Surveying your Students

Conducting a student survey before or early in the semester signals to students the instructor’s commitment to their learning, builds community, helps identify challenges students may face that the instructor can address, and communicates the instructor’s expectations for the semester.   This page suggests possible questions faculty could include along with tools to conduct surveys – anonymously or not. CTEI staff are available to help faculty review the submissions from students and suggest how to address the feedback (email [email protected]).

When administering your survey, consider if you will allow students to respond anonymously or not.  Identifying student responses will allow you to work directly with students on addressing their concerns or unique situation.  Anonymous surveys may lead students to share their concerns in more detail, but the instructor may find it harder to address the concerns specifically. It can still be done. For example, the instructor can communication to all students in the class that they should contact their advisor if students report concerns about anxiety or access to technology.  A blanket statement can ensure all students know of resources and help available to them. 

Ways to Create a Survey

Instructors have several options for conducting surveys.  CTEI staff are to assist if you need help getting started (email [email protected])!

• Use MS Forms – JHU has access to Microsoft Forms. It has many of the same features as Google Forms but student responses can be identified or received anonymously. (Please use your ​JhedID@​jh.edu email as your username. NOT jhu.edu.)
  • Helpful tutorials for how to get started with MS Forms:
    • Creating a Form
    • Sharing a Form (set authentication to collect names of respondants or not)
  • Use the following link to start from a template with the Possible Survey Questions prepopulated, so that you can pick and choose which questions to keep and add your own: Bank of Pre- or Early- Semester Survey Questions
• Use third-party survey tools. You may be limited in the number of questions you can ask or responses you can receive.  

Possible Pre-Semester Survey Questions 

Below are possible questions faculty could include on a survey. It is not recommended to include all the questions. Faculty should use questions that are most relevant to their course. Faculty should also only include questions that generate responses that faculty can address.  

Logistics

• What is the name you prefer to be called for this course?
• What experience do you have with the content in this course (previous classes, research, personal exploration)?
• What is your reason for taking this class now?
  Major requirement – Discipline credit –  Elective –  Personal Interest
• What would you like me to know about you and any challenges you may have taking this course?
• Do you have accessibility requests?
• Class time is scheduled for _______ , do you anticipate a problem participating at that time?
  • No 
  • Yes – Time Zone 
  • Yes – Connectivity 
  • Yes – Family Responsibilities 
  • Yes – Other (please describe) 
• Online or Hybrid Course: What challenges will you face connecting synchronously (live) with the class? 
• Online or Hybrid Course: I am planning to record the class so that students in distant time zones can still access our discussions.  These recordings will only be for our internal use— they will not be shared with the public in any way.  What concerns, if any, do you have with the class sessions being recorded? 

Study Environment 

• What challenges will you face accessing content online (e.g., poor Internet access, computer access, sharing computer with family members)? 
• Do you have a dedicated space to study?  If not, what concerns do you have about how your work environment might impact your performance? 

Student Expectations

• What do you expect from the teaching team (list at least 3 items – or whatever direction you want to give)?
• What do you expect out of the course (list at least 3 items – or whatever direction you want to give)?
• Why did you choose to take the course online or in-person (please specify the option you choose in your response)?

Experience in Online Learning Environments/ Technology Used in this Course (if relevant)

• How many online courses have you taken?
• Rate your previous experience learning online. 
  [Excellent – Very Good – Good – Fair – Poor]
• What did the instructor do well that you would like to share?  
• We will be using the software package,                   , in our class. Please download it now and report any problems with installation.  
• Do you have a web camera to connect with Zoom (Respondus, etc)? 
• What is your level of experience with these tools?
  [Extensive Experience – Some Experience – Little Experience – No Experience]
  • Blackboard Learning Site 
  • Zoom 
  • MS Office 365 (online Word, PPT, Excel apps) 
  • MS Teams 
  • [Add any technology tools you will be using here] 
• Online Readiness
  [Agree – Somewhat agree – Disagree]
  • I am willing to use e-mail and other online tools to ask my classmates and instructors questions. 
  • I am good at using the computer. 
  • I am comfortable surfing the Internet. 
  • I am comfortable conducting searches, setting bookmarks, and downloading files. 
  • I am comfortable installing software and changing configuration settings on my computer.  
  • I know someone who can help me if I have computer problems. 
  • I have headphones or speakers and a microphone to use if a class has a videoconference. 
  • I am connected to the Internet with a fairly fast, reliable connection such as DSL or cable modem. 
• Do you have any questions or concerns about moving the class online and distance learning that you would like to share with me?

Icebreaker Questions For First Day

• Where are you from? 
• What is your major or intended major? 
• In a few words, explain why you decided to take this course. 
• What’s one book/movie/activity/etc. that you enjoyed recently? 
• What’s one place or activity in Baltimore that you particularly enjoy? 
• Is there anything you’d like me to know about you as a student?  (your strengths, weaknesses, interests, goals, preferred ways or learning, etc.) 

Conducting a student survey during the semester is a best practice in any course. It signals to students the instructor’s commitment to their learning, builds community, helps identify challenges students may face that the instructor can address, and communicates the instructor’s expectations for the semester.   This page recommends questions to include in a short, anonymous survey during the semester. Allowing students to submit responses anonymously will encourage them to provide feedback.  Faculty are not obligated to address every comment, but should consider those that are either 1) mentioned by multiple students and/or 2) significantly impacting students.

Recommended Process

Develop the survey using a tool like MS Forms, which is free to use by JHU instructors. 

Recommended questions are:

1. Develop the survey using a tool like MS Forms, which is free to use by JHU instructors. 

• What aspects of this course and the instructor’s/TA’s teaching contribute most to your learning?
• What concepts do you struggle with or find confusing, if any?
• What other comments do you want to share including things the instructor (and TAs) should continue doing  or suggestions for improvement?
  
  You can quickly create a survey with the previous questions in MS Forms by clicking this link – COPY SURVEY – and then click the “Duplicate It” button on the resulting page. Click the Share button on the top of the page to copy a URL to send to students. If you need help, contact the CTEI staff at [email protected]. 

1. Email students a request to complete the survey by a specified deadline. Completing the survey should not be mandatory so students do not feel pressued to complete it.
   
   EXAMPLE: I am committed to continually improving my teaching, therefore, I ask that you complete a short mid-semester course evaluation by . It contains three questions, which should take 3-5 minutes to complete. I take student feedback seriously, but please know I may not be able to address every comment because of the resources or time required. I may also have pedagogical reasons for choosing certain resources or using specific teaching strategies.
    
2. Review results and identify what issues are a priority to address. Consult with Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation staff ([email protected]) to discuss strategies for addressing student feedback as needed. In choosing what comments to address, consider those that are either 1) mentioned by multiple students and/or 2) describe issues significantly impacting students. 
    
3. Communicate to students a summary of the key themes in student feedback and any changes you will make during the semester.   Faculty are also encouraged to explain why they will not address suggestions. Again, instructors do not need to address every comment submitted by students.

Additional Questions to Consider

The questions above are recommended to help faculty identify the strategies that help students succeed along with potential issues to address before the end of the semester. Faculty can include additional questions as well. Below are examples of other questions to consider. 

• Rate your experience in this course to date. 
  [Excellent – Very Good – Good – Fair – Poor]
• How could the communications from the faculty member be improved, if at all?  Feel free to also share what you appreciate about the communications that the faculty member should continue doing?
• (If relevant,) What feedback would you like to share with the teaching assistants in the course?
• I feel comfortable participating in class discussions and activities. 
  [Strongly Agree – Agree – Disagree – Strongly Disagree]
• I feel comfortable asking the instructor (and teaching assistants) for help when I need it. 
  [Strongly Agree – Agree – Disagree – Strongly Disagree]