Feedback is an essential element of effective teaching. By actively seeking input from students and thoughtfully incorporating their perspectives, instructors can make meaningful adjustments to their teaching while promoting trust and equity. This section explores how to collect student feedback and use it to adapt your teaching practices, ensuring students feel their voices are heard and valued. We’ll cover:
Gathering informal feedback throughout the semester is a great way to create a supportive learning environment. Quick, low-stakes methods such as anonymous surveys, minute-long papers, or informal class discussions can help you identify what’s working well and where students might need additional support. For example, at the end of a class session, you might ask students to write down one thing they learned and one question they still have. These reflections can guide your planning for the next session and ensure all students keep pace with the material.
Creating and sending customized feedback forms at key points during the semester is another effective way to gather targeted input. Regular check-ins reveal patterns that formal evaluations miss, such as whether certain activities are more engaging than others or whether students feel comfortable participating in discussions. By soliciting this type of feedback, you create opportunities for students to voice concerns or share ideas without waiting for a structured evaluation process. For example, if students express that a specific type of group activity feels confusing, you can clarify instructions or offer alternative approaches in the next session.
To make the most of this feedback, design your methods to encourage thoughtful and constructive responses. Open-ended questions, like “What aspects of this activity supported your learning most effectively?” or “What changes could improve your experience?” invite students to share their thoughts. While open-ended questions can be useful, they should be specific enough to elicit extensive responses—overly broad questions like “How is the class going for you?” can result in vague or unhelpful feedback. Pay close attention to recurring themes in student responses, as these often point to significant opportunities for growth.
Yale provides structured opportunities to gather feedback through midterm and end-of-course evaluations. Midterm evaluations are especially useful because they let you make adjustments while the course is still in progress, addressing potential barriers to learning in real time. For example, students might say the lecture feels rushed, a certain assignment format is challenging, or a particular resource has been especially helpful. These insights can guide you in implementing targeted improvements that immediately benefit your students.
End-of-course evaluations offer a broad overview of the student experience and can inform how you design and teach future lessons. These evaluations provide a record of what worked well and what could be improved. Importantly, these evaluations can serve as useful references when writing your teaching statement or preparing your portfolios for the academic job market.
You can access your course evaluations here (https://registrar.yale.edu/students/course-evaluations) through the Online Course Evaluation (OCE) system. Yale’s standard evaluation form includes two questions about Teaching Fellows by default:
The OCE system at Yale also gives instructors the opportunity to submit custom questions tailored to the unique goals of their course.
One of the most important aspects of the feedback process is showing students that you hear them, and their input matters. Closing the feedback loop is about building trust and fostering a sense of collaboration in the classroom. When students see that their thoughts are valued and acted upon, they’re more likely to engage meaningfully and provide honest, constructive feedback in the future.
After reviewing the feedback, take time to address it with your students. Summarize the key themes and share your plans for addressing major concerns or suggestions. For instance, if students express that they feel overwhelmed by the lecture pace, you might respond by building in short review sessions, offering additional resources, or slowing down to emphasize key concepts. Similarly, if students highlight activities they find particularly engaging, you could consider incorporating similar strategies in future lessons. Even when certain suggestions cannot be fully implemented, explaining your reasoning helps maintain transparency and trust.
Closing the feedback loop is an important part of any reflective teaching practice. The following steps can help you thoughtfully respond to any and all kinds of feedback you might receive:
Demonstrating responsiveness to feedback creates an environment where students feel valued and invested in their learning. It also supports a classroom culture of openness and mutual respect, where students and instructors share a commitment to improvement. By treating feedback as a meaningful dialogue, you not only enhance your teaching but also build stronger connections with your students, modeling what an equitable learning experience can look like across the academy.
Student evaluations may reflect implicit biases related to instructors’ identities, such as gender, race, or accent. To navigate this challenge, focus on identifying recurring themes in their feedback rather than giving undue weight to isolated or overly personal comments. Look for actionable insights that align with your teaching goals and reflect on how systemic factors may shape student perceptions—just like you did when thinking about how to evaluate your students!
Developing your own framework for evaluating feedback, such as prioritizing comments related to course design and delivery over subjective opinions, can help you approach feedback equitably and constructively. For example, you can choose to prioritize comments related to how clear your instructions were or how accessible you made the course materials, while recognizing that judgments on your personality or physical demeanor may be shaped by systemic bias.
At its best, feedback is not just a mechanism for improving teaching; it’s a dialogue that strengthens the connection between instructors and students. By actively seeking feedback, responding thoughtfully, and making changes that align with student needs, you demonstrate a commitment to equity, inclusivity, and shared ownership of the learning process. This approach not only strengthens the classroom environment but also models the critical skills of reflection, collaboration, and adaptability that benefit students far beyond the course itself.