Fast Feedback

[From the hard copy book Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993. Linking to this book chapter from other websites is permissible. However, the contents of this chapter may not be copied, printed, or distributed in hard copy form without permission.]

The most widely used method for evaluating teaching is the end-of-course questionnaire. The questionnaires arrive too late, however, to benefit the students doing the evaluation. Nor do the questionnaires usually encourage students to give the specific comments an instructor might need either to identify how well students have been understanding the material or to spot weaknesses in classroom presentation, organization, pacing, and work load.

Much more effective are fast feedback activities that take place during the semester. The term fast feedback is derived from management practices but can be applied to instruction (Bateman and Roberts, 1992). Informal sampling of students' comprehension of the subject matter will enable you to gauge how and what students are learning. And informal requests for constructive criticism will help you identify which teaching methods best contribute to your students' understanding of the material.

Decide what you want to assess. You can gather information on how well students are learning the material, on the effectiveness of your teaching strategies, or on other topics of interest to you. When looking at your instructional methods, focus on what can be changed during the semester--for example, the pace of the course, turnaround time on exams and assignments, or the level of difficulty of the material---and ask your students for specific responses about particular issues rather than a general evaluation of the course or your teaching. (Source: "Effectively Using Informal Early Semester Feedback," 1987)

Schedule fast feedback at times appropriate to the course. If you are teaching a course for the first time or have significantly revised a course you have taught previously, you may want to canvass students as early as three or four weeks after the semester begins. If you are teaching a course you have taught many times before, you may want to wait until midsemester before asking for student assessments. (If you solicit feedback immediately after a midterm, however, most of the comments will relate to the exam.) In addition, if you observe that students are having difficulty with the material or course requirements, you may want to probe the issue immediately. (Source: "Effectively Using Informal Early Semester Feedback," 1987)

Distribute blank index cards during the last five or ten minutes of class. Pass out 3x5 cards to students and ask them to respond anonymously to two questions, one on the front of the card, the other on the back. You can pose general questions about what is going well in the course and what needs to be improved or changed. Other general questions: "What do you want more of? Less of?" "How are you finding the course?" "Any suggestions for improving the course?" "Any problems?" "What do you need before the end of the term?" You may prefer to ask more specific questions about aspects of the course, such as whether the problem sets are too difficult or whether the pace of the class is causing difficulties. Leave the room while students write their comments. Ask a student volunteer to collect the forms and return them to you or the department assistant.

Ask students to complete a brief informal questionnaire. During the last few minutes of class, distribute a short, simple questionnaire to students or to a random sample of students in a large lecture class. Limit the questionnaire to four to six short-answer or multiple-choice questions. The issues posed should be ones you can respond to during the term; otherwise your students may develop false expectations about the remainder of the course. You might ask about the level of difficulty of course content, the quality and quantity of assignments, the use of classtime, the nature of student preparation outside of class, or the pace of the class. Consider asking students to list the one or two specific behaviors or incidents that weighed most heavily in their ratings. To assure that students respond candidly, leave the room while they complete the questionnaire anonymously, and ask a student volunteer to collect the forms and return them to you or the department assistant. (Source: Fuhrmann and Grasha, 1983)

Arrange for your students to be interviewed. Invite a colleague or staff member to conduct an oral evaluation with your students during the last ten or fifteen minutes of class. After you leave, the evaluator asks students to cluster into groups of five or six and to take several minutes to do the following:

• Select a spokesperson who will also write down the groups' comments.
• Name something in the course that they find helpful or worthwhile or that has helped their learning.
• Name something that has hindered their learning and that they would like to see changed.
• Suggest how the course could be improved.

The evaluator circulates among the groups as they work to remind them how much time they have left and to make certain that they are staying with the task. The evaluator then asks each spokesperson to report the group's findings, and the evaluator records the results on the board. After all groups have reported, the evaluator summarizes for the class the points of consensus and asks for clarification on points of disagreement. The evaluator collects the written comments from the spokespersons and prepares an oral or written summary for you. (Source: Clark and Redmond, 1982; Coffman, 1991)

Respond quickly to students' comments. Ideally, you will want to respond to your students' comments at the next class meeting. So schedule fast feedback activities at those times during the semester when you will have the opportunity to immediately review the class's comments.

Consider carefully what students say. First, look over the positive things your students have said about the course. This is important because it is too easy to get swayed by negative comments. Then read their suggestions for improvement and group them into three categories:

• Those you can change this semester (for example, the turnaround time on homework assignments)
• Those that must wait until the next time the course is offered (for example, the textbook)
• Those that you either cannot or, for pedagogical reasons, will not change (for example, the number of quizzes or tests)

You may want to ask a colleague or a teaching consultant to help you identify options for making changes.

Let students know what, if anything, will change as a result of their feedback. Thank your students for their comments and invite their ongoing participation in helping you improve the course. Students appreciate knowing that an instructor has carefully considered what they have said. Clarify any confusions or misunderstandings about your goals and their expectations. Then give a brief account of which of their suggestions you will act upon this term, which must wait until the course is next offered, and which you will not act upon and why. Let students know what they can do as well. For example, if students report that they are often confused, invite them to ask questions more often. Keep your tone and attitude neutral; avoid being defensive, indignant, or unduly apologetic.

Ask students to write a "minute paper." Davis, Wood, and Wilson (1983) describe a Berkeley physics professor who, in the late 70s , developed this technique, which can be used in any discipline. At the end of a class period, ask your students to write for a minute or two on the following two questions: "What is the most significant thing you learned today?" and "What question is uppermost in your mind at the end of today's class?" The resulting minute papers, submitted anonymously, will enable you to evaluate how well you have conveyed the material and how to structure topics for the next class meeting. Angelo (1991) and Mosteller (1989) describe a Harvard statistics professor who asks students "What was the 'muddiest point' in my lecture today?"

Ask students to list key concepts or ideas. At the conclusion of a series of lectures or readings about a particular topic, ask students to write short phrases summarizing the three to five key concepts or main ideas about the topic. You can review these lists to verify whether your students have grasped the important ideas. Students can also use their lists to review for exams. You may want to initiate a class discussion that asks students to compare and contrast their entries or define and apply the concepts. (Source: Angelo and Cross, 1988)

Ask students whether they are understanding you or not. But avoid the generic "Any questions?" Instead ask, "How many are following me?" or "How many are with me on this point?" Also refrain from posing general questions that might put students on the spot: "Who is lost?"

Have students briefly paraphrase a lecture or a reading assignment. At the beginning of the class period, you can request oral or written paraphrases and then judge whether students have understood the assigned reading or the last lecture. Or you can request paraphrases at the end of the period to check on whether students understood the material you presented.

Ask students to provide a closing summary. At the end of a class session, ask students, individually or in pairs, to write a very brief summary of the main ideas you covered in class. Have students turn in their summaries--making sure they understand this is not a quiz. Or at the beginning of class, ask students to summarize the main ideas from the previous class or the reading and to write one question they expect to be answered during class.

Encourage students to form study groups. Invite representatives of the study groups to meet with you to discuss any difficulties with the subject matter. Study groups provide students with opportunities to learn from one another, and some students may find it easier to seek assistance as a group rather than as individuals.

Have students turn in class notes as an assignment. Before a midterm or final exam, require students to turn in their lecture notes, course assignments, homework, and quizzes accompanied by a detailed table of contents. You will be able to get a sense of how well students are understanding the material and to identify who is having trouble in the class and needs help. Students will find that compiling a good set of detailed notes and a table of contents will help them study for the exam. Make sure you let your students know, early in the course, that this will be required.

Encourage graduate student instructors to give you comments about the course. If you have GSIs, they can be a valuable source of information on how the course is progressing and whether students are learning the material. Most student complaints eventually find their way to a GSI. Ask GSIs to give you brief written reports on any problems the students may be having in the course (for example, have them list the one or two things that caused students the most difficulty in class last week). (Source: Davis, 1988)

Angelo, T. A. "Introduction and Overview: From Classroom Assessment to Classroom Research." In T. A. Angelo (Ed.), Classroom Research: Early Lessons From Success. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 46. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

Angelo, T. A. and Cross, K.P. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. (2nd ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.

Bateman, G. R., and Roberts, H.V. "Total Quality Management for Professors and Students." Unpublished paper, the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, 1992.

Clark, J., and Redmond, M. Small Group Instructional Diagnosis Final Report. Seattle: Department of Biology Education, University of Washington, 1982. (ED 217 954)

Coffman, S. J. "Improving Your Teaching Through Small-Group Diagnosis." College Teaching, 1991, 39(2), 80-82.

Davis, B. G. Sourcebook for Evaluating Teaching. Berkeley: Office of Educational Development, University of California, 1988.

Davis, B. G., Wood, L., and Wilson, R. ABC's of Teaching with Excellence: A Berkeley Compendium of Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence. Berkeley: Office of Educational Development, University of California, 1983.

"Effectively Using Informal Early Semester Feedback." Illinois Instructor Series. Urbana- Champaign: Instructional Management and Services, University of Illinois, 1987.

Fuhrmann, B. S., and Grasha, A. F. A Practical Handbook for College Teachers. Boston: Little, Brown, 1983.

Mosteller, F. "The 'Muddiest Point in the Lecture' as a Feedback Device." On Teaching and Learning, April 1989, 3, 10-21

From the hard copy book Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993. Linking to this book chapter from other websites is permissible. However, the contents of this chapter may not be copied, printed, or distributed in hard copy form without permission.

Available at the UCB campus library (call # LB2331.D37). The entire book is also available online as part of netLibrary (accessible only through computers connected to the UC Berkeley campus network). It is available for purchase at the Cal Student Store textbook department, the publisher, and Amazon. Note: Barbara Gross Davis is working on the second edition of Tools for Teaching.

Publications and Teaching Tips | Office of Educational Development | UC Berkeley