ETPR - Using Student Achievement and Feedback to Improve Your Teaching

Rationale

“Considerable research shows that gathering feedback throughout the term allows an instructor to improve even very challenging classes, strengthen student learning, enhance student motivation, and positively alter student attitudes toward the instructor and course, as reflected in end-of-term student ratings” (Cohen, 1980; Fabry et al., 1997; Hamilton et al., 2002; Hampton & Reiser, 2004; Kreutzer, 1993; L’Hommedieu et al., 1990; Marincovich, 1999; Overall & Marsh, 1979; Rando & Lenze, 1994; Svinicki, 2001; as cited in Davis, 2009, p. 461).

Practices

Learning Objectives

In order to use student achievement and feedback to improve your teaching, we’ll discuss practices you can use to:

1. Inform instructional practices using patterns in achievement data

  • Summarize results of assignments and assessments
  • Use tallies, percentages, quick read-throughs, and grouped listing
  • Analyze and act on achievement data
  • Complete a data analysis insights chart

2. Inform instructional practices through reflection on feedback

  • Secure mid-semester feedback from students
  • Use Stop-Start-Continue, Small-Group Instructional Diagnosis, and Point-of-View Postcards
  • Consult with colleagues, administrators, and/or faculty development specialists
  • Document your teaching practices and insights in a teaching journal
  • Obtain feedback at multiple points throughout an online course
  • Use online surveys, Stop-Start-Continue, Plus/Delta, and Farewell Postcards

Skeletal Outline

Download a skeletal outline to take notes on the key practices included in this module.

Course Demonstration

This video shows instructors effectively demonstrating the evidence-based practices presented in this module. Through this authentic classroom observation, you can begin to consider how you might implement these practices and techniques with your students.

The instructors featured in the video include Desmond Stephens, PhD, from Florida A&M University; Amit Savkar, PhD, from the University of Connecticut; Rajiv Dalal, PT, ScD, from Florida A&M University; Ashley Rhodes, PhD, from Kansas State University; and Viji Sathy, PhD, from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

Download the transcript for this video.

Expert Insights

In this video, you’ll hear Trudy W. Banta and José Bowen, scholars in teaching and learning, discuss the specific nuances of and the research support for the teaching techniques and practices presented in this module.

Download the transcript for this video.

Common Challenges & Misconceptions

In this section, you’ll read about some common challenges and misconceptions associated with techniques for using student achievement and feedback to improve your teaching. Click on each statement to read research-based clarifications and suggestions aligned to each challenge or misconception.

MISCONCEPTION: Because each class is different, there is little benefit to taking the time to analyze test or assignment results.

Clarification:

Analysis and interpretation of test results and online assignments can prompt you to ask questions about your teaching, including “How well have my students achieved my goals?” and “Should I change what I’m doing to ensure students achieve the learning objectives in this course?” This type of reflective practice has been identified by Hattie (2012) as having a positive impact on student achievement of course objectives. 

MISCONCEPTION: Students rate their professors based on popularity; the most popular professors get the best ratings.

Clarification:

Analysis and interpretation of test results and online assignments can prompt you to ask questions about your teaching, including “How well have my students achieved my goals?” and “Should I change what I’m doing to ensure students achieve the learning objectives in this course?” This type of reflective practice has been identified by Hattie (2012) as having a positive impact on student achievement of course objectives.

MISCONCEPTION: The end-of-course student evaluation is the only feedback tool I need.

Clarification:

The feedback students provide about your teaching on their end-of-semester course evaluations can be valuable in helping you to adjust and refine your teaching for the future. However, as Davis (2009) points out, they arrive too late to help the students doing the evaluation. She writes, “Research shows that soliciting feedback throughout the term allows you to improve even challenging classes, strengthen student learning, enhance student motivation, and positively alter student attitudes toward you and the course” (Davis, 2009, p. 461).

Suggestions:

Solicit midsemester feedback from students so you can hear their concerns and make adjustments during the semester (Davis, 2009, p. 461). This allows your current students—not just your future students—to benefit from the feedback they provide.

Suggestions :

In an online course, instructors do not have the benefit of seeing students’ reactions to in-class activities, so soliciting feedback periodically throughout the online course helps instructors assess student perceptions of the value and impact of various online activities and assignments (Boettcher & Conrad, 2016).

MISCONCEPTION: Watching a videotape of my teaching will let me know what I should do to improve my instruction.

Clarification:

Svinicki and McKeachie (2010) write, “Research on feedback from films half a century ago demonstrated that when we see our teaching on film (or videotape), we are so captured by our minor mannerisms and appearance that we are likely to miss the critical items of feedback” (p. 337).

Suggestion:

Nilson (2010) says “colleagues are excellent sources of informational feedback on teaching; most will be happy to serve as a classroom observer or teaching videotape reviewer” (p. 329). Ask a colleague to form an observation partnership. The observer could look for examples of your current knowledge about the discipline, how activities align with your course objectives, assessment methods, student engagement, levels of questioning, and more. 

CHALLENGE: Students are not motivated to complete end-of-course evaluations and, as a result, rarely provide useful feedback.

SOLUTIONS:

To motivate students to complete end-of-course evaluations and to provide useful feedback through those evaluations, the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching recommends you talk with your students about the importance of course evaluations and how those evaluations are used:

  • Tell your students that you value their honest and constructive feedback and that you use student feedback to make improvements to your courses. 
  • Let your students know that you are interested in both positive and negative feedback on the course.
  • Describe the kinds of feedback you find most useful.
  • Remind students that evaluations are designed to be completely anonymous and that you will not be able to see any of their evaluations until after final grades have been submitted. 

Observe & Analyze

In the Observe & Analyze (OA) section, you’ll view the video(s) depicting developing practice, where an instructor implements some of the module practices effectively while other practices may need slight adjustments or improvements. As you analyze the video(s), you will gain a deeper understanding of the module practices and gain insight into some common pitfalls.

Watch

Let’s sit in on Greg’s elementary literacy class.

Download the transcript for this video.

Implementation Resources

  • Instructional Practices

  • Additional Resources

This section includes resources and handouts to support your implementation of the techniques and practices presented in the module.

Download all of the implementation resources for this module.

Implementation Resources

Download or print the following resources to practice our techniques for improving your teaching:

Below are additional resources to further explore the module topics.

Video Resource

Resources for Further Reading

Consult a comprehensive list of references for this module.

Community Connections

References

INSTRUCTOR CREDENTIALS

Amit Savkar, PhD
Associate Professor in Residence
Assistant Director of Faculty Development CETL
University of Connecticut

Ashley Rhodes, PhD
Teaching Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Kansas State University

Desmond Stephens, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics
Florida A&M University

Greg McVerry, PhD
Associate Professor, Education

José Bowen, PhD
President & Professor of Music
Goucher College

Rajiv Dalal, PT, ScD
Director of Clinical Education
Division of Physical Therapy
Florida A&M University

Trudy W. Banta, EdD
Professor, Higher Education
Senior Advisor to the Chancellor for Academic Planning and Evaluation
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis 

Viji Sathy, PhD
Senior Lecturer
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

MODULE REFERENCES

Angelo, T. A., & Cross, P. K. (1993).
Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Benton, S. L., & Cashin, W. E. (2014).
Student ratings of teaching: A summary of research and literature (Idea Paper No. 50). IDEA. Retrieved from https://www.ideaedu.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/IDEA%20Papers/
IDEA%20Papers/PaperIDEA_50.pdf

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R.-M. (2016).
The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cashin, W. E. (1995).
Student ratings of teaching: The research revisited (Idea Paper No. 32). IDEA. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED402338.pdf

Chase, B., Germundsen, R., Cady Brownstein, J., & Schaak Distad, L. (2001). 
Making the connection between increased student learning and reflective practice. Educational Horizons, 79, 143–147.

Christensen, C. R., Garvin, D. A., & Sweet, A. (Eds.). (1991).
Education for judgment: The artistry of discussion leadership. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Davis, B. G. (2009).
Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Farmer, D. W., & Napieralski, E. A. (1997).
Assessing learning in programs. In J. G. Gaff & J. L. Ratcliff (Eds.), Handbook of the undergraduate curriculum: A comprehensive guide to purposes, structures, practices, and change (pp. 591-607). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Felder, R. M. (1992).
What do they know, anyway? Chemical Engineering Education, 26, 134–135.

Gravestock, P., & Gregor-Greenleaf, E. (2008).
Student course evaluations: Research, models and trends. Toronto, ON, Canada: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.heqco.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/
Student%20Course%20Evaluations_Research,%20Models%20and%20Trends.pdf

Hattie, J. (2012).
Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. New York, NY: Routledge.

Nilson, L. B. (2010).
Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Rojstaczer, S. (2012, September 18).
Student evaluations offer bad data that leads to the wrong answer. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/09/17/professors-and-the-students-who-grade-them/student-evaluations-offer-bad-data-that-leads-to-the-wrong-answer

Seldin, P. (1997).
Using student feedback to improve teaching. In D. DeZure (Ed.), To improve the academy (Vol. 16, pp. 335–346). Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press and the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education.

Stanford University, Center for Teaching and Learning. (1997).
Using student evaluations to improve teaching. Speaking of Teaching: Stanford University Newsletter on Teaching, 9, 1–4.

Suskie, L. (2009).
Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Svinicki, M. D., & McKeachie, W. J. (2010).
McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (13th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Theall, M. (2003).
Student ratings: Myths vs. research evidence. Vanderbilt University, Center for Teaching. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/articles-and-essays/the-teaching-forum/student-ratings-myths-vs-research-evidence/

University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. (n.d.).
Improving your teaching: Obtaining feedback. Retrieved from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p9_1

University of Northern Iowa, Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning. (n.d.).
Small group instructional diagnosis. Retrieved from http://www.uni.edu/provost/cetl/small-group-instructional-diagnosis

Vanderbilt University, Center for Teaching. (n.d.).
Student evaluations of teaching. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/student-evaluations/

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