SoCTL

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at CTL

Mid-Semester Evaluations Make the Rest of the Semester Better

Faculty members often find that mid-semester evaluations are a valuable resource for their teaching. CTL invites you to try this practice if you’re not already doing it. Unlike evaluations that are done after a course ends, feedback from students midway through the semester provides information that can lead to mid-course adjustments. When adjustments or improvements are made to a class, they often result in a better experience for both instructors and students. In addition to improvements in the course, mid-semester evaluations can be an important learning tool for the students. According to Carey Sargent from the University of Virginia, by conducting mid-semester evaluations “instructors can provide students with the tools to reflect on their own contributions, their peers’ contributions, and the pedagogical values of the instructor” (Sargent, 2007, n.p.). Barbara Gross Davis agrees, writing that the problem with end-of-the-semester assessments is that they “arrive too late . . . to benefit the students during the evaluation” (Davis, 2001, p. 345).

There are a number of ways to solicit feedback, but many scholars of teaching and learning agree that the simplest is to administer a short questionnaire during class. Questions should be short and to the point, and should ask only about those issues that can be responded to during the term, so that students don’t gather false expectations of the rest of the semester (Davis, 2001, p. 346). One quick and fruitful method is the “stop; start; keep on” questionnaire. Simply ask students to take a piece of paper, and list one or more things that they would like to see stopped in the class, which things should be started and what should not be changed. Cross and Angelo (1993) offer other suggestions, including the “minute paper,” problem posting, and the two-column method. Lenze (1997), Desrochers (2001), and others describe the effective process of Small Group Instructional Diagnosis first developed and tested by D. Joseph Clark at the University of Washington in 1976. In a SGID session of about 20 minutes, a trusted colleague visits the class and asks students what is helping them learn, what is not helpful, and what they think the instructor can do to improve the course.

Regardless of the form that a mid-semester evaluation takes, it’s generally most helpful to collect formative information and then review the feedback with students so that they know what you’re doing to improve the class, and what they can do to improve the class.

Distinguished from any centrally administered course evaluation from the college or university, these mid-semester assessments are designed solely for use by the faculty members,” to provide an additional channel of communication with your students” Sargent, 2007, n.p.). And any added channels of communication result in better teaching—and increased student learning.

-Thomas Wortman and Lynda Milne

References:

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

Davis, B. G. (2001). Tools for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Desrochers, C. (2001). S.G.I.D. A new CELT program that taps student perceptions of instruction. Fall 2001 CELT Letter, California State University Northridge. Retrieved March 12, 2007, from http://www.csun.edu/~celtact/sgid.pdf

Lenze, L. F. (1997). Small group instructional diagnosis (SGID). In Brinko, K.T. & Menges, R.J. (Eds.) Practically speaking: A sourcebook for instructional consultants in higher education. (pp. 143-146). Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Sargent, C. (2007). Using mid-semester evaluations to encourage active learning. Teaching concerns, Spring 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007, from

Dates to Remember!

Spring Discipline Workshops

MAR 25-26: CHINA SYMPOSIUM 2007
St. Cloud State University. Discipline Workshop Information

APR 2: PROMOTING HEALTHY BEHAVIORS
Inver Hills Community College. Discipline Workshop Information

APR 18-20: HEALTH EDUCATORS – GROWING TOGETHER: EDUCATING, ENRICHING, AND EMPOWERING
Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center, Alexandria.
Discipline Workshop Information

APR 21: WHAT NEW SIGN LANGUAGES CAN TEACH US ABOUT ASL
Location: North Star Academy, St. Paul.
Discipline Workshop Information

APR 27-28: MATHEMATICS: SHARPEN THE FOCUS
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Discipline Workshop Information

MAY 1: LIBRARY REFERENCE AND INFORMATION LITERACY SERVICES IN THE DIGITAL AGE
North Hennepin Community College.
Discipline Workshop Information

Regional Conference

APR 12-13: KEEPING OUR FACULTIES IV: RECRUITING, RETAINING, AND ADVANCING FACULTY OF COLOR
Radisson University Hotel, Minneapolis.
Conference Information

CTL Resources for Faculty

Faculty Development Centers Around the World (Part 1)

“Most ideas about teaching are not new, but not everyone knows the old ideas.” That quote is attributed to Euclid, from about 300 B.C. There is much to be learned from our colleagues elsewhere in the state system, from outside of the system, or outside of the state. Toward that end, CTL has gathered many resources from all over the world into our ITeach Center. To visit any of these resources, simply point to www.ctl.mnscu.edu/iteach/resources/ni_itrtfdc.php and choose from the nearly 50 links on that page.

Here are some especially interesting highlights from that page.

THE ACTIVE LEARNING SITE. This series of Web pages comprises hundreds of resources about active learning, including an incredible starter kit for learning about learning styles. There is also a repository of active learning Web sites and a series of interactive Web-based workshops about active learning. (This site is where I found the Euclid quote!)

CENTER FOR TEACHING, LEARNING, AND TECHNOLOGY. This Illinois State University Web site has many resources for faculty members interested in teaching and learning. Among the remarkable content is a nearly exhaustive list of teaching topics, tips, and other information:. www.cat.ilstu.edu/resources/teachTopics

-Thomas Wortman