Student Feedback: Teaching Your Teacher

Cristina Stefan
Department of Paediatrics
Stellenbosch University
cs@sun.ac.za

Background

The Haematology Module is taken by MB, ChB IV students. Their feedback is elicited regularly by means of a standard questionnaire ‘Feedback about a Theoretical Module’ used throughout the Faculty of Health Sciences.

What we did and why

We scrutinized the results of these surveys for 2006 and 2007 with the aim of answering two questions: a) how well did students learn? And b) how effectively were teachers teaching?

What we learnt

The majority of students agreed that the outcomes for the module were made available and that the responsibility for achieving the outcomes lies mainly with them. They evaluated the module as being well organized and the study guidelines as helpful. On the negative side, they pointed out that the feedback on their progress was late, which hindered their evaluation of their own learning through the module. They also found that the scheduling of a practical stage in the middle of the module was very disruptive to the process of learning.

The answers, though valuable, are patchy. The questionnaires should have supplemented by other forms of communication such as early informal feedback, one-minute response and discussions with class committees. There is a need to give the students the opportunity to say what they would do – had they been in the position of lecturer – and how they could contribute towards a better learning environment.

The evaluation of the surveys also led us to questions on how we should adjust our teaching following students’ feedback. Should the questionnaire in fact be identical for all disciplines? How would specific issues pertaining to a discipline then be evaluated? When, by whom and how often should the student feedback be audited? How and by whom should changes be decided upon, and when should they be implemented? Do we give students any account on the changes made in the teaching process as a result of their feedback? To what extent do we in fact need to learn how to teach?

Our final conclusion: feedback from the students’ point of view can be the best guideline for organizing your next lesson.

To teach is to touch a life forever.