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Identifying Pearls of Wisdom from End-of-Semester Course Evaluations

At the end of the semester it can be valuable to take a few moments and reflect on what went well in your courses, and what you might want to change the next time you teach them. One source of information is the student evaluations of teaching, available to you after you submit your final grades.

Yes, response rate could be lower than you'd like, and anonymous comments might be dreadful. However, many students do put in some careful thoughts when filling out the course evaluations – which they do while staying up late studying for exams. Here are some steps you can take to find the pearls of wisdom:

  1. Spend a few minutes and think about:
    1. What went well, for both the students and you, as intended? How?
    2. What could have gone better, for both the students and you? How?
    3. What would you like to change next time around? Why?
  2. Dreadful feedback: read, ponder and put aside.
  3. Pearls of Wisdom:
    1. Look for strengths and areas of improvements
    2. Categorize them
    3. Match them against the list you developed in Step #1
  4. Develop an action plan:
    1. List the strengths you are going to maintain
    2. List one or two things you will adjust/change/modify
  5. Work with a couple of colleagues, or consult with staff at the Center for Teaching and Learning: fresh eyes bring new perspectives.

To follow up on any of these ideas, please contact 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 and organized by Seneca College and New York Institute of Technology.

Resources:

Contributor:
Judy C. K. Chan, Ph. D.
Educational Developer | Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology
Faculty/CTLT Liaison | Faculty of Land and Food Systems
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver
Judy.chan@ubc.ca