Student Feedback

Obtaining feedback throughout your course is a great way to improve teaching skills while meeting the expectations of your students. The following 2 exercises are great ways to solicit feedback.

Start-Stop-Continue

Provide students with sticky notes and ask them to use three separate notes and record one thing that they want you to start doing, one thing they want you to stop doing and one thing that they want you to continue doing. Leave the room for the break and provide students with the opportunity to complete the exercise and post their notes in designated spots in the room. You can either review the results immediately following the break or simply collect them off the wall at the end of class and review them on your own. This exercise works well in the early weeks of a course, as it provides opportunity to make adjustments. 

One Minute Intermission

Interrupt participants at various times in the class and ask them to write down any questions or thoughts they have about the material being covered on 3x5 cards.
Collect and respond to the cards without identifying the contributor. This allows individuals who don't want to speak up the opportunity to participate in the discussion. This process could provide a viewpoint which hadn't been considered by you or the students. You are almost guaranteed to have someone provide a bit of comic relief, too.

Resources for Successful Online Teaching

• Tips for Successful Online Teaching in Traditional Universities
  This article written by Dianne Conrad of the University of New Brunswick Library divides instructional roles in to teaching, managing and supporting functions.



• Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever
  Based on the AAHE's 'Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," this article applies Chickering and Gamson's fifty years of research to the challenges faced (and overcome) by online instructors.



• Making Effective Use of the Internet and Information Technology to Address Common Teaching Tasks
  Created by Rob DeLow, Geography Department, University of Guelph, this chart lists strengths and limitations as well as guidelines and considerations when incorporating various forms of instructional technology (e.g. email, listservs, course web pages) in a course. Examples of use for each technological solution are also listed.



• Teaching Goals Inventory (TGI) (self-scorable version)
  TGI is a self-assessment tool that aids instructors in becoming more aware of what they want to accomplish in individual courses. It also helps faculty locate Classroom Assessment Techniques they can adapt and use to assess how well they are achieving their teaching and learning goals.



• Nine Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning
  From the AAHE Assessment Forum, this article describes nine principles and offers advice and guidance for designing assessment strategies and approaches. This is useful for both the online and face-to-face instruction.