Gathering real-time feedback on student understanding
Introduction
Gathering feedback helps you to assess what is working and what could be improved in your course to better support student learning.
Classroom Response System
A teacher poses a multiple-choice question to his or her students via an overhead or computer projector.
Each student submits an answer to the question using a handheld transmitter (a “clicker”) that beams a radio-frequency signal to a receiver attached to the teacher’s computer.
Software on the teacher’s computer collects the students’ answers and produces a bar chart showing how many students chose each of the answer choices.
The teacher makes “on the fly” instructional choices in response to the bar chart by, for example, leading students in a discussion of the merits of each answer choice or asking students to discuss the question in small groups.
“Professor Ross Cheit put it to the students in his Ethics and Public Policy class at Brown University: Are you morally obliged to report cheating if you know about it? The room began to hum, but no one so much as raised a hand.
“Still, within 90 seconds, Cheit had roughly 150 student responses displayed on an overhead screen, plotted as a multicolored bar graph — 64 percent said yes, 35 percent, no.”
— “No Wrong Answer: Click It,” Associated Press, May 14, 2005.
Types of Activities
Attendance: Clickers can be used to take attendance directly (e.g. asking students to respond to the question “Are you here today?”) or indirectly by determining which students used their clickers during class
Summative Assessment: Clickers can be used for graded activities, such as multiple-choice quizzes or even tests. Some brands of clickers allow for a “student-paced” mode in which students answer questions on a printed test at their own pace.
Homework Collection: Some brands of clickers allow students to record their answers to multiple-choice or free response homework questions outside of class and submit their answers via the clickers at the start of class.
“Choose Your Own Adventure” Classes: In this technique, an instructor poses a problem along with several possible approaches to solving it–perhaps approaches suggested by students during class. The instructor has the students vote on which approach to pursue first, then explores that approach with the students. Afterwards, the students vote on which approach to pursue next.
*Using tools like PollEverywhere, Mentimeter, Kahoot, all of which have free versions for limited use
How To Collect Feedback Effectively
1. The “Before” Learner feedback
The Goal
This type of feedback is aimed at preventing issues from occurring or solving them at the easiest stages before they aggravate. The idea here is to let students leave feedback before you even ask them.
Students form an impression about your learning course before it even starts. They look at the general information about the course, learning schedule, your social profile, and create an initial image in their head, which will affect their entire experience. By letting people voice their opinion before the course begins, you have an opportunity to understand the first impression that your course creates, improve it if needed, and do your best to meet expectations.
For example, some students prefer working in small groups rather than in large groups. Let the people tell their preferences in order for you to organize the work better.
The Tools
Firstly, create a chatbot that will pop up in the corner of your website and serve two purposes. 1) It will be used for informational purposes if the learners need to clarify anything. After all, it is always easier to entrust typical questions to a chatbot rather than answering them over and over again 24/7. 2) It will be used to offer feedback. Once users have clarified everything, let the chatbot ask users for their feedback. “How do you like the course so far? Is there anything you would recommend improving?”
Secondly, implement a mood-checker in the form of a survey. Every morning before you have classes, ask your students to fill out the form with questions: “How do you feel today?” “What is your energy level?” “How do you like the course so far?” This will let you keep track of the general mood and atmosphere in the learning group and timely identify any issues.
2. The “During” Learner feedback
The Goal
The purpose of this feedback type is to let students speak their minds on the go. This, in turn, should inspire an atmosphere of transparency and freedom of expression in the learning group. It is very important for the learning experience and outcome.
For example, once you have finished explaining a subtopic, ask your students, “Is everything clear here?” Students should feel that their opinion is welcome at any point in time.
The Tools
This feedback can be received without any tools at all, just ask people to speak their minds while the conversation is going. It is particularly easy to do if you communicate in a traditional classroom via a video conference or a chat.
However, if it is a learning course without any direct communication (for instance, a course delivered via LMS), you can implement a tool similar to Facebook's reactions and comments. Under each learning course, video, article, or test, enable users to leave their reaction or comment. It will be a perfect opportunity for students to ask clarifying questions or express their feelings about learning. This will help you improve your learning plan by taking into account learners’ preferences.
3. The “After” Learner feedback
The Goal
This feedback type is aimed at hearing the thoughts of your learners once they have had some time to process their feelings about your learning course. This is more about long-term learning goals. Are learners happy with your course? Have the learning materials been useful? Have the students actually learned anything? Are they ready to recommend your course to their friends?
For example, if the students feel that there was too much theory and too little practical tasks, they can tell you it only after the lesson. And it is important for you to take it into account for a better learning experience.
The Tools
You can expect students to come to you with their comments and suggestions, but it is a little naive. Instead, initiate this process yourself. The number one tool to use is a feedback survey. Send out a Google or SurveyMonkey form with various questions to better understand User Experience.
You can also use chatbot here, which will pop up with the message, “I hope you enjoy the learning course. Would you like to leave a comment or a suggestion?” Once again, it is easier to leave honest feedback to a chatbot rather than to a person directly.
Source: eLearning Industry