How instructors are using student feedback to improve their courses

What challenges are SFU instructors facing in their teaching and courses, and how are they using student feedback to address them?

SFU instructors use a variety of tools to gather feedback from students on their teaching and courses, including classroom assessment techniques administered throughout the term and end-of-semester Course Experience Surveys. 

Though the challenges may be fairly consistent across disciplines, the solutions and strategies are unique.

Students finding the course too difficult

When feedback from Shivanand Balram’s GEOG 255 Geographical Information Science I indicated that a majority of students were finding the course too difficult, he responded to their concerns by adjusting the weighting of assignments.

“I didn't remove any assignments. Instead, I used the earlier assignments to identify and correct common mistakes so that all students have a solid foundation to perform at their best in the later assignments when more marks are at stake. It seems to be working; they're less stressed around marks and more focused on learning.”

SIAT senior lecturer Michael Filimowicz has made two major changes to his course, IAT 210 Introduction to Game Design, to address a similar concern.

“One of the things students complained about was too much reading, so I cut back on those. That helped a lot in terms of whether students felt it was an appropriate level of difficulty. But the feedback also showed that the students regarded the board game project as needing a higher weight in their overall grade, and conversely, that the final research paper should have less of a weight. Shifting these weights 5 or 10% here and there, and also adding in a few more percentage points for different short exercises, made a huge difference in the overall student experience.”

Students struggling to stay focused in class

Physics lecturer Jean François Caron notes that feedback from students in his course, PHYS 102 Physics for the Life Sciences II, has helped him make his content more engaging.

“A lot of students taking my course are not physics majors, but taking it as a breadth requirement, so keeping them interested and connected to the material is a challenge. One of the ways I do that is by leading a lot of demonstrations in class. The feedback I got through my own surveys and the university ones has helped me understand which demonstrations are actually interesting and impactful for them.”

Balram echoes Caron's emphasis on the classroom experience, noting that one insight he gained from student feedback was the importance of letting students provide input on break length during lectures.

“I have asked my students many times about the break length that they would need and the responses vary. What I learned from this is the length of breaks does matter to them and their learning but their needs change depending on where they are at in the semester, how challenging the material is and even their current life circumstances. What I do now is invite the class to decide in the moment, usually when we are probably an hour into lecture, how long of a break they would need. I find students are reasonable in the break time they ask for, obtain a break that accommodates their needs, and return rejuvenated and eager to carry on learning in the next hour of the lecture.”

Students struggling with course skills and concepts 

Shafik Bhalloo, Beedie associate professor, notes that one of the most valuable insights he has gained from student feedback is understanding how to deliver course content to better meet the learning needs of his students. 

“Two big changes I made in my course, BUS 233 Introduction to Business Law and Ethics, were to create really comprehensive slide decks that students could use to prepare for exams and to develop audio recordings explaining some of the more difficult concepts that students could review before class. These small shifts have really helped students learn better in my course.”

Beedie assistant professor Samantha Seto modified her course, BUS 421: Accounting Theory, by offering more opportunities for skills practice as a result of student feedback she gathered through both her own mid-course surveys and the end of semester Course Experience Surveys. 

“One thing I changed was to include more opportunities for students to practice their presentation skills in a safe environment before they have to do their graded presentations--and they really seem to appreciate that.”   

For support developing a custom question for your Course Experience Surveys, contact leap@sfu.ca or select from one of the pre-developed questions available in your survey portal.

Instructors who would like support developing a formative assessment to assess their teaching effectiveness can contact cidasst@sfu.ca