Tip: Strategies for Mid-Semester Student Feedback

Meaningful feedback during the semester to understand student perspectives and make timely improvements.

As educators, one of our top priorities is to create an effective learning environment that sets our students up for success. While end-of-semester course evaluations provide useful input, waiting until the end of the term is often too late to implement meaningful changes based on student perspectives and needs. Conducting a simple mid-semester survey allows us to check in with students when there is still ample time to adjust our approach, activities, and support in ways that can enhance their learning and improve outcomes. By gathering input directly from students mid-semester, we gain crucial insights into their challenges, preferences, and suggestions. Rather than making assumptions, we are able to make data-driven decisions to modify and tailor the rest of the course based on constructive feedback.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Goal 1: Better Understand Your Students

Ask questions to gauge student experiences, challenges, and preferences. While you may not be able to change some factors, this provides insight into the reality of their experience(s) with the course. Some questions you might ask include:

• Are you primarily using a laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone for class activities?

• What technology issues or limitations are you facing?

• Do you prefer synchronous or asynchronous components more?

• Are required readings and videos enhancing your learning?

• How many hours per week (outside of class) are you spending on this course?

Goal 2: Gather Actionable Feedback

At the midterm, I like to focus questions on elements I can adjust, like course structure, activities, and workload. For example:

• Would you prefer more individual or group work time in class?

• Is the workload manageable for you so far?

• If you could change one thing about the class, what would it be?

• What’s one thing I could do to better support your learning?

Of course, if you’re asking students about what they might like to see changes, you have to be prepared to explain why certain changes are not feasible.

Goal 3: Boost Confidence

An important component of any mid-semester evaluation is to directly ask students whether they believe they will be successful in the course. Having students affirmatively indicate their confidence in a positive outcome serves as a self-efficacy boost. When learners are prompted to consciously reflect on their capabilities and commit to their future success, it reinforces a growth mindset. According to research, activating one's belief in themselves improves motivation, resilience, and academic performance.¹ Simply validating their self-perception as capable learners through this question can help students feel more assured of their potential. A student's sense of efficacy strongly influences their achievement. By checking in on their confidence mid-semester, we empower them and set them up for increased accomplishment.

Best Practices

To make the process manageable for both students and faculty, it is wise to keep the mid-semester survey concise, using a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions. I typically use this Midterm Course Feedback Form (you’ll be prompted to make a copy of the form for yourself) to ask for students’ thoughts on how the semester is going. Once you gather results, share common themes with the class and make reasonable modifications based on the feedback. If certain suggestions are not viable, explain the limitations openly. When discussing challenges, frame them as shared experiences rather than individual deficits. If students express concerns about heavy workload, relate it back to the original course expectations set at the start of the term. With thoughtfulness and care, a simple mid-semester check-in can offer invaluable revelations to bolster student success.

I hope you find this useful - please let me know if you have any questions!

1. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215

Chemers, M. M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first-year college student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 55-64.

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.

Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Mindset interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement. Psychological Science, 26(6), 784-793.

Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), 302-314.

Zimmerman, B. J., Bandura, A., & Martinez-Pons, M. (1992). Self-motivation for academic attainment: The role of self-efficacy beliefs and personal goal setting. American Educational Research Journal, 29(3), 663-676.