OSCQR – Standard #50

Learners have multiple opportunities to provide descriptive feedback on course design, course content, course experience, and ease of online technology.

Review These Explanations

Learners are immersed within the online experience, and can provide useful feedback on how courses are designed and delivered. This feedback can be used to guide the efficacy of the online teaching and learning process. Providing a channel for feedback, and encouraging dialogue among learners can lead to the improvement of ideas and opinions (Mabrito & Medley, 2008).

Learners may find navigation difficult, or content lacking, which can get in the way of successful course completion. Having areas where learners can provide feedback to the instructor and/or course designer on navigation, access, and the overall learning experience can guide better design choices to support learner success while the course is in progress.

If any new technologies or LMS features are incorporated into the learning environment, learners need a channel to report or explain any issue that arise, and solutions that they may have found that can be shared with their classmates.

Independent from end-of-course surveys, channels for feedback the online learning experience empower the learner to have a stake in making the experience better for themselves, as well as other learners in the future. These channels also enhances group cohesion by exemplifying how instructors value the opinions of their learners.

References:

Mabrito, M. & Medley, R. (2008). Why Professor Johnny can’t read: Understanding the net generation’s texts. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, 4(6).

Refresh Your Course with These Ideas

Develop metacognitive learning activities that ask learners to reflect and express what they are learning, how they know they are learning, and what is helping or hindering their learning using a journal, blog, etc.
Set up an online forum-based suggestion box to collect informal feedback.
Distribute a survey to collect descriptive feedback from learners at mid-term and again the end of the course term.
Include a discussion forum to collect feedback at the end of a learning activity, and require learner participation as part of the overall activity grade.
Invite learners to participate in the full course review process.
Have learners develop course experience feedback as groups, and submit anonymously.
Ask learners to share three things that they like about the course, and three things that are not working well for them after a few weeks into the course. Repeat this activity at mid-term and again at the end of the course term.
Invite learners to specifically share what they would like other learners to do in order to engage the course as a group.
Ask learners specific questions, such as what has helped them learn in the course, and what has hindered their learning process.

Explore More Refreshing Ideas from the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) at the University of Central Florida (UCF)

This Pedagogical Practice from TOPR explores methods and approaches to collecting learner feedback to inform the design and delivery of higher quality online courses.

Collect Student Feedback using Course Evaluations

This semester, I used the anonymous survey twice in my course (V-mode) and you can get fairly good response rates (27/33 = 81%) to get a feel of how the course has been perceived up to that point. You can also add short comments portion, to which students in distant learning setting would surprisingly type up something to express their opinion. (Read more …)

Explore Related Resources

Li, N., Marsh, V., & Rienties, B. (2016). Modelling and Managing Learner Satisfaction: Use of Learner Feedback to Enhance Blended and Online Learning Experience. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 14(2), 216-242.

Thelk, A. D. (2014). Building a Better Course-Evaluation Process. Assessment Update, 26(2), 6-7.

Share What You Know

OSCQR has been developed by a community of online practitioners interested in quality course design. There are numerous opportunities for community members to offer suggestions, donate resources, and help with future development.

Discuss this standard in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

Contribute your own ideas or refresh resources by filling out the OSCQR Examples Contribution Form.