Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development, UCSD ctd.ucsd.edu May 21, 2014

1. GETTING FEEDBACK
FROM YOUR STUDENTS
Peter Newbury
Center for Teaching Development,
University of California, San Diego
pnewbury@ucsd.edu @polarisdotca
ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd
resources: ctd.ucsd.edu/programs/weekly-workshops-spring-2014/
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
12:00 – 12:50 pm Center Hall, Room 316
please
sign in

2. The Lament of the Instructor/TA…
Getting feedback from your students2
“I WANT to know if they’ve got it, but how?
They just sit there!”
“I’m pretty sure the people who are asking questions
are the ones who understood it best. Why don’t
the ones who are lost SAY something?”
“Is what I am doing helping them?”
“Why don’t they ask any questions?!”

3. How people learn:
Getting feedback from your students3
Students need a chance to
try,
fail,
receive feedback,
and try again
before a summative evaluation.
(Bain (2004))
The same applies to instructors
learning how to teach!

4. Solution: Get Feedback
Getting feedback from your students4
1. Set expectations
2. Enable and encourage
honest communication
3. React to student challenges
and requests
(Image: sphere-itize me, captain by demibrooke on flickr CC)

5. 1. Set Expectations
Getting feedback from your students5
On the first day of classes,
 Be enthusiastic
 about content of course
 about your desire to help them learn
 Set expectations
 tell them what you will do each week to help/prepare
 tell them how to let you know what they want/need
 TAs: Have discussion section the FIRST WEEK
 If you can’t, send email via TED/class list.

6. 1. The First Day: Be Enthusiastic
Getting feedback from your students6
“This was one of my favorite courses in undergrad. I am
so excited to be able to help you get the most you can
out of this course.”
“I am here to help YOU. And I will do what I can to
figure out what that is – but I can’t read your mind. I
will be asking you to tell me what you need and what
you’d like me to do.”

7. 2. Enable/encourage honest communication
Getting feedback from your students7
 Provide a private channel
 Email to TA or instructor (develop, discuss, follow your
email policy)
 Googleform
 surveymonkey
 Provide a public channel
 Discussion/Question Forum in TED (be sure to monitor the
forum – TA’s job?)
 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on TED
 Piazza: Crowd-sourced questions and answers

8. How do you communicate
with your students?
Getting feedback from your students8
 piazza
 facebook groups

9. Getting feedback from your students9
Getting feedback
in class or Section

10. Muddiest Point Card /Minute Paper
Getting feedback from your students10
 Index cards you hand out in lecture
 hand out index cards every day as students enter the
room
 ask them to write down things when they’re confused
 collect during class (esp if break) or at end
 slip of paper with (smallish) text box drawn on it
 ask students to write down what most confused about at
end of lecture
 Drop in boxes on way out
 Can also be done before/in/after discussion section
http://www.flaguide.org/cat/minutepapers/minutepapers1.php

11. Two-Minute Pause
Getting feedback from your students11
1. Stop every 10-12 minutes (middle of a topic is OK)
2. Ask students to talk with a neighbor for 2 minutes (use
your phone to time it): “Review what was just lectured:
explain to each other, check notes, formulate a
question to ask.”
3. return from two-minute pause w/ class-wide discussion
Why does it work?
 reduces cognitive load
 provides opportunity for metacognition
 put in own words helps clarify/deepen understanding
 increases short- and long-term recall [2]

12. CAPES for Prof in Dept.
Getting feedback from your students
12
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
SP10 SP11 FA11 SP13
Recommend Class
Recommend
Instructor
started using
two-minute
pause

13. Two-Minute Pause PRO™
Getting feedback from your students13
Provide a question in case they
 don’t have anything to talk about
 don’t know how to have an expert-like conversion
Examples:
 summarize material just covered
“What do you think would have happened if they
ran that experiment with adults instead of children?”
 motivate upcoming material
“How do you think this will change when we apply it
in 3 dimensions instead of 2?”

14. Two-Minute Pause PRO+™
Getting feedback from your students14
Provide a question in case they don’t have anything to
talk about and provide conversation starters to direct
their discussions.
Melt chocolate over low heat. Remove the chocolate
from the heat. What will happen to the chocolate?
A) It will condense.
B) It will evaporate.
C) It will freeze.
(Question: Sujatha Raghu from Braincandy via LearningCatalytics)
(Image: CIM9926 by number657 on flickr CC)

15. “Any questions?”
Getting feedback from your students15
NEVER ask this.
Instead:
1. “Take a minute and talk with your neighbors to see
if you understand or to come up with a question.”
2. Wait 1-2 minutes: walk around listening in,
encourage “good questions”
3. Take questions and answer them or admit you aren’t
sure, need time to prepare a good explanations
(and get back to them!)

16. What have you tried?
Getting feedback from your students16
 TAs: keep, quit, start
 “I’m interrupt-driven – feel free to ask questions,
don’t wait until the end.”
 watch out for talkative student

17. Enable/encourage honest communication
Getting feedback from your students17
Reward participation and question-asking:
 Verbally
“Thanks”
“That’s important”
“I didn’t realize that, Maria. Thanks for asking.”
 participation points
 candy (yes, really)
Learning your students’
names, not just the ones in
the front, makes HUGE
positive impact on
“community” in classroom!

18. 3. React to student challenges/requests
Getting feedback from your students18
For TAs in discussion section or instructor running review
1. List topics you have prepared in top left corner of
board (Get these from attending lecture and ½
listening or TED forums or index cards)
2. Ask students if they have other topics to add
3. Take vote on what students want to cover
4. Go from most votes to least (kind of)

19. KQS – Keep Quit Start cards
Getting feedback from your students19
1. Around week 3-4-5 (late enough that they know your
class but soon enough you can make changes)
“Please write down one thing I should
KEEP, QUIT, and START doing.”
2. Review cards before next class
3. Report back (selectively is OK)
 Include items that were split (like going too fast/slow)
 Things people wanted and you can’t change, explain:
“I HEAR YOU but I need to prepare you for the next class.”
 If 90% of students say quit doing something – you are going
to have to quit

20. How to Get Feedback
Getting feedback from your students20
1. Set expectations
2. Enable/encourage honest communication
3. React to student challenges/requests

21. How to Get Feedback
Getting feedback from your students21
1. Set expectations
2. Enable/encourage honest communication
3. React to student challenges/requests
Concept: Martha Stacklin, UCSD-CTD
Images: Action in Lane 20 by djking on flickr CC
Ping Pong by MugurM on flickr CC

22. References
Getting feedback from your students22
1. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2. Ruhl, K.L., Hughes, C.A., & Schloss, P.J. (1987). Using the Pause
Procedure to Enhance Lecture Recall. Teacher Education and
Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education
Division of the Council for Exceptional Children January. Vol.
10 no. 1 p 14-18.