Instructors should ask for student feedback to improve their classes: Opinion

Instructors should be open to requesting feedback from students about positive changes that could facilitate better learning in their classes, writes Eric Vanden Eykel. Vanden Eykel argues that faculty can fail their students by teaching poorly, leading to student disengagement and dissatisfaction. The author recommends that instructors ensure students feel comfortable sharing what they need from their instructors, and that instructors listen and respond to these requests. Vanden Eykel encourages instructors to ask for meaningful feedback from students through in-class or virtual midsemester evaluations, and notes that allowing anonymous feedback may help students be more open and honest. “[M]aking the effort conveys to students that you are invested not in faceless, hypothetical, idealized learners but in those who are actually enrolled in your class,” writes Vanden Eykel. Inside Higher Ed (Acct. Req.) Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.