Collecting Mid-Term Feedback to Measure Teaching Effectiveness

With the spring semester in progress, we are approaching a point of assessing and adjusting our course outlines as needed. As the weeks continue and mid-terms approach, it is a good time for everyone (students and professors) to assess their performance in class. Checking the pulse of the course to identify issues allows time for productive adjustments before the end of the semester when students complete faculty evaluations. 

Conducting mid-term assessments can provide more enhanced engagement and stimulate student learning even more, along with identifying opportunities to reflect on accomplishments and recognize areas of improvement (Jia, Liu, & Pang, 2020). Additionally, collecting student feedback also provides a suitable time to evaluate student mental health. Learning Innovation’s guide to supporting student well-being stresses the importance of checking in on students, in the form of a mid-semester student survey (Duke Learning Innovation, 2022).

Assessing students by a Midterm Assessment Plan provided by the Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction (CITI) can be insightful and helpful for both you and students. This assessment can ultimately yield valuable insight into teaching methods; however, it is imperative to be open to student feedback and to make actionable adjustments in response to the feedback. In addition to this process, critique yourself by watching a recording of a class. Some examples of target areas include:

• Am I interacting with numerous learners?
• Am I providing ample opportunities for asking a question(s)? 
• Is it an adequate balance of instructor talk-time and student talk-time? 
• Is my delivery clear, engaging, and being received?
• Are my instructions for breakout rooms clear?
• Are my technologies (digital whiteboard, ADOBE Creative Cloud, Voice Thread) achieving their desired effect? (Payne, Stone, & Bennet, 2022)

We at CITI offer many services that can assist in bettering your courses to ensure student engagement, active participation, and learning, along with assessments.

References

Duke Learning Innovation. (2022). How can I support student well-being? Flex Teaching. Retrieved January 15, 2022, from https://flexteaching.li.duke.edu/a-guide-to-course-design/how-can-i-support-student-well-being/

Jia, S., Liu, P., & Pang, Y. (2020). Mental health course design and teaching effect evaluation for college students. Revista Argentina de Clinica Psicologica, 29(1), 65.

Payne, A. L., Stone, C., & Bennett, R. (2022). Conceptualizing and Building Trust to Enhance the Engagement and Achievement of Under-Served Students. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 1-18.

Winston-Salem State University (2022).  Programs. Center for Informative and Transformative Innovation. Retrieved January 15, 2022, from https://www.wssu.edu/administration/faculty-and-staff/citi/citi-programs/index.html