Throughout the unit, observations that I made, conversations that I had with students, and written comments made during progress checks revealed that many students were disinterested in the project or confused about the class. Challenges in communicating with my CM and the shortened planning time made it more difficult to identify what the final product would look like and how we would help students get there. From this, our initial explanations about the project were not very clear, and many of the students were confused and unsure of what our discussions and research were leading to.
I wanted to get a sense of how the entire class was feeling so I passed out two short questionnaires, one in the middle of the unit and one at the end. The final survey had several open-ended questions asking for students’ opinions on different aspects of the project:
1. Name one thing that you learned from or found valuable in this project.
2. Describe one aspect of this project that was ineffective.
3. Are you satisfied with how your final paper turned out? What could we have done to help you with the writing process?
4. How could this project be improved for the future?
5. Do you have any additional thoughts or comments about this project or the research process?
As I had hoped, most were honest about their feelings, and some gave constructive answers as to how the project could be improved. With questions 2 and 4, I wanted the students to think specifically about what they did not like and provide detailed constructive criticism, rather than falling back on generalized, negative statements. For question 4, several students wrote that they wanted clearer instructions, or directions that spanned the entire unit rather than just one or a few days. For question 2, while there were a variety of answers, they all centered on aspects of the project that students had previously expressed confusion about and had said they did not understand how something would fit into the larger scope of their final product.
Though I had given one survey previously, the responses I received with this questionnaire provided much more insight to how the students were thinking and feeling about the entire unit, and how they thought things should be changed. Not only was this an opportunity for me to understand how the students were feeling, but it also became a space for them to express their thoughts in an anonymous, low stakes situation. I wanted them to know that their frustration and confusion was important and valid, and that I wanted know what they were thinking.
As I continue teaching this semester, I want to involve more formal and informal student feedback into my own reflection and revision process so that I can then adjust my lesson plans and activities to better fit their needs. As seniors preparing to go to college, my students need to understand how to use their voices and opinions, and how to advocate for themselves when an aspect of a class or assignment is not working for them. I, in turn, want to respond more explicitly to their concerns and feedback by being more open about particular assignments, activities, and learning goals in classes.