Get input from students
Provide opportunities for students to offer input on the effectiveness of their learning environment.
As part of the What Works Well in Online Teaching (WWWOT) series, Charlotte Deason Robillard shares how she uses Google surveys and polls to engage students in her online courses.
Practices
Students have direct experience immersed in the content and learning activities of your course and should be considered a valuable resource for continuous improvement of the design and delivery of the course. Here are the essential practices for this category.
Essential Practices
- Offer intentional opportunities for students to communicate with the instructor throughout the term.
- Provide a Q & A discussion forum that is easy to find, and encourage students to use it. Subscribe to that forum to ensure a quick response.
- Provide regularly scheduled “office hours” to students. (or as determined by contract for PT faculty).
- Review end-of-term feedback from students and make updates where needed.
High-Impact Practices for Continuous Improvement
- In addition to scheduled “office hours,” offer broader availability for open office hours and privately scheduled meetings.
- Integrate opportunities for student feedback throughout the term.
- Check in with students about how their grades appear to them, how to self-assess and adjust performance as needed.
- Offer opportunities for student input on specific elements of the course and activities, such as the use of a certain tool or the expectations with a particular assignment.
Examples for any online course
- Provide synchronous and asynchronous options for communication through email, Q&A forum, office hours, etc.
- Create a Q&A widget for the course homepage that links to the Q&A discussion.
- Create a “getting to know you survey” to support student success.
- Subscribe to or check-in frequently with the Q&A discussion to gauge any obstacles students may be having in the course and to address them in a timely manner. Subscribing to Q&A discussion will allow instructors to have notifications sent to their email when someone posts a question.
- Gather student input through midterm feedback assignments or by polling or surveying students at various times during the term to find out what is working well and what could be improved for student success.
- Encourage participation by valuing student feedback. Include opportunities for students to share feedback about the course or their learning experience. Make these contributions part of a graded activity when appropriate.
Examples for online courses with scheduled meetings
- At the start of the term, ask students, “What has worked well for you in other online courses?” to gather input on effective practices for synchronous sessions.
- Use breakout rooms, chat, polls, emoji reactions, or word clouds to gather student input—ranging from quick “temperature checks” on engagement and understanding to small-group discussions on course feedback topics, with groups reporting back.
- Dedicate a short portion of each class (e.g., the last 5 minutes) for students to share quick thoughts about what’s working and what could be improved that week. This can be verbal, in the chat, by emoji, or via an instant poll.
- At the end of a live meeting, invite students to post one suggestion or highlight in the chat.
- Recognize student contributions by highlighting a great question from a live session that led to a valuable discussion.
Resources
Understanding Expectations for Feedback and Interaction
- SUNY OSCQR Standard 50: Feedback on the Learning Experience
- Regular and Substantive Interaction Dept. of Education Regulations and Definitions
- Regular and Substantive Interaction: Feedback and Interaction
- Optimizing High-Quality Digital Learning Experiences: A Playbook for Faculty (Setting Expectations, p. 46)
Gathering Student Feedback and Insights
- How to create your first Google Form
- Creating a Survey in D2L Brightspace
- Create a “getting to know you” survey