Mid‐term evaluations are important because they allow faculty members to make changes that affect the students they are teaching now. Mid‐term evaluations let students know that faculty are interested in what and how they're learning, and in their responses to teaching.
Instructors need to explain that the information provided is just for their use, and that the student’s input is extremely valuable. Gathering this information helps instructors gauge how the course is progressing, what is going well from the student’s standpoint and whether the students have any suggestions for how to proceed for the rest of the semester.
It’s important to discuss the results with the class, explaining for instance, why some topics can’t be changed/eliminated, or why, based on the suggestions of the class, a discussion will be added on a topic.
The most import point in a mid-term evaluation is to report back the results:
- Things that are going well.
- Things that I (the instructor) could work on.
- Things that I (the instructor) can’t change.
The following are questions were gathered from mid-term evaluations found on public sites from the following universities:
Princeton University
- Do you usually understand what is expected of you in preparing for and participating in this class? If not, please explain why not.
- What aspects of this course and your instructor's teaching help you learn best?
- What specific advice would you give to help your instructor improve your learning in this course?
- What steps could you take to improve your own learning in this course?
- What other ideas would you suggest for improving this course (e.g., changes in course structure, assignments or exams)?
Middle Tennessee State University
- What are the most important things you have learned so far in this class?
- What don't you think you understand well enough yet?
- What would you like to see more of between now and the end of the semester?
- What do you think we could cut down on?
- What do you need to do in terms of understanding the material between now and the end of the semester?
- How much of the reading that has been assigned so far have you completed?
- How many hours per week, outside of regularly scheduled class meetings, do you spend on this class?
- If you have comments about the class not covered in the above questions, please use this space to make them.
Otis College of Art and Design (Los Angeles)
- What have you learned in this course that you find particularly interesting or compelling?
- At this point in the semester, what do you find still confusing or unclear?
- What aspects of this course and your instructor's teaching help you learn best?
- What specific advice would you give to help your instructor improve your learning in this course?
- What steps could you take to improve your own learning in this course?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses in class?
- What other ideas would you suggest for improving this course (e.g., changes in course structure, assignments or exams)?
University of California, Berkeley
- Which aspect of the course is most helpful to you?
- Which aspect of the course is least helpful to you?
- Are there any suggestions you would like to make about how to improve the course?
- How is the class going for you?
- One concrete suggestion for improving the course.
- What is the most important/valuable thing you have learned in this course so far?
- What is the least important/valuable thing you have learned?
- What, if anything, is still unclear?
- Is the pace of lectures too fast/too slow/about right?
- What suggestions do you have for improving the course?
- What is helping you to learn in this class?
- What is making learning difficult?
- What don't you think you understand well enough yet?
- What would you like to see more of between now and the end of the semester?
- What do you think we could cut down on?
- What do you need to do in terms of understanding the material between now and the end of the semester?
Brown University
- What are three important things you have learned so far? [This gets each student to admit that something is important.]
- What are three aspects of the class that have helped your learning so far?
- What are three things do you wish were different?
Carnegie Mellon University
- What are the strongest features of this course and of my teaching? In other words, what contributes most to your learning?
- What specific suggestions do you have for changes that I can make to improve the course or how it is taught?
- Is the pace of the course: too fast just right too slow
NYU Center for Teaching Excellence
- Stop, Keep, Start, (very quick feedback):
- Ask students to write down one thing they would like you to stop doing, one thing they’d like you to keep doing, and one thing they’d like you to start doing.
- Two short, open ended questions:
- What’s helpful to your learning?
- What suggestions do you have for change?
- Two other, short, open ended questions:
- How is the course going for you?
- What would help make it a better learning experience for you?
- Rate the course and explain the rating:
- On a scale of 1-‐7, with 1 being low and 7 being high, how is the course going for you?
- Why did you choose this number?
Humboldt State University
- What helps you learn in this course?
- What improvements would you like, and how would you suggest they be made?
Sacred Heart University – A Course Evaluations User
- Experience in the classroom
- Overall, this course is improving my understanding of the subject matter. (Radio)
- Class activities, readings, and/or assignments are supporting my learning. (Radio)
- The expectations for this course has been made clear to me. (Radio)
- The feedback I received on assignments is helping me to improve my learning. (Radio)
- The instructor is available for extra help. (Radio)
- Any additional comments or suggestions about the instructor or the course. (Memo)