Hearing student perspectives about what they experience in the classroom is important for faculty members as they revise their courses and try new teaching strategies. To get the most out of student feedback, it is worthwhile to help students understand how to frame their comments in a manner that is helpful and respectful. McGill University has developed an excellent website aimed at students that discusses how to give constructive feedback on course evaluations. With the freedom to develop our own course evaluations, as opposed to using a standardized course evaluation form, Carleton faculty members already have the benefit of being able to probe students about particular aspects of their courses or their teaching. If you want to provide some direction and examples to your students about how to provide better feedback on their course evaluations, I’ve adapted the resource from the McGill website and created a short document that you can share with your students:
For students — Constructive feedback for faculty members
If you have other ways that you encourage students to give you helpful feedback, feel free to share them in the comments.
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