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Feedback
Student
Feedback
Introduction
There
are
a
number
of
purposes
for
obtaining
feedback
from
students
on
courses,
including:
Basic
good
practice
in
routinely
monitoring
the
quality
of
courses/modules
and
to
identify
any
issues
that
arise;
Obtaining
useful
information
to
help
modify
or
re-‐design
the
course
for
future
cohorts;
Obtain
insights
into
the
students’
perspectives
on
the
module,
how
it
fits
with
other
parts
of
the
course,
how
much
effort
they
are
putting
in
and
the
perceived
level
of
difficulty
or
interest
in
the
topic;
Helping
to
address
potential
issues
in
the
delivery
(e.g.
clarity
of
speaking,
access
to
materials,
notes,
etc)
or
organisation
of
the
course;
Discovering
and
resolving
potential
problems
that
arise
with
particular
groups
of
students
or
individuals
(e.g.
non-‐native
language,
anxieties,
etc)
Assessing
or
grading
the
‘performance’
of
lecturers
for
probation,
promotion,
awards
or
other
purposes.
The
aim
and
context
of
the
feedback
should
of
course
inform
the
methods
and
techniques
used.
Here
we
will
present
a
simple
summary
of
the
principal
methods,
which
are
currently
in
use
across
the
university
and
provide
practical
suggestions
for
their
implementation.
There
are
of
course
many
alternative
forms
of
feedback
including
informal
approaches,
which
lecturers
and
tutors
use
as
part
of
routine
practice.
It
is
important
to
emphasise
that
student
feedback
is
only
one
possible
source
of
information
and
therefore
provides
a
particular
perspective.
To
fully
evaluate
the
effectiveness
and
the
operation
of
a
course
or
teaching
team
a
wider
range
of
inputs
is
necessary.
Students
are,
after
all,
still
novices
in
the
particular
academic
discipline
(and
may
not
be
able
to
appreciate
yet
the
importance
of
individual
topics
or
methods
until
later
in
their
development),
still
developing
their
own
skills
and
experience
as
learners
and
are
influenced
by
the
broader
context
in
which
they
are
currently
taking
the
course
under
review,
their
opinions
often
shaped
by
personal
circumstances
and
peer
group
effects.
Nonetheless,
as
the
primary
intent
of
any
programme
of
learning
is
to
aid
the
development
of
students'
knowledge
and
understanding,
methods
of
obtaining
insight
into
their
perspective
is
absolutely
vital.
Some
institutions
operate
a
centralised,
institution-‐wide
feedback
service
using
either
online
or
paper-‐based
forms.
Such
an
approach
can
be
effective
and
efficient
but
also
requires
considerable
resources
as
well
as
running
a
risk
of
implying
that
such
feedback
is
an
external
requirement
rather
than
an
important
aspect
of
the
whole
course
design-‐delivery-‐evaluation
cycle.
In
NUI
Galway,
responsibility
for
feedback
is
associated
with
wider
currricular
ownership
and
hence
is
in
the
domain
of
the
schools
and
colleges
themselves,
with
however
an
understanding
that
such
autonomy
is
matched
with
implementation
of
appropriate
methods
on
all
available
courses/modules.
CELT
1
of
4
Student
Feedback
Online
questionnaires,
because
of
their
overuse
in
a
huge
variety
of
contexts
(not
just
in
the
students'
university
experience)
tend
to
yield
low
rates
of
return,
unfortunately.
Any
evaluation
based
on
questionnaires
needs,
therefore,
to
take
a
balanced
view
of
what
the
best
approach
might
be
in
each
case
and,
if
online
is
preferred,
some
techniques
(or
even
just
stressing
the
importance)
to
promote
completion
should
be
considered.
Blackboard
(the
University's
learning
management
system)
provides
a
very
direct
means
of
surveying
students
enrolled
on
any
module
and
allows
anonymous
submissions,
along
with
simple
analysis,
in
addition
to
offering
data
in
downloadable,
spreadsheet
format.
Note
that
the
survey
tool
in
Blackboard
also
provides
‘instructors’
with
information
on
who
has
completed
the
questionnaire
(although
their
individual
responses
are
anonymised),
allowing
follow
up
reminders.
In
addition,
it
may
be
possible
to
link
such
with
‘adaptive
release’
and
other
tools
to
encourage
completion.
Pre-‐built,
standard
questionnaires
(for
routine
end-‐of-‐module
surveys
and
for
more
detailed
evaluations
of
a
course)
in
Blackboard
format
are
available
for
download
from
the
CELT
website
(and
the
Learning
&
Teaching
Forum)
and
can
be
readily
embedded
in
any
module.
These
can
also
be
customised
since
individual
staff
or
schools
may
have
their
own
preferred
set
of
questions
or
particular
additional
queries,
which
they
would
like
to
raise
with
their
students.
A
key
aspect
to
bear
in
mind
is
of
course
that
of
evaluation
overload,
or
survey
fatigue,
particularly
if
students
are
being
expected
to
fill
out
questionnaires
on
most
or
all
of
their
modules.
Some
consideration
therefore
should
be
made
to
this
issue
and
simple,
quick
surveys
may
be
more
suited
to
routine
feedback.
CELT
2
of
4
Student
Feedback
because
the
process
is
managed
by
an
independent
person
and
is
confidential,
there
is
an
expectation
that
students
may
be
more
forthcoming
about
issues
than
were
they
under
the
gaze
of
the
lecturer
concerned.
Finally,
the
confidentiality
of
the
whole
process
can
be
reassuring
to
the
lecturer
who
has
volunteered
to
undertake
this
form
of
evaluation.
The
main
disadvantage
of
this
process
is
that
it
is
costly.
The
use
of
an
external
facilitator,
who
collates,
summarises
and
analyses
the
feedback
in
the
form
of
a
detailed
report,
requires
payment
which
to
date
has
been
provided
via
CELT
from
a
number
of
sources.
This
is
the
limiting
factor
in
scaling
such
a
process
and
presents
an
added
challenge
in
times
of
reduced
budgets.
Priority,
therefore,
is
given
to
those
staff
who
are
currently
undertaking
the
PgCert
in
Teaching
&
Learning
in
Higher
Education
for
which
this
process
is
compulsory.
There
is
of
course
no
reason
why
a
basic
version
of
such
a
process
cannot
be
undertaken
internally,
perhaps
facilitated
by
colleagues
from
within
or
outwith
the
school.
Trust
and
confidentiality
will
however
be
important
for
success.
(4)
Partnerships
for
Learning
&
Teaching
(PLT)
-‐
Peer
Review
and
Observation
PLT
partnerships
are
an
effective
and
informative
method
of
receiving
feedback
on
some
aspect
of
your
teaching
practice,
be
it
with
respect
to
a
lecture,
practical
session,
or
a
review
of
materials
or
resources
you
provide.
Typically,
an
academic
staff
member
will
pair
with
a
'critical
friend'
or
peer
who
agrees
to
attend
and
review
a
teaching
session
of
their
choosing,
and
this
is
then
reciprocated.
The
issues
to
be
reviewed
or
observed
are
agreed
in
advance
and
then
a
final
feedback
discussion
is
held.
Those
who
have
previously
used
this
approach
have
found
it
to
be
highly
effective
and
a
direct
means
of
strengthening
collegiality
and
a
sense
of
mutual
support
in
a
non-‐threatening
context.
Partners
are
often
paired
from
separate
disciplines
as
this
can
provide
refreshing
and
alternative
perspectives.
However,
it
can
also
be
advantageous
to
organise
such
within
related
cognate
fields,
particularly
if
the
content
of
the
teaching
event
under
review
is
a
major
focus.
The
reported
benefits
are
often
focused
on
the
value
of
observing
another
person's
approach
to
teaching,
rather
than
simply
having
one's
own
practice
subject
to
scrutiny.
CELT
3
of
4
Student
Feedback
Resources
Examples
of
feedback
questionnaires,
protocols
for
various
methods
and
other
relevant
information
are
all
contained
in
the
NUI
Galway
Teaching
&
Learning
Forum
on
Blackboard
(http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie/)
to
which
all
staff
have
access.
The
CELT
website
(http://www.nuigalway.ie/celt)
should
also
prove
useful
and
details
workshops
and
training
sessions
on
a
wide
range
of
topics
including
feedback
and
course
review.
CELT 4 of 4