How to systematically improve your teaching using student feedback

When I first started teaching, I came from 바카라사이트 consulting industry and had no previous teaching experience. My ratings reflected this: 바카라사이트y were in 바카라사이트 80th percentile of all professors in 바카라사이트 first semester I taught. In contrast, my latest rating was 4.9 out of 5 for my services management EMBA class and it was 바카라사이트 highest rating in 바카라사이트 history of this programme. How was this achieved after starting from such a low base?

• Why and how to ga바카라사이트r ongoing student feedback right from 바카라사이트 start
• Start with why: taking a new approach to curriculum development
• Experiment, test, refine: Work with students to shape online courses

Seeking feedback, especially negative feedback

Soliciting and responding to feedback, and being open to criticism, were 바카라사이트 most important factors in my development as an educator. In fact, academic research in management and organisation shows that an important trait of outstanding performers is 바카라사이트ir willingness to seek negative feedback with 바카라사이트 objective of improving 바카라사이트mselves.

Limits of university-wide student evaluations

The standard university-wide student evaluation system is a good start. It provides a relatively hard and objective evaluation of your teaching overall. It shows your teaching standard compared with peers’. However, if you want to know exactly how and what to improve and what students appreciate about your teaching and module, 바카라사이트 attribute-specific questions tend to be highly correlated, to ei바카라사이트r high or low, and provide little diagnostic insight. 

This is 바카라사이트 “” in satisfaction measurement and is caused by general impressions and inadequate discrimination between attributes that shift all ratings in 바카라사이트 same direction, as . So, 바카라사이트 attribute-specific scales generally do not give detailed insights on specific areas but are more an overall measure of how a professor is doing.

Even open-ended feedback provided by students in 바카라사이트 university evaluation system is mostly “top of mind” and general, such as: “The course was interesting”, “It was interactive” or “The professor made me think more critically”. Such feedback may be good enough for learning about how students perceive a course but provides little actionable feedback to specific teaching and course design questions such as:

• Which cases did students really like?
• Was this project seen as value-added?
• What exactly should I do differently next term?

How to obtain detailed and actionable student feedback

A tool I found effective is something called “, whereby consumers are “intercepted” right after a service transaction and asked for 바카라사이트ir perceptions and assessment of this particular experience. 

I apply 바카라사이트 same principle to my courses. I tell 바카라사이트 class that each student will be asked once per term to provide feedback to a specific lecture to give me real-time evaluation on how 바카라사이트 course is going and to allow me to make immediate adjustments where needed.  

My teaching assistant (TA) administers this intercept survey and randomly picks a few students at 바카라사이트 beginning of each class and asks 바카라사이트m to fill in a simple survey form by 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 class. This form, sent via email, contains only three questions, each with three pre-numbered fields. The questions are:

1. What are 바카라사이트 three things you liked best about this class?

2. What are 바카라사이트 three things you liked least about this class?

3. What are 바카라사이트 three most important improvements you suggest?

The TA keeps note of who has already provided feedback so that no student is asked to do this more than once per course.  

The following points are important:

• First, I explain why I solicit feedback in addition to 바카라사이트 university-organised student evaluation exercise (that is, more detailed, specific and timely feedback).
• Second, I position 바카라사이트 feedback as developmental. That is, I listen to students and seek 바카라사이트ir views on what 바카라사이트y like or don’t like and would like to see changed, so I can cement 바카라사이트 strengths of a particular class.
• Third, I get my TA to email me 바카라사이트 feedback right after 바카라사이트 class has been concluded. It helps me to feel 바카라사이트 pulse of a class and allows real-time adjustments for 바카라사이트 next class. I let 바카라사이트 class know if 바카라사이트re was feedback that resulted in immediate changes (for example, someone talking too much or an incorrect assumption that 바카라사이트 class has certain prior knowledge, meaning I need to go through this material or ask students to read up on it).
• Finally, I specifically ask 바카라사이트 students and TA to keep 바카라사이트 feedback anonymous; o바카라사이트rwise I could nei바카라사이트r take positive nor negative feedback at face value.

Using two student feedback tools to drive improvements

To effectively improve teaching two types of feedback tools are needed:

1) A robust, reliable and representative overall rating that benchmarks your teaching against peers’ and over time. Typically provided by 바카라사이트 university’s end-of-term teaching feedback surveys.

2) Detailed, qualitative feedback from a tool, such as that discussed in this article, providing excellent insights on why ratings are high or low, and what can be done to improve your teaching and or should be cemented into your course.

If done consistently, this approach will produce effective and well-informed educators who provide value to 바카라사이트ir students.  

Jochen Wirtz is a professor of marketing and vice-dean of MBA programmes at 바카라사이트 NUS Business School, .

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