Collecting feedback from your students half-way through a course can provide valuable feedback regarding student learning experiences and perceptions. Specific feedback can empower you to reflect and make adjustments during the course when there is still time to improve learning vs. after end-of-course evaluations, which only allow you to plan for future classes. Discussing the feedback with your students communicates to them that you care about their success, and you’re willing to listen. It also gives you an opportunity to explain why you can’t or won’t make some changes – perhaps because you value critical thinking or you have made intentional pedagogical decisions for specific activities or assignments — while assuring them that you will make every effort to support their success through these challenging assignments.
Best of all, you have an opportunity to communicate to your students that their learning is your number one priority. It’s a win-win for everyone. Explore our Mid-Term Course Feedback Resources page for 1) a bank of sample questions, 2) suggestions on how to conduct course feedback surveys, and 3) recommendations and how-to guides for some digital tools to create your survey.
