How to Interview the Crowd: Enlisting Informal Student Feedback in a Formative Assessment Process

Natalie C.T. Van Tyne; Michelle Soledad; Benjamin Daniel Chambers; Benjamin Goldschneider

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Conference: 14th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) Conference
Location: University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee
Publication Date: July 30, 2023
Start Date: July 30, 2023
End Date: August 1, 2023
Page Count: 5
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44843
Permanent URL: https://sftp.asee.org/44843
Download Count: 75

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Paper Authors

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Natalie C.T. Van Tyne Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-7058-9098

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Natalie Van Tyne is an Associate Professor of Practice at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she teaches first year engineering design in two foundation courses for Virginia Tech's undergraduate engineering degree programs. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education, along with masters degrees in chemical and environmental engineering, and in business administration, as well as bachelors degrees in chemical engineering and Russian language. She is also a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado.

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Michelle Soledad Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-2491-6684

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Michelle Soledad, Ph.D. is a Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her research and service interests include teaching and learning experiences in fundamental engineering courses, faculty development and support initiatives – including programs for the future engineering professoriate, and leveraging institutional data to support reflective teaching practices. She has degrees in Electrical Engineering (B.S., M.Eng.) from the Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City, Philippines, where she previously held appointments as Assistant Professor and Department Chair for Electrical Engineering. She also previously served as Director for Communications and International Engagement at the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, Lecturer at the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University, and Assistant Professor at the Department of Integrated Engineering at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech.

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Benjamin Daniel Chambers Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Dr. Ben Chambers is an Assistant Collegiate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, and Director of the Frith First Year Makers program. His research focuses include the interactions of non-humans with the built environment, the built environment as a tool for teaching at the nexus of biology and engineering, and creativity-based pedagogy. He earned his graduate degrees from Virginia Tech, including an M.S. Civil Infrastructure Engineering, M.S. LFS Entomology, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning.

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Benjamin Goldschneider University of Virginia

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Benjamin Goldschneider is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Foundations at the University of Virginia. He holds a PhD in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech, as well as a BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. His research interests include students' sense of belonging, socialization, program development, and pre-college introductions to STEM material.

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Abstract

This Work in Progress addresses the issue that many first-year engineering students want to be heard and to have their educational needs met but may be reluctant to share their thoughts directly with faculty, either during class sessions or between them. Faculty, for their part, want to facilitate learning environments that meet their students’ needs, and to let students know that they are doing so on a regular basis. Soliciting student feedback during a semester or term can also facilitate formative assessment of student learning when the survey questions are written to solicit feedback about what went well during and between class sessions, and what could be improved. We developed and administered periodic Exit Surveys for student feedback using Google Forms. Participating instructors had autonomy regarding the frequency of administering these surveys. QR and URL links are provided for students to access each survey. Responses are anonymized, but students’ email addresses are collected for the purpose of identifying the sources of feedback among multiple sections of the same course. Faculty can then reflect on how they viewed student progress within each section, and compare their impressions with what students are telling them. Students receive a summary of what went well during a particular week, as well as what could be improved, and faculty describe what they have done or will do to address the identified needs and further promote what students liked about the previous weeks’ activities. Students’ feedback is addressed after each class session or after all class sessions for the week, depending on faculty preferences and the frequency of survey administration. In addition to timely faculty response to student feedback, these data can be summarized over the course duration to reveal trends in students’ extent of satisfaction with the course content and delivery methods, which will inform areas for reinforcement and improvement during the next iteration of the course. We will share typical responses that participating instructors received from students and how the instructors used this feedback to improve the course. Recent examples of feedback about what enhanced student learning were technical instruction, design showcases, interactive in-class activities, and time for project teams to work together during class. Suggestions for improving the course included additional background information in course materials, examples of previous designs, and in-class discussions. Succeeding work will include a summative assessment of the impact of the process on the student learning experience.

Citation
Format

Van Tyne, N. C., & Soledad, M., & Chambers, B. D., & Goldschneider, B. (2023, July), How to Interview the Crowd: Enlisting Informal Student Feedback in a Formative Assessment Process Paper presented at 14th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) Conference, University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--44843

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This Work in Progress addresses the issue that many first-year engineering students want to be heard and to have their educational needs met but may be reluctant to share their thoughts directly with faculty, either during class sessions or between them. Faculty, for their part, want to facilitate learning environments that meet their students’ needs, and to let students know that they are doing so on a regular basis. Soliciting student feedback during a semester or term can also facilitate formative assessment of student learning when the survey questions are written to solicit feedback about what went well during and between class sessions, and what could be improved.
We developed and administered periodic Exit Surveys for student feedback using Google Forms. Participating instructors had autonomy regarding the frequency of administering these surveys.
QR and URL links are provided for students to access each survey. Responses are anonymized, but students’ email addresses are collected for the purpose of identifying the sources of feedback among multiple sections of the same course. Faculty can then reflect on how they viewed student progress within each section, and compare their impressions with what students are telling them. Students receive a summary of what went well during a particular week, as well as what could be improved, and faculty describe what they have done or will do to address the identified needs and further promote what students liked about the previous weeks’ activities.
Students’ feedback is addressed after each class session or after all class sessions for the week, depending on faculty preferences and the frequency of survey administration. In addition to timely faculty response to student feedback, these data can be summarized over the course duration to reveal trends in students’ extent of satisfaction with the course content and delivery methods, which will inform areas for reinforcement and improvement during the next iteration of the course.
We will share typical responses that participating instructors received from students and how the instructors used this feedback to improve the course. Recent examples of feedback about what enhanced student learning were technical instruction, design showcases, interactive in-class activities, and time for project teams to work together during class. Suggestions for improving the course included additional background information in course materials, examples of previous designs, and in-class discussions.  Succeeding work will include a summative assessment of the impact of the process on the student learning experience. 

AU  - Natalie C.T. Van Tyne
AU  - Michelle Soledad
AU  - Benjamin Daniel Chambers
AU  - Benjamin Goldschneider
CY  - University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee
DA  - 2023/07/30
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - How to Interview the Crowd: Enlisting Informal Student Feedback in a Formative Assessment Process
UR  - https://sftp.asee.org/44843
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--44843
ER  -