in contact to set up a short meeting to discuss the instructor’s goals and how the Center can support them in a student feedback process.
Gathering feedback may be done in or out of class and may take many forms, including:
Feedback-via-interview with the entire class or small groups, conducted by the instructor or Center for Teaching staff. The focus is on generating a dialogue with students to draw out rich ideas to share with the instructor. A version of this is known as CLASSI (Classroom Assessment by Student Interview).
An anonymous survey sent out via software like Qualtrics, with questions designed to meet instructor’s goals.
In-class activities conducted by the instructor and planned with the help of Center staff like exit tickets, verbal check-ins with students about specific aspects of the course, or various other idea-generating activities.
After collecting the students’ feedback, instructors debrief with a Center staff member to review findings and discuss how to best interpret and use the information.
If you have additional questions about support for student feedback, please contact us at teaching@uiowa.edu.
Using Midterm Feedback
Looking for ways to gather mid-semester feedback from your students? Check out our resource page to learn more about how you can administer your own midterm feedback process to suit your teaching context.