Mid-Semester Feedback

Next week is the midpoint of our semester.  We will have completed the first eight weeks of the courses and will have another eight weeks before the end of the semester.  This time of the semester may mean midterm exams but, at least in my courses, it means professor evaluations too.  Many faculty use the midpoint in the semester to check-in with the students to see how the class is going.

In my classes I use a simple set of questions asking the students what is going well, what they would like to see changed, what I can do to help them understand the material better, and their overall satisfaction of the course.  I formalize these evaluations by either distributing these on a single sheet handout or through a online survey in our learning management software.

I really value the feedback I receive from the students as part of this mid-semester feedback survey.  Students are able to express their opinions in an anonymous manner and I'm able to determine if I need to change my approach to improve the effectiveness of my teaching.  However, if I want to survey the students for their input I must also demonstrate that I am listening to their feedback.  Shortly after collecting the surveys I spend five minutes of class time to review the results of the survey and outline the changes that I plan to make to the course to adjust to their feedback.

My discussion of the survey results also allows me to explain why I certain changes cannot be made (like giving the answers to the exam before the exam).  This discussion creates a collaborative environment where the students are able to have input on the methods that work best for them and I gain their insight as a student in my class.  The students are also able gain a better understanding of the reasoning for my methods.  Hopefully these surveys and feedback discussions provide as much benefit to my students as they do for myself.