“I never teach my students, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” - Albert Einstein

Do students have opportunities to meet each other and work together outside of class? How did that last quiz go – did students have enough direction on what to study? Are your course materials clear, or are there ways they can be improved to help students learn? What was the most valuable thing students learned this week?

Often we wait for the end-of-semester student evaluations to learn what students have been thinking about our class, and by then it is too late to address any concerns or make adjustments. You can get feedback on your teaching and on student learning weekly – or at whatever interval you desire – and use it right away. Here are three guiding principles, and three strategies to do so:

Three Guiding Principles

1. Keep it simple. One or two questions, at most, and preferably open-ended. “Tell me something valuable you learned this week.” “What do you wish we’d had more time to discuss?”
2. Keep it anonymous. Students are more likely to give you honest feedback when it’s anonymous. (Plus, you won’t need to worry about grading them!)
3. Keep it meaningful. Tell students why you are asking – because you want to help them learn. Tell students what you heard: summarize their responses, and address their feedback.

Three strategies:

1. Use a Minute Paper. A minute paper is quick and versatile. A few minutes before class ends, ask your students to pull out a blank sheet of paper, and write the answers to 1-2 questions. Students drop the papers off as they leave class. Glance over them before the next class meeting, and be ready to tell the students what you heard, and how you are responding.
2. Use PollEverywhere. PollEverywhere is a classroom response system that can accept open-ended responses, and many other formats. Add a slide to your presentation and ask “What questions do you still have?” You can configure the poll so that responses are anonymous and are not visible to the class. Later, you can download the responses so you have a copy for your records.
3. Use Blackboard. The “survey” feature in Blackboard uses the same interface as the testing tool, but responses are anonymous. (You can see who has replied, but cannot link the names to the responses.) Set up a quick survey there, and push it out to your students with an announcement going to their email after class. Need help getting started? Stop in at one of the Faculty Drop-In Sessions – no appointment needed!

Finally, tell us what you do, and how it works! Operation Engage is still running, and we are seeking the school with the highest percentage of faculty members who report on ways they engage their students. Let us know what you do at http://bit.ly/EngageForm.

To follow up on any of these ideas, please contact Noreen O’Brien at nobrien@nyit.edu or me at fglazer@nyit.edu. This Weekly Teaching Note was adapted from a contribution to the Teaching and Learning Writing Consortium hosted at Western Kentucky University.

Contributor:
Jess Gregg
Associate Director for Educational Development
Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences
University of California, Los Angeles