A Teaching Refinement is open to course instructors and is an opportunity to have a member of the MacPherson Institute help you collect feedback from students mid-way through a course. This process can be implemented for both face-to-face and virtual/online courses. It entails (i) collecting feedback from your students individually via an anonymous, asynchronously-delivered survey, followed by (ii) facilitating small group discussion during a synchronous class visit in order to refine students’ feedback and suggestions. Members of the MacPherson Institute then review the feedback for major themes in students’ comments, prepare a brief report on this feedback, and meet with you to discuss ideas for enhancing the learning experience during the second half of your course. To apply for a Teaching Refinement, please request one via the MacPherson Institute Request Form.
A Teaching Observation is open to course instructors and teaching assistants, and is an opportunity to receive feedback from a member of the MacPherson Institute on your teaching. This process can be implemented for both face-to-face and virtual/online courses. It entails having an initial chat with you to identify your goals for the observation. For instance, you might be interested in feedback on your engagement strategies, presentation style, content organization, or integration of educational technologies into your teaching. We will then either (i) attend your class if offered synchronously or face-to-face, or (ii) review your teaching materials (including, but not limited to: your course site, if you are an instructor, or a lesson plan, if you are a TA). We’ll record our feedback and meet with you again to share our observations, make suggestions, and discuss with you any ideas for next steps you want to take with your teaching. To begin your Teaching Observation, please request one via the MacPherson Institute Request Form.
DIY Feedback is an opportunity for you to be in the driver’s seat of a feedback process that works best for your context. Utilizing our step-by-step guides on collecting feedback on your teaching and editable midterm feedback survey templates available via the Learning Object Repository in Avenue to Learn or Microsoft Forms, you can create and implement your own student feedback process. Please visit the link above to begin! Don’t forget that you’re always welcome to reach out to a member of the MacPherson Institute, such as your MacPherson Institute Faculty liaison, should you wish to debrief your students’ feedback and discuss next steps.