Encouraging Student Feedback
In the beginning of the school year when I had time to talk to and get to know many of the students in the two senior classes, I frequently asked them what they thought about a particular text or assignment so that I could get a better idea of what they liked and disliked and so that they would feel more comfortable giving me feedback when I would be teaching them. Over the next few months as I began teaching both classes, I constantly asked the students to evaluate a certain activity or reading, both formally and informally.
After we had been reading Invisible Man for a few weeks, I gave my students a mid-unit survey to get a sense of their feelings on the text and on the activities and assignments we have had class. This evaluation sheet had several questions about what they did and did not like about the novel, and what they thought was and was not working well in class. I also left space at the bottom of the survey for their suggestions. The questions are below:
1. What topics from the novel or from class discussions interest you so far? What are
you interested in investigating further?
2. What don’t you like about the novel or what has been difficult so far?
3. What activities and assignments with the novel have worked well in class?
4. What has not worked well in class? What would help you become more interested
or engaged in the novel or in class discussions?
5. Other comments, or suggestions for future classes, discussion topics, activities related to the novel
I was nervous about giving the survey because while I knew that many students were enjoying the book, I also knew that just as many were not enjoying it, or found the reading to be too intensive, or did not want to participate in class. During our previous discussions about the novel, the same group of students would always carry the conversation, and occasionally a quieter student would speak.
It was important that to me that I allow them to candidly share their opinions because I wanted them to have input in the direction of the class, and I did not think they often got the opportunity to do that. I also wanted to get a sense of what was working so that I could continue to incorporate those things in class.
With this survey, I was really trying to figure out what direction I should take in class as we started to read the second half of the novel. Many students responded positively to the different group activities that I had incorporated into class because they were better able to understand the novel when they could discuss their ideas in smaller groups. After reading through the survey responses, I had a better idea of which topics students were interested in pursuing further, and I thought about creating group assignments around those topics to try to meet the needs of, hopefully, a majority of the class.
Sample of student responses, click for more responses and analysis:
After we had been reading Invisible Man for a few weeks, I gave my students a mid-unit survey to get a sense of their feelings on the text and on the activities and assignments we have had class. This evaluation sheet had several questions about what they did and did not like about the novel, and what they thought was and was not working well in class. I also left space at the bottom of the survey for their suggestions. The questions are below:
1. What topics from the novel or from class discussions interest you so far? What are
you interested in investigating further?
2. What don’t you like about the novel or what has been difficult so far?
3. What activities and assignments with the novel have worked well in class?
4. What has not worked well in class? What would help you become more interested
or engaged in the novel or in class discussions?
5. Other comments, or suggestions for future classes, discussion topics, activities related to the novel
I was nervous about giving the survey because while I knew that many students were enjoying the book, I also knew that just as many were not enjoying it, or found the reading to be too intensive, or did not want to participate in class. During our previous discussions about the novel, the same group of students would always carry the conversation, and occasionally a quieter student would speak.
It was important that to me that I allow them to candidly share their opinions because I wanted them to have input in the direction of the class, and I did not think they often got the opportunity to do that. I also wanted to get a sense of what was working so that I could continue to incorporate those things in class.
With this survey, I was really trying to figure out what direction I should take in class as we started to read the second half of the novel. Many students responded positively to the different group activities that I had incorporated into class because they were better able to understand the novel when they could discuss their ideas in smaller groups. After reading through the survey responses, I had a better idea of which topics students were interested in pursuing further, and I thought about creating group assignments around those topics to try to meet the needs of, hopefully, a majority of the class.
Sample of student responses, click for more responses and analysis:
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