Feedback for Teaching Excellence

Student Feedback: Supporting Learning Through Responsive Course Design

Student feedback is critical in helping instructors adapt course content and teaching strategies to support students' diverse learning needs. By actively seeking and using feedback, faculty can identify opportunities to improve their courses, address challenges, and foster a more inclusive, engaging, and effective learning environment. Below are some tools and strategies you can incorporate at various stages of the semester to gather valuable insights from your students:

1. Beginning-of-Semester Student Survey

This survey is designed to gather feedback on students’ backgrounds, prior knowledge, and attitudes related to your course content. It can help identify:

  • Students' prerequisite skills and areas requiring support.
  • Attitudes toward course content and teaching methods.
  • Previous academic experience with course-related content.
  • Skills expected to be utilized in assignments and activities.

Resources:

3. Exit Tickets

Exit tickets are quick, reflective tools used at the end of core classes to gather immediate feedback from students. You can use interactive tools such as Goggle forms, Qualtrics or Poll Everywhere available to gather students responses on the following three questions:

  • What is the key idea or concept you learned in today’s class?
  • Is there anything from today’s class that still feels confusing?
  • Is there anything you would change about today’s session?

3. Midsemester Pulse Checks

These pulse checks are designed to revisit challenges or gaps identified in the beginning-of-semester survey and provide timely support during the second half of the course. They offer a chance to:

  • Understand how students are progressing with course material.
  • Address barriers to learning.
  • Adjust teaching strategies and assignments as needed.

4. Students Write a Letter to Future Students

This activity encourages students to reflect on their learning experience and provide advice to future students taking the course. You may ask your students to focus their reflections by addressing the following questions:

  • What you wish you knew before the course?
  • What skills and knowledge were especially impotent for this course?
  • Allow instructors to assess the impact of course design and assignments.

5. Final Course Evaluation

Final course evaluations, while not always a perfect measure of teaching effectiveness or course design, can still offer valuable insights. The key lies in interpreting this feedback thoughtfully to drive meaningful improvements in your teaching practice and course structure.

Key considerations:

  • Identifying recurring themes: Analyze student evaluations for common patterns and trends that can guide refinements in your teaching approach.
  • Addressing student concerns proactively: Use feedback to pinpoint potential areas of dissatisfaction and implement targeted, actionable strategies to address them.
  • Fostering continuous feedback: Design course structures and practices that encourage ongoing, meaningful dialogue between faculty and students, ensuring feedback becomes an integral part of the learning experience.

 

Need support?

If you need support in incorporating student feedback or interpreting it effectively, please contact the CTL team at shanghai.ctl@nyu.edu or schedule a one-on-one appointment for personalized guidance.