This Connections seminar will share the strategies used by UNSW Senior Lecturers, Dr Inma Tomeo-Reyes, Faculty of Engineering, and Karen Kriss, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, to gather feedback from students. Inma Tomeo-Reyes will discuss the different ways she gathers feedback from students in a very large first-year course, including feedback in the first week, informal and ongoing feedback, and formal feedback other than myExperience. Inma will also discuss how she responds to the feedback and the impact this has had on her course, teaching practice, and the overall student experience. Karen Kriss will speak about the Hidden Curriculum and the importance of utilising informal feedback to build community and fun!
Learn more about the session:
Gathering information from students about their experience in class is a valuable way to assess various aspects of a course, such as the content, delivery, assessment, and support. Research on the impact of student feedback on teaching suggests that it can be a strong motivator for improving the effectiveness of a course, as well as the learning experience. By understanding how students are learning and experiencing your efforts, you put yourself in the position of being able to improve and make your teaching more effective.
Most commonly, student feedback is collected at the middle/end of the term via formal course evaluations. However, you can encourage students to give ongoing feedback throughout the term, especially if you have the capacity to examine and respond to it. Feedback can also be gathered at the beginning of the term, to understand your students’ expectations going into the course.
There are many ways to collect feedback from your students. Choosing the best option depends on your objectives and the kind of information you need, but regardless of which option you choose, it is important to make it possible for all students to contribute and think carefully about how you will respond to the feedback.
About the Speakers
Dr Inma Tomeo-Reyes is an education focussed senior lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at UNSW. Inma is very enthusiastic about teaching and supporting students. She applies engineering education research to the courses she designs and runs, and consistently implements strategies to improve student engagement, collaboration, and active learning, especially in large first-year courses. Inma completed a Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice in 2017 and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) since 2020. Other esteem indicators include Student's Choice Teaching Award in 2019, Engineering Excellence Award (Equity and Diversity) in 2020, and UNSW Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in 2022.
Karen Kriss is a senior lecturer in the School of Art and Design at UNSW. She is also the Disability and Mental Health Champion and Disability Advisor for the faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture. Karen is a co-founder of UNSW group Diversified, aimed at elevating neurodivergent student voices in course design. She was recently shortlisted for the 2023 Vice-Chancellors Values in Action Awards for Diversity and was also awarded an Excellence in Accessibility Awards with her colleagues in the 2023 ADCET awards.
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This event is a part of the Connections series, consisting of seminars and workshops that provide you with the opportunity to learn from your colleagues to inform your own teaching practice.