Value of Student Feedback
Student feedback can sound daunting. Opening ourselves up to criticism is never easy and coming from students that criticism can be especially painful. Students tend to get to the nub of the issue a little more directly and can be less nuanced in their language.
In contrast teacher feedback is very often couched in soft words and stock phrases which we can take comfort in and so ignore the actual message. Student feedback often does away with this and instead leaves the key issues in front of you.
However, despite the rather unnerving prospect the value of student feedback is immense.
In Geography, we have used student feedback on a number of occasions. In particular we use it to assess the value of fieldtrips. We send out a student survey to be filled in anomalously to encourage honest feedback at the end of a fieldtrip. Then we take that information and use it to plan the trip for next year. We ask questions on the perceived value they gained from the trip, where they felt it should be improved, what they liked, what they disliked and any general comments etc.
I have attached a copy of the Huaraz field trip feedback. It is by no means all positive. Some of it we need to work on and will endeavour to do better next year. Students weren’t happy with the transportation (our buses broke down) and the organisation they felt at times could have been tightened up.
Next year we are planning to expand on this concept. I have recently used student feedback to help write class reports and I would like to do this at the end of each unit. Anonymous feedback is in my view best. Although it can generate some strange responses on occasions, the big advantage is it allows students to feel they can be more honest. Done well and trained properly I have never found students to abuse this exercise.