Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development UC San Diego ctd.ucsd.edu November 12, 2014

1. CTD Weekly Workshops: Getting Feedback from Your Students
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Peter Newbury, Ph.D. Center for Teaching Development, University of California, San Diego
pnewbury@ucsd.edu @polarisdotca #ctducsd ctd.ucsd.edu
resources: ctd.ucsd.edu/programs/weekly-workshops-fall-2014/
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November 12, 2014

2. The Lament of the Instructor/TA…
Getting feedback from your students
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“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:
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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
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1.Set expectations
2.Enable and encourage communication
3.React to student challenges and requests
(Image: sphere-itize me, captain by demibrooke on flickr CC)

5. 1. Set Expectations
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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
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“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 remember when I learned this – it was hard.” [normalizing struggle] “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 communication
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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?
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piazza
anonymous feedback
hear from individual students in office hours, section,
facebook?
twitter?

9. Getting feedback in class or section
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10. Muddiest Point /Minute Paper
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Index cards
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
at end of lecture, ask students to write down most confusing point
drop responses 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
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1.Stop every 10-12 minutes (middle of a topic is OK)
2.Ask students to talk with a neighbor for 2 minutes: “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 disc’n
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.
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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
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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+
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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?”
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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: circulate and listen
3.“What questions do you have for me?”
4.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?
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

17. 2. Enable/encourage communication
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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
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For TAs in discussion section or instructors running review
1.List topics you have prepared in top left corner of board (Get these from attending lecture, TED forums, index cards, etc.)
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
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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
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1.Set expectations
2.Enable/encourage communication
3.React to student challenges/requests

21. How to Get Feedback
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1.Set expectations
2.Enable/encourage 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
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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.