Increasing Feedback

 

IDEA: have  face-to-face talks with each students. 

 

The  papproaches I used are as follows.  1st. After I handled out the mid-term  grading results,  I will hand out a  sheet for evluations,  I want my students to  have a chance to expression their opions what was wrong with this class, and what improvement and  modifications they want from this class.  Also, I will have a face-to-face talk with them,  giving them my projection of their final grade, based on their current homework grades, and current mid-term results. Of course it is not a gurantte that they will have such a  grade, but it is  just an estimation how good they are doing, and if  they want a better  grade, they better work harder.  Then I will also ask their suggestions to  improve the class.   It turned out such informal evaluation and face-to-face talks work well.    - Chunpei  Cai

 

 

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IDEA: Quiz Feedback Embedded Within the Lecture.

The day before each class, students have a reading assignment. To encourage students to read their assignment, I give a group quiz covering the assigned material the first 5 minutes of class. Instead of making students wait for graded feedback, I embed the quiz answers in the lecture. When a slide appears that covers one of the quiz questions, I go over that slide and then re-ask the question. I take a vote from the class as to which answer is correct. The following slide has the correct answer. I then give the students the opportunity to discuss why that particular answer is correct and why the other choices are incorrect. By the time lecture is over, students know how they did on the quiz and they get the chance to teach one another! In addition, I grade the quizzes. Therefore, students get credit for reading their assignment.  -Krisstal

 

 

IDEA: What about keeping a journal online in which students would always leave their thoughts about the class they have just had. It's kind of trying to motivate them to develop feedback about heir performance or anyother topic. The habit of reflecting about our performance is a helpful strategy. Moreover,the teacher could assees this space and leave a feedback about the student's  perspective on his studies. Now it seems to me that this idea fits better the learning topic. Anyway, I really think it could be effective.(volnei)

 

 

IDEA: Use Audio Comment Feature in Adobe Acrobat.

When students turn in assignments, convert them to Adobe PDFs. Then, with the document open in Acrobat, use the Audio Comment feature to add audio comments anywhere in the document. You can give much more detailed feedback in less time than writing out the comments. (Bethany)

 

IDEA: Stop-Start-Continue

One feedback technique I try to do at least once a month is Stop-Start-Continue. I usually do this by asking them to pull out a piece of paper and having them write on it anonymously. I ask the students to write those things that they wish I would STOP doing and to write those things that they wish I would START doing and finally those things that they wish I would CONTINUE doing. (contributed by Randy Carlson)

 

IDEA: Add Discussion Points to Assignments

I have added the option of telling me how the assignment helped (or hindered) their learning of the concepts covered by the assignment. (Allison)

 

 

IDEA: Adding comments to assignments

The assignments that I give are usually Word documents. When I grade them I will insert comments where I see problems and let them know what might have been a better way to do things. This can be time consuming, but I think for some of the students that are new to online classes it is helpful for them. - Julie

 

I like feedback. Students can not grow without feedback. This is the time to give them feedback. Elizabeth

 

IDEA: Submit/Respond Electronically

I talked about this a little bit in the last activity, but I think that it can be effective to have students submit work online and then respond to it online. This helps in multiple ways. One is that students will likely receive their feedback much sooner than traditional assighments. Instructors should be able to respond and send their responses right away, instead of taking days or weeks to get students work back to them. This will make your feedback much more useful, because when they get it sooner the assignment will be more fresh in their minds, and therefore they will better be able to apply what you write.

 

Many people find it much easier to type then write. Most people can type faster than they can write, therefore comments can be written faster, and often in more detail when done electronically. Also, if you have poor penmanship this will make your comments easier to read which will allow for greater comprehencion (I know I have received comments from professors before that I couldn't read, and therefore they didn't actually do me any good). Another benefit is saving paper. What is the point of making students print out assignments, when they can just e-mail them to you.

 

Another way to do this is to have students post their work to a discussion board. In certain classes this works well (only when each student is working on their own project) because students can learn from each other. -Tim Roe

 

 

IDEA: Feedback both ways

In an earlier Teaching Academy class, I got the idea of doing mid-term evaluations early in the semester. I get feedback from the students on what is working and what is not. Then I report back to them so they get feedback on their feedback, and they know what we will do differently or why something has to stay the same. This way they know I have heard them and we all understand each other better. --Margaret Loring

 

IDEA: Adopting an After Action Review(AAR)

In the Army, we use a feedback mechanism call the After Action Review(AAR). I have adopted that as my feedback mechanism for my teaching. I ask my cadets what I am doing right, wrong and then how to fix the issues. Thus far I have learned too much powerpoint content, they want more group work, my midterm (all fill in blank /short answer) was the hardest test many of them have taken here at NMSU. I too incorporated the mid term evaluation early for feedback. The one issue with the AAR is that they need to be comfortable enough with you as the teacher to be able to point out shortcomings without "hurting your feelings". LTC Brad Gavle

 

IDEA: Provide feedback on a weekly basis

I do not teach online but am currently enrolled in an online program. I think it is important for the instructor to provide feedback to the class and/or individual on a weekly basis. The student needs to know how they are doing! This is also an area I would like to work on in teaching my "live" class. One thought... Praise the students to success....Lynn Clark

 

 

IDEA: Instructor/Coach participation

I enjoy the interaction in f2f classes with the professor's input/comments/questions/reflections as discussion progresses. This same participation might enrich discussion in c2c (computer2computer) classes. Too often, in my experience, the OL discussions are solely between students with little instructor input. This deprives the discussion of some needed depth (and direction?).

 

IDEA: Active Feedback

My idea is for the educator to become actively involved in the feed back of the learner whether it be positive or negative. It is important to provide some sort of feedback as soon as possible. The feedback could be sent through the desired online learning tool and allowing the learner to make comments without pressure. In other words it is an ongoing feedback between the learner and educator. Conni D.

 

IDEA: Post Answers to Questions

In the LCMS I use for online homework I can create a student forum for each assignment. Students can post questions and other students may respond. If a student asks me a homework related question that I expect other students might have too, I post my answer to this forum as well. This way I reach more students and it reduces the number of very similar questions I need to respond to. (Michaela Bur.)

 

IDEA: Timely Feedback

I work hard to provide feedback each week to each student regarding their question responses. Students seem to appreciate it based on their comments. I also hold weekly online office hours and at least one online chat. I respond to emails within 24 hours and make them redo assignments if they do not meet the criteria. Olive Oil

 

IDEA: Lecture Feedback

Similar to Randy Carlson's idea, one method I have used is an anonymous class website on which a student can take a survey of what they think of the class (topics, methods, etc) and can comment on things they do and do not like and what they would like to see in class. The survey is then emailed anonymously so I never know who said what, and it gives the students a comfortable way to help me improve my teaching skills, or at least be aware of difficulties on the topics covered in class.

 

 

IDEA: Organization

The ability to create folders, especially in Mail, help control feedback. Adding a Answered box in mail has helped. After answering an email, I move it to answered. That way I know what I still need to address. Beth G.

 

 

IDEA: Organization

I have a 'Getting Started' section at the beginning of the Menu on my Web/CT page. One item that is included in that section is to let students know what to put in the 'Content' line of the email. I ask that they always do the following: Make sure to include your name and what the content is of the item you are emailing. For example, wood_introduction doc. This way, I can quickly see who has submitted the assignment.

 

Jackie

 

 

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IDEA: Student-Student Feedback

I have created assignments for students to critique each other constructively and given points for appropriate feedback. The students then have the opportunity to revise their assignment before turning it in to me. It is much less time intensive to grade a correct assignment than one that requires multiple edits. Wanda

 

IDEA: Built in Feedback for the Teacher

In the library we have a new Research Guide program called LibGuides that allows for interactivity on the page. One of the features that I like to use is the feedback box. There are two ways of getting feedback. One is a survy where the students answer a set of questions and the box automatically tallies and updates. The other allows students to rate the page and make specific comments. Then the librarian is alerted when feedback comes in. I encourage my students to give me feedback. Dotty

 

IDEA: Constructive feedback is key

 

I'm not currently teaching online courses, but I certainly understand how much students appreciate feedback. In order to be effective my golden rules are that feedback needs to be immediate, very specific, and constructive. When I provide an assignment, I provide feedback by the next class, in-writing, and providing specific examples of areas in which they did well and areas they need to improve on. Also I give them the choice to resubmit their work if they wanted to. Ivelisse

 

Feedback has been significantly linked to learner satisfaction and learning; however, it can be quite time consuming. What strategies do you use to help you give feedback effectively and efficiently? We need your help! Tell us your secrets here. :)