This month, members of the GSTA share about how they collect student feedback outside of the end-of-term student evaluations. Members reflect on their process of collecting informal feedback from students, how they interpret this feedback, and how they balance student comments with their own teaching philosophies.

Chair: Ashmita Mazumder (she/her), University of Toronto - Scarborough:

I collect student feedback in several ways throughout the year. These methods include informal class discussions, anonymous surveys or forms at certain checkpoints in the course, one-on-one conversations, and an ongoing feedback form that students can access at any time. Using multiple channels gives students different ways to share their perspectives and helps me gather feedback both in the moment and over time.

When reviewing feedback, I mostly look for recurring themes but also consider individual student feedback. In the class that I TA, I often have the opportunity to speak to students one-on-one which allows me to gain perspective on how my teaching methods and approach may need adjustment for specific students in the classroom. I use this input to identify what is working, clarify areas of confusion, adjust activities or pacing, and reflect on how students are experiencing the course. When appropriate, I also communicate to students about changes I have made so they can see that their feedback is being taken seriously.

At the same time, I balance student comments with my professional judgment and the learning goals of the course. I see feedback as an important source of information, but not as the only factor guiding my decisions. My goal is to combine students’ perspectives with my own knowledge of the subject in order to make purposeful adjustments.

Mel Ceren (she/her), CUNY Graduate Center:

This summer, my approach to gathering informal student feedback spanned two very different learning communities: working with toddler and parent pairs at the Queens Botanical Garden, and engaging adult learners at the Lower East Side Ecology Center. In non-formal outdoor settings, feedback rarely looks like a traditional end-of-term survey but mainly engagement and sensory cues, and having direct conversations to adapt place-based pedagogy on the fly. With two and three year olds, feedback is immediate, physical, and highly sensory. I pay close attention to non-verbal cues like eye contact, physical movement, and early signs of fatigue or sensory overload. At the same time, I talk constantly with the parents who are participating alongside them. These conversations help me evaluate whether an activity is sparking curiosity or causing frustration. With adult learners, feedback happens through post-activity reflections, open group discussions, and honest dialogue about their personal comfort, goals, and observations along the trail. I use all of this feedback to figure out how to adapt for learners with different paces, developmental needs, and background knowledge. It pushes me to refine my teaching, evaluate what is working in my lesson plans, and remove physical or cognitive barriers so everyone can fully participate. Ultimately, listening to learners in real time keeps my teaching rooted in hands-on, experiential stewardship. Adjusting my delivery or pacing based on what students need ensures the core goal remains intact, which is based on giving students the observational tools they need to connect with natural systems. In a time of changing environmental policies and climate impacts, using informal feedback to keep outdoor education accessible helps learners of any age build a meaningful connection to environmental science.

Romeo Penheiro, University of Houston:

For courses that I am teaching and developing for the first time, I use a brief three-question exit ticket. I ask students to identify a “sticky point,” describe something they understood well, and note anything they would like clarified or explored further. Their responses help me identify patterns, make timely adjustments during the course, and improve the course for future students.

I view this feedback as one source of information rather than as a mandate to adopt every suggestion. I consider recurring themes alongside the course’s learning objectives, evidence-based teaching practices, and my own teaching philosophy. This balance allows me to course-correct when needed while maintaining the course’s academic purpose. The process also gives students a sense of agency and encourages them to take an active role in their learning. To encourage participation, I offer a small amount of extra credit for completing the exit tickets.

Elizabeth Taylor (she/ her), Virginia Commonwealth University:

I have noticed, in my experience either teaching a class or serving as a teaching assistant, that students seem to experience a state of overwhelm during the last part of the semester, when course evaluations are sent out. Thus, requesting feedback early and regularly throughout the course has worked best for me. For example, when teaching a course on Psychology of Adolescence this year, I created an anonymous feedback form that I left open throughout the class. I added a link to this form in the course syllabus and in the course Canvas page. Students were able to fill out this form anonymously, detailing any barriers they were facing in engaging with the class or anything they really enjoyed about it. There was also a section for recommendations or changes that students would like to see in the class. This form allowed me the opportunity to make updates throughout the course based on student feedback, rather than waiting until the end of the course when it was too late to change things. I suspect that it also means a lot to students when they see that their feedback is taken seriously through tangible changes made throughout the course.

In terms of receiving and interpreting feedback from students, I typically interpret this feedback through the lens of my teaching values and my teaching philosophy. When requesting informal feedback from students, I will frame the questions such that they provide a glimpse at whether I am meeting my teaching goals or whether my classroom environment aligns with my teaching values. For example, one goal that I have when teaching is to provide timely feedback to students. Thus, one question that I have used when requesting informal feedback from students is “Assignment grading was completed promptly” with the answer choices “Never”, “Rarely”, “Sometimes”, “Often”, “Always”, and “Prefer not to answer”. The framing of questions allows me to assess whether my efforts are having the desired effect. An important component of this process is reflecting on my teaching philosophy and values regularly, especially after receiving student feedback. Finally, it is worth mentioning that it may not be possible to incorporate all feedback. Some students may even provide contradictory feedback. One student may love your lecture slides, while another student may prefer another slide layout. In these instances, I typically lean on my goals and values in teaching to make decisions.

Mackenzie Devaney, University of Minnesota- Twin Cities:

My main method of collecting student feedback throughout the semester is to have three course reflection activities that are worth a small amount of points. I make it worth points because there tends to be extremely low response rates for optional feedback opportunities like course evaluations. However, as long as they attempted to answer the questions, I always gave full points. The first reflection activity occurs during the first week of classes and has students create a SMART goal, identify obstacles, and create action plans in case of those obstacles. The second course reflection activity is scheduled mid-semester and allows to students’ to reflect on their progress on their SMART goal and on how the class is going. Additionally, there is an optional question for if there is anything the student wants to let the instructional team know. This mid-semester check-in allows me to assess how students feel they are doing in the course beyond their grades and provides an opportunity for me to adjust things based on this feedback (such as including detailed rubrics or directions for future assignments). The final semester check-in assignment asks students about the completion of their SMART goal, what allowed them to successfully complete it or what prevented them from completing it, their favorite and least favorite lectures, and which assignments they felt were the most beneficial and least beneficial to their learning. I also include the same optional question about if there is anything the student wants the instructional team to know. I use the assignment feedback for considering which assignments to include in the next semester of the course in tandem with grades on those assignments. Based on the lectures that were identified as favorites, I try to incorporate similar features into other lectures as well.

While student feedback is important, it is only one factor to consider when designing or improving a course. While I consider student feedback, typically I will get very contradicting feedback from students where one person hated a lecture but another person loved it. Thus, I rely on guidance from mentors, suggested learning outcomes for the course, and other resources for deciding how to incorporate student feedback. For things that do not impact the actual content of the course, I am more responsive to student feedback but things like topics covered I would rely more on the learning outcomes for the course.