What’s going on in my classes? A mid-semester survey can give you some clues

Is it time for a check-in with your students? Are you wondering how your students are feeling about your class, its climate, your teaching practices, and their learning? Using a well-crafted mid-semester survey can help you answer some of these questions. Mid-semester surveys are a great way for students to tell you what is working in your class and what you might change to help their learning. Most important, a mid-semester survey can help you gauge how inclusive and equitable your class is, including students’ sense of belonging in your class, how supported students feel, the relevance of your course materials, and the accessibility of course resources. According to The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching, “Equity increases when students have a voice regarding course pedagogies.” Below are suggested questions around various inclusion and equity topics. As always, be transparent with your students about the changes you can and cannot make by communicating with them about changes you plan to make based on their feedback

Do my students feel like they belong?

These questions can help you whether your students have a sense of belonging in the course. If they do not, it will be a barrier to their learning.

• What makes you feel like you belong in this class?
• What makes you feel excluded from this class?
• What could the instructor do to help you feel more included in this class?

What supports my students’ learning?

These questions prompt students to think about how the instructor is supporting their learning, further help they might need, and changes that students could make themselves to improve their learning. Consider asking these questions:

• What could the instructor do to help you improve your learning in this course?
• What changes can you, the student, make to improve your learning in this course?
• In what areas do you still think you need support to succeed?
• How could the instructor better help you grow and improve in the remainder of this course?

Do students see the relevance of my course?

Students need to see the relevance of your course in order to engage fully. This can be done by bringing in different perspectives, course materials, and researchers who reflect your students’ identities. Consider asking:

• How could the instructor make examples [cases, perspectives] in this course more relevant to you?
• How could the instructor offer more varied perspectives during the remainder of this course?

Are my teaching practices inclusive? Are there instances of bias in my course?

Which daily practices do my students find supportive of their learning? Ask them:

• How could the instructor improve class discussions [or group activities] to ensure all students could participate?
• How could the instructor make you feel more included in class activities?
• How could the instructor help you feel safer and more comfortable sharing your views in this course?
• How could the instructor have made this course more responsive to students’ individual needs and circumstances?
• What, if any, examples of bias did you witness in how this course was designed and taught?

What resources are my students accessing? What difficulties do they have accessing resources?

Consider asking students why or why they are not accessing course resources. Examples:

• If you are not attending student/office hours/assistance, why or why not?
  Options: I don’t have time to attend, None of the hours fit my schedule, I don’t know where these are located, I don’t know why to attend them, I don’t know how to prepare for them, I am intimidated to attend, I don’t need extra help
• I could not complete the readings because:: I did not have access to the readings, I did not have time, or I ran out of time, The reading was boring, The reading was too difficult, I do not know how to read for class/ class discussions, I do not see the value of reading for class discussions, I do not think the readings are necessary for my learning

For ideas on how to word questions, collect data, and analyze data, you can read our previous blog posts and webpage:

• Mid-semester feedback: how do I collect useful data? (blog post)
• Getting Student Feedback at Midterm (blog post)
• Mid-semester feedback in the age of COVID (blog post)
• Mid-Semester Evaluations (webpage)

If you want to see more questions, you can review the questions available in the Online Course Questionnaire (OCQ). OCQs are usually administered at the end of the semester, but you can use some of these questions for your mid-semester feedback. If you would like help with writing questions or creating your surveys in Canvas or Qualtrics, contact the CITL to meet with a consultant. We can also help you with interpreting the data and identifying areas for change based on your students’ feedback. If you’d like to see examples of possible questions, visit this Canvas site and import one of the quizzes there into your own course site.

 

Consider attending our February 15 event, What’s going on in my class? Mid-semester surveys for all class sizes (in-person) to learn more.