Early Course Feedback
Overview
Interested in collecting student feedback midway through the semester? An Early Course Feedback (ECF) is a great way to hear from students about their learning experience in your course, and can give you valuable feedback in time to make adjustments during the semester! The ECF process involves three parts: a pre-ECF meeting with a Faculty Developer to discuss your course and any aspects you want feedback on, an ECF session where a Faculty Developer visits your class for 20-30 minutes to collect student feedback, and a post-ECF meeting to discuss the student feedback and next steps. You will also receive a written report containing the feedback.
“It’s been hugely helpful to find out from the student’s perspective what’s working, what isn’t working, and then be able to make adjustments to the course, both for the semester and for future semesters.”
Christopher Painter-Wakefield, Teaching Professor, Computer Science
“It can be intimidating to hear what [students] really think— but that’s the transformative aspect of teaching, in my opinion. Leaning into that discomfort a little bit has huge payoffs. And with this process, you have support from the Trefny Center…. They will not only meet with your students…they will collect that into a document, organize it by theme, and then present it to you in a very supportive and collaborative environment…I feel like it helps me be the teacher I want to be.”
Heather Fester, Nature and Human Values Director and Teaching Associate Professor, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences
“I think everyone should at least once do an [ECF] if you’re thinking about continuous improvement of your teaching… The cool thing about this is that you get feedback early on before final evaluations…so that you can iterate mid-semester based on that feedback.“
Mirna Mattjik, Teaching Associate Professor, Engineering, Design, & Society
Interested in the ECF process but not quite sure if it is right for your class? Reach out to facdev@mines.edu to learn more!