Reflective Teaching Development

Originally published in October 2024

Collecting Feedback from Students

Collecting student feedback on the learning experience provides instructors with important information on adapting teaching strategies to improve academic development and outcomes. When implemented during the course, it allows instructors to better understand their teaching effectiveness at a time when feedback can be actionable for the students surveyed. Responding to student feedback by making minor but effective adjustments to course design and delivery can lead to a more transparent, enjoyable, and successful teaching and learning experience for all.

Questionnaires can be created to elicit feedback on learning and engagement through anonymous surveys within MyLS or survey software, such as Qualtrics. Using a combination of open-ended and closed-ended questions in your survey questionnaire design can help you determine the specific issues that students may be encountering. Collecting specific feedback will reveal where impacts and gaps exist in the student learning experience.7

Surveying students could include specific and observable teaching behaviours such as:  

• Did the instructor use frequent examples during class? 
• Have students been addressed by name?
• Were assigned readings clearly aligned with class discussions or lectures? 
• Have students been given opportunities for participation? 

Some open-ended questions to consider in surveys might include:

• What has been most helpful for your learning in this class so far? (e.g., Describe the time(s) in this class when you were most engaged) 
• What has caused you the most difficulty in terms of learning in this class so far? 
• What suggestion(s) can you make that would enhance your learning experience in this class?

Examples of midterm feedback techniques you might try: 

• Start, Stop, Continue: Students identify the instructional strategies that they want you to start doing (suggestions), stop doing (challenges or barriers), or continue doing (what’s already working). Students can also be asked these questions about their own behaviours (what should I start, stop, or continue doing?) to self-evaluate and share ownership of the learning experience. 
• The Four L’s: Students are asked what they liked, learned, lacked, or longed for in the course.
• One Minute Papers: It is best to facilitate this technique at the end of a class and by asking guiding questions relevant to that class content, such as:
• o What was the most important point covered in class today? 
• o What question remains in your mind?
• Muddiest Point: Like the One Minute Paper, the Muddiest Point identifies areas of a lesson that may not be clear to students. Ask your students, “What was the muddiest point in… (today’s lecture, the reading, the homework)?” 

Read more about using formative feedback in your teaching and how it supports both instructors and students alike in this Guide. 

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