The College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Academy sat down with the college's Student Advisory Board in January and asked how students think about and respond to end of semester course evaluations, as well as how students see instructors fostering belonging in courses at UNL.
The Teaching Academy fellows, Dona-Gene Barton, Kwakiutl L. Dreher, Jiling Duan, Kevin Gonzalez, Vanessa Gorman, June A. Griffin, Dawn Kopacz, Jacquelyn Omelian, and Wendy M. Smith, share insights with key action steps instructors can take to foster belonging in their courses and perhaps get better feedback on course evaluations.
Insight: When asked how students know an instructor cares about them and their success, the near universal response was instructors learning students’ names. In small classes, when an instructor does not learn student names, the students interpret this as the instructor does not care. In large classes, instructors asking students to use nametags or asking for students’ names during office hours were seen as positive signs.
Action Steps:
- Be transparent with the steps you will take to get to know students — whether it is learning names, calling attendance, or holding office hours. Taking steps to articulate that you care for students and their success can be an important encouragement.
- As much as possible, learn student names in small classes; in larger classes, having students make and display nametags or fill in a seating chart (self-assigned seats) early in the semester can be helpful.
- To help create an environment in which students feel connected with their classmates and like their contributions matter, give students specific questions to discuss with their neighbors. The Think-Pair-Share model can be useful, particularly in large lecture classrooms.
Insight: Students perceive that only “good” instructors of small classes read the feedback on end-of-course evaluations. Students do not see ways that instructors or departments make use of feedback from end-of-course evaluations.
Action Steps:
- Explain the purpose and use of course evaluations during class and tell students you value their feedback. Let them know you value hearing about their course experience and carefully consider their suggestions.
- Provide class time for students to complete evaluations to increase response rates and quality of feedback. Share how you plan to use feedback or share examples of past changes made due to student feedback.
Insight: Students recognize that end-of-course evaluations provide feedback too late for an instructor to make changes during the course. Some but not all instructors and departments use a mid-semester feedback form.
Action steps:
- Administer a mid-semester feedback survey and then explicitly address concerns to help students see the impact of feedback, even if the response is to provide additional rationale for why you are not going to change something. The Stop Start. Continue. survey works well for this.
- Say the "quiet part out loud” by explaining to students some of the rationale behind instructional decisions.
Insight: Students appreciate instructors trying to improve teaching practices; it takes time to engage in such reflective practices.
Actions steps:
- Departments can encourage and value instructors engaging in reflection around improving teaching.
- Annual reviews can ask instructors which improvement and reflective practices they have engaged in, such as peer observation of teaching, attending or giving a teaching-focused workshop, attending a department teaching seminar, etc.
Insight: When students are not having a positive experience during a course, they often do not feel comfortable talking directly with the instructor, especially if the course is within a major. Students do not typically know where or how to register a complaint about a course during the semester (in time for actionable changes).
Action Step:
- Communicate with students that you are open to feedback and want to hear their concerns.
- Remind students that you can only address issues that you know about. Outlining a process for students to communicate their concerns can be empowering to students.