Surveys

What:

An opportunity for students to provide written feedback on specifically identified topics.

How to do it:

1. Decide on a time and place for survey administration. Perhaps 5-10 min at the end of class, at the end of the lesson, etc.

2. Talk to students ahead of time about the purpose of the survey e.g. what kind of information are you looking for and why. .

3. Give students examples of “mean” feedback (insulting another person) and “constructive” feedback (describing your own experience).

4. Assure students that if they share something critical about the class or your teaching, etc. they will not be punished.

5. Decide if these surveys are anonymous or names will be included.

6. Make sure the space is quiet and allows students to keep their responses private.

7. Collect survey responses from students and review responses.

8. Share results with those that participated (and potentially with other constituents).

   1. Review what was learned from the surveys.

   2. Be clear about what responses there might be to results (or seek additional feedback on next steps).

   3. Ask for follow up if there are pieces that might provide further detail (e.g. following up with individual students about their answers to better understand them).

Example Questions:

• What did you learn that you loved?

• What were things we learned about that you liked the least?

• Is there anything you wish we had more time to do?

• Thinking about [insert specific initiative]: what can I do to improve that?

• What ideas do you have to make [lesson/project/class/initiative] better?

• How easy is it to approach me [insert other authority figure] with questions or concerns?

• How could we organize our class time more effectively?

• What do you like most about class?

Example Surveys:

Things to Consider:

• Surveys can be provided in handout/paper and pencil format or in a variety of online platforms. Many online platforms can tabulate results to reduce the time it takes to review results on the back end.

• Consider the value of the survey being anonymous or if it is important that you have the student’s name for potential follow up questions. Anonymity may draw out more honest responses while it limits the ability for follow up for understanding and the ability to see patterns across certain subgroups of students (e.g. by race, gender, academic performance, etc.)

• Surveys can be 1-2 question check ins or much more robust - consider the topic and time available for completion.

• Whether you or your students are developing the survey, pay attention to how the developer’s bias can influence questions in how they are posed, or possible responses (when given choices), and which questions are asked.

• It is often helpful to include an open answer question such as “What else would be helpful to share” to elicit information that may have been missed elsewhere.

• See “Sidewalk/Street Survey” as another method for gathering survey information.