Guidelines for Interpreting and Collecting Midcourse Feedback

a checkmark and a conversation bubble.
Why Collect Midcourse Feedback?
  • Collecting midcourse feedback provides an opportunity for instructors to make adjustments to the course before the end of the semester. It is also possible to ask students to clarify and elaborate on their feedback when it’s collected at midterm.

  • Collecting feedback communicates that the instructor cares about students’ learning, and students appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback. Additionally, because students will be impacted by the feedback, they often provide more substantive feedback at midcourse than at the end of course.

  • In addition, multiple studies have found that instructors who collect, review, and discuss midcourse feedback with their students receive higher end-of-course evaluations (Cohen, 1980; McGowan & Osguthorpe, 2011; Murray, 2007).

 

Possible Questions
    1. What aspects of this course are most effective in helping you learn?
    2. What changes could be made to this course to better help you learn?
    3. What have you done so far this semester that is helping you learn in this course?
    4. What else could you do to help you learn in this course?

Interpreting Midcourse Feedback
Read Through the Comments
  • Skim through student feedback, both those aspects of the course that are helping students learn and changes they suggest.
Identify Common Ideas
  • Read through the comments more carefully and group them into broad topic areas. Remember that a single comment does not represent the views of the entire class. Focus your attention on those ideas that come up in multiple comments.
Consider Possible Changes
  • Based on the big topic areas that emerged, will it be pedagogically beneficial to make changes, or is it more pedagogically sound to leave things as they are?
  • If you would like to make changes, is it possible to implement them this semester, or will it be necessary to wait until the next time you teach the course?
  • If you would like to make changes, does it make sense to implement the changes students suggested? Or are there different changes you might implement to address the same concern?
Using Midcourse Feedback

Share What You’ve Learned with Students.

Thank students for providing thoughtful feedback. Providing feedback requires time and thought, and the vast majority of students are invested in helping make the course better.

Acknowledge parts of the course that are going well.

It can feel strange to call out parts of the course that are going well. However, doing so helps reinforce the pedagogical reason why you have structured the course the way you have.

For example: “It sounds like many people find the clicker questions helpful. I wanted to give you a chance to get some immediate feedback on your learning, and I’m glad to hear that the clicker questions are working for that.”

 

Discuss suggested changes you plan to enact.

Students may have identified changes to the course that you agree with and plan to enact. At this point, share the feedback you received and the changes you plan to make. Alternatively, if an area for change emerged from the feedback but a specific suggestion about what to do did not, consider asking students to share their ideas about what changes could be made.

For example: “A majority of the class mentioned that the group discussions do not feel very productive right now. One option is that I could provide a structured list of questions to work through, but I’m also curious to hear from you all what would make the discussions feel more productive.”

 

Discuss suggested changes that you do not plan to enact or cannot enact and why.

Just because students have suggested a change does not mean you must enact it. If there are good reasons why you have set the course up in this way, it is perfectly acceptable to leave the course the way it is. In this case, it is helpful to describe the pedagogical reason why you have structured the course in that way or to describe the reason why you cannot make the change.

For example: “From the feedback, it seems that many people don’t like the reading quizzes. I put these quizzes in place to help make sure everyone is ready to participate, because our discussions are much richer when everyone is prepared. For that reason, I’m going to keep the reading quizzes as they are.”

Enact the Changes and See How They Go!

References
  • Cohen, P. A. (1980). Effectiveness of student-rating feedback for improving college instruction: A meta-analysis of findings. Research in Higher Education, 13(4), 321-341.
  • McGowan, W. R., & Osguthorpe, R. T. (2011). Student and faculty perceptions of effects of midcourse evaluation. To Improve the Academy, 29(1), 160- 172.
  • Murray, H. G. (2007). Low-inference teaching behaviors and college teaching effectiveness: Recent developments and controversies. In R. P. Perry & J. C. Smart (Eds.), The scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education: An evidence-based perspective (pp. 145–183). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.