Starting a Mid-Course Survey
Why are mid-course surveys valuable?
Incorporating a mid-course survey is an effective and timely intervention that helps you hear from students about how the course is going (Sozer, Zeybekoglu & Kaya, 2019). Using this easy strategy, you could:
- Invite dialogue about the student learning experience
- Make a teaching change when you can act on it
- Help students reflect on their own learning in the course and practice metacognition
- Help students see how you value their feedback
- Receive better feedback on final course surveys
What things do you hope to learn?
Starting considerations
Designing a mid-course survey involves consideration of what information you hope to gather. This could include student satisfaction, confidence with concepts, effectiveness of teaching methods and more. Here are some question categories to consider:
Course Content and Structure
- Relevance of the course material to the learning objectives
- Clarity and organization of the course syllabus and schedule
- Appropriateness of the workload and assignments
- Quality and usefulness of the reading materials and resources
Instruction and Delivery
- Clarity and effectiveness of the instructor's explanations
- Instructor's knowledge of the subject matter
- Availability and helpfulness of the instructor outside of class
- Effectiveness of online tools and platforms used for teaching (if applicable)
Engagement and Interaction
- Opportunities for student participation and engagement in class
- Quality of discussions and interactions between students and the instructor
- Support for group work and collaboration among students
Feedback and Assessment
- Timeliness and helpfulness of feedback on assignments and exams
- Fairness and clarity of grading policies and criteria
- Usefulness of assessments in promoting learning
Student Self-Survey of Learning Outcomes
- Student's self-assessed understanding and mastery of the subject matter
- How well the course has helped improve specific skills or knowledge
- Confidence in applying the course material in real-world situations
For hybrid or fully online courses
Consider the following question categories as options:
- Effectiveness of the online components such as presentations, audio, and video in supporting learning
- Ease of navigation and accessibility of online materials such as lecture notes, slides, and readings
- Effectiveness of methods used to promote student engagement and interaction in an online environment, such as discussion forums, group projects, and live Q&A sessions
- Flexibility in terms of deadlines and time management requirements for online learners
Developing questions
When developing questions, you could focus on areas of the course that you are particularly interested in assessing such as pacing, clarity of materials, or levels of engagement. Then, there are different methods to consider such as focus groups or surveys. Surveys facilitate both closed and open question types, allowing for a mix of quantitative and qualitative feedback. In addition, feel free to consult Microsoft Copilot for question ideas.