Student Evaluations
Interpreting end-of-semester feedback and creating your own mid-semester survey
One of the more stressful aspects of teaching is dealing with student evaluations. This page will explore getting the most out of student teaching evaluations, from understanding your department’s norms to improving the quality of written feedback to developing your own mid-semester evaluation form.
Join STLI mentoring partner Danielle Dallaire as she walks us through some of the finer details.
1. Take student feedback in stride
Before we get too into the weeds, we should get it out in the open. Even though we’re supposed to be using student evaluations to improve our teaching effectiveness, it’s not always easy to interpret the comments we get. In this short video introduction, Danielle gets things started with some fun (and some good advice) when it comes to student evaluations.
2. Get to know the evaluation form
Log in at https://evals.wm.edu using your W&M credentials, then follow along with Danielle’s video introduction to the Official W&M end-of-semester evaluations.
3. Tell the students your own goals
Danielle has advice to share on getting the most useful feedback. Being transparent with students about how you’ll use their comments is a great start.
4. Create your own mid-semester evaluation
Getting an evaluation at the end of the semester is great for future adjustments, but Danielle and the folks at STLI agree that getting mid-semester feedback can help you improve class dynamics right away. In this short video, Danielle takes you through a mid-semester evaluation she designed in Qualtrics, but we’ve also got templates ready for you in Google Forms or PollEverywhere.
Download a mid-semester review template to get started
Don’t know which one to choose? Google Forms is the easiest for most people. If you’re already familiar with either Poll Everywhere or Qualtrics, or always wanted to learn how to use them, you can try them out, too. We’ve even prepared video tutorials to show you how to implement the Google Forms and Poll Everywhere options. As always, if you need any help with any of these solutions, the folks at STLI are here to help .
5. Use those mid-semester evaluations
Anton Chekhov said, “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.” Well, he probably said It In Russian, but the same goes for mid-semester student evaluations. Danielle discusses how she uses student evaluations to make mid-semester corrections in this super-short video.
Google Forms
Poll Everywhere
Qualtrics