Teaching Tuesdays@CSU
Teaching Tips & Links for SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
Issue 66 - Feedback for Teachers
Feedback for teaching can be a loaded term, one that is often equated with negative criticism. In higher education, it can take a great variety forms and be delivered in a variety of contexts. Over the next few weeks we will look at some of these different aspects. This week we focus on feedback on teaching.
This week's topics:
Responding to Feedback from Student Evaluations
- Giving and Receiving Peer Feedback
See also previous issues of Teaching Tuesdays@CSU, which also focus on Feedback for teaching: 6, 15, 28
Professional Learning Opportunities this week
CRADLE Seminar Series:
Using research into diverse students' assessment experiences to change practice.
When: 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Tuesday 17 September 2019
Where: Online or at Deakin Downtown, 727 Collins St, Melbourne
Cost: This is a free event
More info: Visit the event page
See below for details of other Professional Learning opportunities this week at Charles Sturt University.
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1. Responding to Feedback from Student Evaluations
How Can Talking through Course Evaluations Improve My Teaching?
By Maryellen Weimer
Reading time: 3 minutes (18 minutes for original video)
When you receive your student evaluation responses, do you focus on the positive or the negative feedback? Conversations about subject evaluations are usually challenging. Thinking beforehand about the reasons for feedback and anticipating the questions to be asked can help you have constructive conversations.
This video presents three scenarios that deal with ways to respond appropriately and avoid over-reacting to negative feedback. They are couched within the framework of conversations with supervisors, Heads of School or other managers/administrators. Each scenario proposes responses supported by references to the scholarship literature.
Scenario 1: To What Do You Attribute the Decline?
Ratings typically stay the same over time, but for various reasons they can undergo a noticeable decline. Things to think about before you have those discussions with your academic manager. Ask yourself:
- Have there been changes since the last offering of the subject? These might include new approaches, changes in policy, new assignments, difference in student cohort or presence of negative student influencers,
- Are the changes significant?
- What strategies can you identify to deal with valid feedback? This might include peer review of teaching, student interviews, updates to subject design, content, readings, assignments, technology, participation strategies. See the article by Boysen et al. (2014) on misinterpretation of teaching evaluations.
- Admit it if you don’t really know the reason. Develop a plan to find out what’s going on. This might include mid-session evaluation, questions about particular aspects of the subject such as group work.
Scenario 2: Why Those Negative Comments?
Administrators can over-react to negative comments.
- Check for yourself why you think these comments might have been made. If the volume of negative comments is low, then usually there is no major problem.
- Negative comments need to be taken seriously and should to be addressed. Seek insight from colleagues and students. Some comments can be justifiably rejected.
- Teach students the principles of constructive feedback (see below).
Scenario 3: And How Did You Get Those High Ratings?
This comment may be based on a myth that you can win by teaching an easy subject by such means as compromising the intellectual rigour of the subject or watering down the standards. Weimer refers to the evidence against this belief from studies by Centra (2003) and March & Roche (2000)
- Provide the evidence to demonstrate the rigour of your documented subject design including learning outcomes, graded assessment tasks, benchmarked assessment tasks.
In the final part of this talk, Weimer discusses the conversations you can have with students:
- Learn more about their experience in the subject.
- Let them know that you are willing to make changes. [At Charles Sturt you can point to the section in the subject outline that specifically addresses changes that have been made based on previous feedback].
- Model the professional handling of constructive feedback. Give students some ground rules on how to give feedback.
QUOTE: The Golden Rule … “You give unto me feedback about my teaching in the form you want me to give unto you feedback about your work in the [subject].”
- Teach students the principles of constructive feedback.
- Discuss your teaching strategies and how it can be difficult to provide learning experiences that are equally valuable to every student.
- Get input ahead of time on planned changes to the subject.
Scenario 2 mentioned teaching students the principles of constructive feedback. There is a new paper published this month on this topic that you may find of interest. This Australian study reports on the results of teaching feedback literacy to students about to commence clinical placement (Noble et al. 2019).
Note: There is a wealth of information in the 12 pages of supplemental material that accompanies this talk that expands on each section of the talk and includes a useful list of references.
References
Boysen, G. A., Kelly, T. J., Paesly, H. N., and Casner, R. W. (2014). The (mis)interpretation of teaching evaluations by college faculty and administrators. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39 (6),641-656.
Centra, J. (2003). Will teachers receive higher evaluation by giving higher grades and less course work? Research in Higher Education, 44 (5), 495-514.
Marsh, H. W. and Roche, L. A. (2000). Effects of grading lenience and low workload on students’ evaluations of teaching: Popular myth, bias, validity or innocent bystander. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92 (1), 202-228.
Noble, C., Billett, S., Armit, L., Collier, L., Hilder, J., Sly, C., & Molloy, E. (2019). “It’s yours to take”: generating learner feedback literacy in the workplace. Advances in Health Sciences Education. doi: 10.1007/s10459-019-09905-5
The PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES section below has details about how to get FREE access to our Magna Publications quality Learning & Teaching resources subscription.
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2. Giving and Receiving Peer Feedback
How Can I Give Negative Peer Feedback That Leads to Change?
By Dr Roben Torosyan
Reading Time: <2 minutes (21 minutes for original video)FORETHOUGHT: Supported by an extensive reference list in the supplemental material, this video ends with a link to a valuable resource that is worth adding to your list of bookmarks in your internet browser.
"Solve a teaching problem" is located at www.cmu.edu/teaching/solveproblem/.
Based on his own experience as a peer reviewer, Dr Torosyan provides insights that are helpful for both reviewers and reviewees to develop positive interactions in response to formative peer review of teaching. He suggests that the catchy 'negative feedback' in the title might rather be better termed, 'difficult feedback' or 'critical feedback'.
This talk commences with a series of poll questions and a reference to the literature that identifies that both the person being observed and the observer more often perceive the role of the observer to be more difficult.
The video presentation and the supplemental material include examples of questions to ask before the review. They then go on to discuss strategies for delivering feedback from the review in ways that respect the reviewee's agency and protect your own integrity and agency.
The key principle of this talk is to focus on the intrinsic interests of the person you are trying to help with your feedback. The approach is based on:
- Knowing what questions to ask, what evidence to look for, what alternatives there are; and
- Having trustworthy intentions.
Some things to avoid:
- Extrinsic comparison
- Giving defined directions in your feedback - instead ask guiding questions
Instead:
- Ask open, honest questions
- Give a "hinting response"
- Prompt their plans for change
- Propose a range of responses - these are modeled on 'Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning' - see page 9 of the resource downloaded at http://www.deefinkandassociates.com/GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf, see also http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/thinking/blooms-taxonomy/taxonomy-of-significant-learning/
- Employ well-intentioned strategies to deal with resistance from your colleague.
Remember to download the supplemental materials for
- Questions to ask
- Self-assessments
- Checklist
- Discussion questions
- Sample video clips
- Top teaching resources
Implementing the CSU Value INSIGHTFUL in your teaching.
In living the value of Insightful we act respectfully and perceptively to seek to understand why people think and behave in the ways that they do. An insightful approach means we remove ambiguity, we are each clear and agreed about our goals and actions, and we better position ourselves for success.
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UPDATE: Charles Sturt Ed 2019 (formerly CSUed)
Charles Sturt Ed has been postponed for 2019 and is now planned be held in November 2020.
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Monday Morning Mentor
The highly popular Monday Morning Mentor Fall (USA) series is starting again and will run for 16 weeks. Charles Sturt staff who have accessed these webinars have enjoyed the topics and the format.
The first topic is titled
How Do I Create a Class that Supports First-year Students?
It becomes available on August 27 (AEST).
Access details will be published in What's New and on Yammer.
Staff with a CSU Magna Publications login can access the webinar directly from their Mentor Commons account.
Alternatively, contact
Ellen McIntyre emcintyre@csu.edu.au
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Follow Teaching Tuesdays on Twitter.
Our Twitter feed includes links to further hints, tips and resources in the broader field of teaching in higher education.
https://twitter.com/TeachingTuesday
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PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
1....Teaching support resources at CSU
2....CSU Professional Learning
3....Bonus CSU resource - LinkedIn Learning
4....Magna Publications Subscriptions
5....Links to previous bulletins
6....Subscribe
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1. Teaching support resources at CSU
You have access to a range of quality CSU resources to help you incorporate educational resources and techniques into your teaching. Check out the following:
- Teaching at CSU - the Division of Learning and Teaching website with links to resources for Teaching Staff, Online Learning, Assessment, Curriculum, Indigenous Curriculum, Workplace Learning, Technologies, Feedback and Analytics, and Learning Spaces.
- Professional Development and Teaching Resources - topics are listed alphabetically to make it easier to find what you need.
- Resources for Learning and Teaching Academic and Professional Staff - searchable CSU database.
- Learning Technologies - the starting point for a range of learning design options
- CSU Learning Exchange: Technologies in Context - a searchable database to promote online learning and teaching strategies.
- The CSU Wiki - a faculty-based source of learning and teaching information and strategies.
- The CSU Learning Spaces Portal - how to use your learning environments to promote learning.
- DOMS Learning and Teaching Shared Resources - CSU login needed to access more than 750 resources uploaded for CSU staff to use.
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2. CSU Professional Learning
The monthly bulletin lists available Professional Learning opportunities from CSU Division of Learning and Teaching (DLT).
Teaching-related topics are listed on the
DLT Professional Learning Calendar
DLT Calendar
Mentimeter opportunities for live Group Engagement & Interactive Learning Materials
Explore the diverse audience activity types, and the ability to embed interactive activities within existing content with the 'Mentimeter' tool.
Adobe Connect online
https://connect.csu.edu.au/csu_olm
Tues 3 Sep 10:00 am
Assessment feedback: how, why and where
Look at effective and efficient ways to provide assessment feedback to students.
Adobe Connect online
https://connect.csu.edu.au/qlt
Wed 4 Sep 1:00 pm
Thur 5 Sep 1:00 pm
3. Bonus CSU resource - LinkedIn Learning
This online subscription library provides high-quality instructional videos to teach the latest business, creative and software skills, as well as an extensive range of teaching tips.
NOTE: Lynda.com is now LinkedIn Learning and all Charles Sturt University Lynda.com accounts were transferred to LinkedIn Learning accounts on July 8. View some introductory videos for LinkedIn Learning with the links in Issue 64 of Teaching Tuesdays@CSU.
Recommendations from Alison Foale, DIT Communications and Training Officer
LinkedIn The Learning Blog:
The 20 Most Popular LinkedIn Learning Courses of the Year
How to Deal with Change Better: This Simple Brain Hack
And the course it refers to - Leveraging Neuroscience in the Workplace (64 min)
A tip
Keep an eye out on recommendations from Charles Sturt - simply click on our logo in the top LinkedIn Learning toolbar when you login to your Charles Sturt account (screenshot below).
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4. Magna Publications Subscriptions
All staff with a CSU email address have free access to our annual
CSU subscription to the four different high quality resources for enhancing practice.
Video seminars: Mentor Commons (20 minutes) and Magna Commons (40-90 minutes) also include the presentation handouts, full transcripts and supplementary resources that are available for download if you don't have time to listen to the seminar.
Text-based resources: The Teaching Professor (for teaching staff) and Academic Leader (for those in academic and administration leadership roles).
How to subscribe
There is a single CSU subscription code to access all four of these resources.
Staff with a CSU login can obtain the code and subscription instructions from this What's New link.
Alternatively, contact
Ellen McIntyre elmcintyre@csu.edu.au or
Matthew Larnach mlarnach@csu.edu.au
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5. Links to previous bulletins
Upcoming Teaching Tuesdays issues...
Share your own teaching tips article.
Contact Ellen McIntyre elmcintyre@csu.edu.au to offer your suggestions.
6. Subscribe
click on the orange Follow Teaching Tuesdays @CSU button (below, or at the top of the bulletin)
Teaching Tuesdays@CSU Contacts
Learning Academy, Division of Learning & Teaching, Charles Sturt University
Lecturer, Academic Development in the Learning Academy at Charles Sturt University
Email: elmcintyre@csu.edu.au
Website: https://www.csu.edu.au/division/learning-and-teaching/about-us/learning-academy
Phone: +61 2 6933 4726
Twitter: @TeachingTuesday
Kogi Naidoo
Email: knaidoo@csu.edu.au
Website: http://www.csu.edu.au/division/learning-and-teaching/about-us/learning-academy
Phone: +61 2 6933 4804