Getting feedback from students in a formative assessment

The term “formative assessment” often means just regular assessment of student learning that you conduct during the course of a class to provide both you and the student feedback on how well they are mastering course content. But the term also refers to getting feedback from students on how well the course is working for them.The point of such a formative assessment is to give you constructive feedback on your course while there is still time to make changes to it or how you are interacting with students. When the end-of-course evaluation is completed, it is too late to make changes for the students in that semester.

A formative assessment can be really simple: “What is working and what is not working for you in this course?” Or, you can ask much more specific questions about assignments, communication, technical issues, or anything you think might be an issue in your course. Again, the purpose of this formative assessment is to allow you to change things that are not working—if you conclude that they are not—before it is too late for your current students.

Some find a question directed specifically at what is not working most useful, such as “What part of this course is not working for you?” or “What would you like to see changed about this course?” When you ask such questions, you are not obligated to make the change, but if you hear a common complaint from your students about some aspect of your course, it may mean you either need to make a change or communicate with them differently about that issue. Either way, it is useful information to have early on.

Another type of question some faculty find useful is to ask students about their effort in the class so far. “How much of the assigned readings are you completing each week,” or “how much time are you giving to homework on average?” Answers to these questions can inform instructors about the need to address these kinds of issues rather than make changes to the course content.

It is also important to respond in some way to a common grumble. Even if you disagree with students about the issue, tell them you heard them. In a news post for example, you might explain that you understand their concern, but the course component needs to stay how it is for this reason.

Like the course evaluations at the end of the semester, formative assessments are most useful if they are completed anonymously. The survey tool in GeorgiaVIEW, located under More Tools in the toolbar, will allow you to administer the survey anonymously. 


Some examples

Here is a longer example:
Example in SurveyMonkey

Three short examples:
Midterm Teaching Survey

A Gallery of Student-Feedback Questions from Harvard.

Is your subject irrelevant?

Curriculum experts have long argued that making learning relevant to students helps them engage with the subject, and therefore, learn more efficiently. In this article, the author argues that math is primarily taught in a painfully irrelevant way in most cases. Worthy, but irrelevant subjects, will go the way of Latin, the writer suggests. If we continue teaching math in an irrelevant way, it will become a Classic discipline, like Latin. You know how many Latin instructors we have on campus.

Of course, it is easy to extrapolate from this argument to other disciplines. At the very least, the point of view brings up some worthy points to mull over. Take a few minutes to read the article and consider the implications for your teaching.

Are textbooks really necessary?

Source: Domizi, Clouser, and Watson, University of Georgia, 2014

In a recent study, the University of Georgia asked students several questions about their textbook use. The particular question you see here caught my attention. The fact that more than half the students say in some cases they rarely use the textbook or think a text is unnecessary to be successful in a class makes me wonder about the role of textbooks in our courses and to ask the obvious question:: are textbooks really necessary?

I know that many subjects are very dependent on a textbook for conveying basic information to students, and I don't want to pick a fight with those instructors. But my guess is that there are probably some classes that could get by without a textbook; relying instead, on various open resources readily available online. Some of those resources may even be more up-to-date than the standard textbook and more interactive as well. And this approach could lead to some really positive outcomes.

The first potential outcome is that students may be more inclined to spend time reading/watching/interacting with resources that are specifically chosen because they clearly address learning outcomes of a particular course. Why do so many students not bother reading the textbook? Because they can get by without it. The textbook either doesn't address the skills or knowledge that are assessed in the course or the instructor delivers the content to them in some other way. My guess is that in many cases it is the former: the textbook is "extra stuff" on which instructors never assess students. Once students learn what is to be assessed, they don't bother with anything else assigned. If resources are chosen because they address specific learning outcomes more precisely than the "shotgun" approach of a textbook, students are more apt to "consume" them because they will learn that the resources are actually useful in mastering course content and doing well on assessments.

Second, because you have to intentionally choose individual learning resources in this approach, the potential is there to create a much more effective course. You choose this article for this topic; this video for that topic, etc., rather than relying somewhat blindly on a textbook that already has organized the topics (and chosen which topics are addressed and which are not). By not relying on a pre-organized textbook, instructors in some cases would be forced to think more deliberately about what learning outcomes should be in the course and what specific learning resources are necessary to achieve them. This could result in a course that has a more effective and efficient design. So one way to jump start a course redesign, or breathe new life into a course, or simply make it better might be to throw out the textbook and find the individual learning resources necessary for each of your learning outcomes. 

Is all this more difficult that just choosing a textbook and following along chapter by chapter? Well, yes. But the potential is there for the effort to lead to a much more effective course (not to mention saving students textbook money). And please remember that if you decided to experiment with this, we are here to help you find those resources.

See the Open Resources page.

David 

Teaching underprepared students

A webinar we recently provided for faculty addressed the issue of dealing with students who are not well-prepared for a course or college work in general. Here are a few of the better ideas gleaned from the webinar:

Identify at-risk students with a survey. Consider a survey at the beginning of your course that helps identify students who are “at risk.” This would be a discipline specific set of questions based on your experience with your course. “How confident are you that you know how to solve basic algebraic formulas?” “Are you able to read a chapter of a textbook and remember most of the major principles” “How well did you do in your last science course?” etc. Or this could also be a pre-test to measure their current abilities. Identifying students who are likely to do poorly in the class at the beginning gives you the opportunity to intervene right at the beginning by offering extra resources, tutoring referrals, or just counseling with them individually about how to succeed in the course.

Give consequences. Students respond better to choices when there are clear, meaningful consequences. Our students have a lot of personal and social issues that interfere with academic work, so it is sometimes hard to be firm with consequences. But these presenters argued that without them, too many students simply will not get work done on time. If you are known for being very flexible, the word gets around, and you can expect more late or unfinished work. They also suggested that you consider providing incentives, as well as consequences, such as providing a couple of extra points for work turned in early.

Students must buy into your course from the beginning. They need to know why the subject matter is important to them—either in future academic courses or in some way meaningful in their own lives. Without seeing the relevance of the course or particular topics within your course, they are less likely to be motivated enough to succeed.

Provide “non-examples” as well as examples. This is a major, basic pedagogical technique that is often overlooked. Don’t just describe a correct example of something to students. Show them examples that are close to correct, but are not correct, so they learn to tell the difference. It is not enough to just tell some students what is; you should also show them what isn’t. Distinguishing between the two can really firm-up understanding of the concept especially for students with poor academic skills.