Feedback is an essential part of the learning experience for both students and instructors. The feedback you provide to instructors is a necessary part of a course. It helps your instructor understand and meet the needs students and can inform improving and further developing the course.
When to give feedback
For a given course, an instructor may ask you to provide feedback in different ways. Your participation in providing feedback is essential for helping to create a good learning experience.
For example, consider providing feedback at the following times:
- Early feedback. Early in the course, your instructor might ask you about your expectations, interests, knowledge or experiences to help tailor the teaching to your specific class.
- Midterm feedback. During the course, some instructors may ask you to complete a mid-course feedback survey or similar activity to find out what is going well, any challenges you are encountering
- End of term feedback. Most courses at UVic have Course Experience Surveys. By compiling the information submitted in the CES, the university is able to gather feedback and comments on courses and instructors to help improve the student experience.
You may also wish to provide feedback to your instructor at another point in the term, for example during office hours or by sending your instructor and email or message.
Feedback should be constructive and meaningful
Feedback should be constructive in nature. Constructive feedback involves letting an instructor know what you enjoy about the course and any concerns you have, but provides suggestions on what could specifically be improved from your perspective.
Be respectful and constructive. All members of the university community have the right to a respectful and supportive learning environment and have the responsibility to help create such an environment. Communications to instructors should demonstrate respect. The University of Victoria will not tolerate racism, sexualized violence, or any form of discrimination, bullying or harassment (Learn More)
Be specific and provide examples. Avoid personal comments and instead reference specific events or aspects of the course and observable behaviours. For example, instead of saying an instructor or course is “too disorganized” provide specifics, such as “On two occasions, what was shared in class was different than what was on the syllabus which made it difficult to prepare.”
Describe how this aspect of the course or the behaviour affects you. Describing how a situation makes you feel offers the reader a different perspective and allows the instructor to gain a better understanding of the situation.
Offer alternative solutions or suggestions to address your critiques. Although it may not be possible to provide these specific solutions, it can help the instructor understand more about what students need in the course.
References
[1] Ory, J. & Braskamp, L. (1981). Faculty perceptions of the quality of three types of evaluative information. Research in Higher Education, 15(3), p. 271-282.
[2] Adapted from: Svinicki, M.D. (2001). Encouraging your students to give feedback. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 87, 17-24.
[3] Donovan, J., Mader, C., & Shinsky, J. (2010). Constructive student feedback: Online vs. traditional course evaluations. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 9(3), p. 283-296.
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