Gathering Feedback on Teaching and Learning

Center for Teaching Effectiveness

The University of Texas at Austin

Main Building 2200

CTE Home

Faculty Services

TA/AI Services

Publications

Resources

Research

About CTE

Gathering Feedback on Teaching and Learning

Most instructors are curious about how their class is being perceived by the students and how the students are being affected by the class. This kind of feedback should be obtained during the semester rather than waiting until the class is over and it is too late to do anything about the results. The purpose of this web page is to provide faculty with ideas and tools for gathering and interpreting these data. The table below links you to materials appropriate for the type of feedback you'd like to have. It provides ideas for getting three different kinds of feedback (informal prose, surveys, and oral feedback) from two external sources (peers and students) and one internal source, yourself. Decide which type might be appropriate for your needs and click on that square to go to forms that you can print and use right away.

Another good type of feedback to gather is feedback on learning, both to the instructor and to the students themselves. There are many things that students can do to help themselves once they have a handle on what their contribution to the situation can be. We recommend you consider balancing gathering data on teaching with data on learning as well.

Gathering data on teaching

Format of feedback/Source of feedback	Gathering Data through Self-reflection	Gathering Feedback from Peers	Gathering Feedback from Students
Informal/prose format	A prose template for thinking about your teaching	Preparing for peer observation: A booklet for faculty	A prose template for getting student reactions in a class
Survey format	A survey to measure your self-description of teaching	A checklist for observing teaching skills based on the research on learning	1. The MEC CIS informal survey process For more information on interpreting CIS forms, visit The Research Behind Student Evaluations by Steve Fitzpatrick, MEC and Marilla Svinicki, CTE. 2. A feedback form appropriate for discussion or seminar classes 3. A survey form based on readily observable teaching behaviors that doesn't require students to make inferences 4. TABS (A survey of teaching for students to fill out) 5. Tips for creating your own survey
Oral feedback		Preparing for peer observation: discussing the results with a peer	Small Group Instructional Diagnosis: a way of gathering oral feedback from students

Gathering data on learning for both students and instructors

Format of feedback/ Audience for feedback

For Students - to assess their learning and efforts

For Faculty - to assess student learning and efforts informally

Informal/prose format

A template for student self-reflection on learning

Teaching goals inventory

Survey format

1. Student self-description of learning

2. Student based classroom assessment techniques

Learning based classroom assessment techniques