Documenting and Evaluating Teaching: Midterm Student Feedback (MSF)

Mid-semester student feedback is a teaching assessment technique designed to elicit formative feedback from students during the semester, when it can be acted upon to improve the course. The sites below provide descriptions of several forms of mid-semester feedback, videos demonstrating the process for two different techniques, tools for administering mid-semester feedback, and suggestions for using the results to improve teaching.

“Using Midterm Evaluations and Other Sources of Student Feedback on Teaching,” Michele Marincovich. From Chapter 3 in Changing Practices in Evaluating Teaching, Peter Seldin and Associates, Anker Publishing Co., 1999.
Sets out the benefits of using several types of midterm student feedback, and offers cautions and guidelines for their use.
Link: http://sll.stanford.edu/projects/tomprof/newtomprof/postings/313.html

Consultations and Related Services at Michigan State University (Office of Faculty and Organizational Development, OF&D).
Scroll down to Mid-Semester Student Feedback Sessions for a description of this service available to all Michigan State University instructors.
Link: http://www1.provost.msu.edu/facdev/consultation/details.asp

Small Group Instructional Diagnosis: Student Feedback through Consensus, SFC (University of Minnesota, Center for Teaching and Learning Services).
Describes the Student Feedback through Consensus process and provides an informative, short, 5-part video demonstrating how it is carried out.
Link: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/customized/sgid/index.html

A Mid-term Formative Evaluation (Iowa State University, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning).
This site contains information on two different methods for eliciting mid-semester feedback. Includes a 9-minute video of an instructor guiding his class through a mid-semester evaluation and commenting on the benefits of the process (requires RealPlayer).
Link: http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/formative.html

“Small Group Instructional Diagnosis: A Model for Consulting with Faculty,” Tom Creed (St. John’s University, Learning Enhancement Service).
A detailed description of the process for Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID), including a list of advantages and four downloadable tools for its administration.
Link: http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9705/sgid.htm

What to do with the information you gather on a midsemester evaluation (University of California Berkeley, Division of Undergraduate Education).
Tips for making effective use of students’ midsemester feedback.
Link: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/respond.html

“Fast Feedback,” Barbara Gross Davis. From Tools for Teaching, Jossey-Bass, 1993.
Describes “fast feedback” activities for use during the semester to gather constructive criticism about the course and assess student learning.
Link: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/feedback.html

For additional methods for gathering formative feedback from students during the semester see on this website
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) and Informal Student Feedback.