In 2022, there were over 115,576 schools and nearly 4,000 post-secondary institutions in the United States. From elementary schools to universities, there are so many places where students of any age can go to get an education.
For many of these institutions, soliciting student feedback has been a valuable approach to enriching the quality of education they deliver. Reputable studies have shown that when schools gather student feedback regularly, they’re better able to cater to their students’ needs. This approach allows them to harvest vital insights and open lines of communication with students.
In this article, we look at what student feedback is, why it’s essential, and how educational institutions can collect it.
What is student feedback, and why is it important for education?
Student feedback refers to students’ opinions or observations about any aspect of the educational institution they’re attending. Schools and institutions must collect this feedback in a methodical way for it to be useful and actionable.
The most common way to gather student feedback is through surveys, though in-person interviews may sometimes be another approach. The data an institution collects helps administrators and teachers make decisions about how best to support students while fulfilling the school’s educational mission.
Educational institutions want to create the best learning environment for students. However, if a school doesn’t ask students if they have what they need to succeed, it may miss vital opportunities for improvement. Feedback provides a first-hand account of how students think the school is doing and how it could improve.
For example, a school’s leadership team may have recently chosen a type of assignment submission software for teachers. However, the students might find that the software is full of glitches. If the school didn’t gather feedback on the software before deploying it to the entire student body, it could face a morale problem as well as a technical one.
In any case, the school in this scenario could benefit by involving students directly through student feedback channels. It would demonstrate the administration’s concern for the students’ experience and provide a way for students to report critical details for fixing the problem.
What are the different types of student feedback?
There are different types of student feedback that school administrators and teachers can collect. Here are some examples.
Project-based feedback
This type of student feedback is related to a specific project that the student completed. It’s designed to give the teacher insight into what the student found engaging about the project, whether they had any difficulties with it, and if they have any suggestions for improving the assignment.
Course-based feedback
Often, higher education institutions ask students to answer questions about the curriculum, format, schedule, educator, and other aspects of a class they’ve completed.
“Also known as student feedback surveys, these are a powerful tool to help understand how students perceive their learning experience,” says Scott Winstead, founder of My eLearning World, which covers all aspects of online learning in classroom and business settings.
“Through these evaluations, teachers can gain insight into the effectiveness of their instruction and make necessary adjustments,” he says. “In addition, course evaluations provide valuable information that can be used in future program design and curriculum planning.”
Teacher-based feedback
A student’s feedback about their teacher offers insight into whether the teacher was successful at helping that student and others thrive academically and socially. Students can comment on the teaching style, coursework, deadlines, and other elements of the course. Often, they provide the feedback anonymously.
“Evaluations can help teachers better understand the impact their teaching techniques have on students’ learning and progress,” says Winstead. “Through teacher evaluations, administrators can gain a clearer picture of which instructors are best suited for particular roles or classes. They also provide teachers with an opportunity to reflect on their own performance and make improvements if necessary. By engaging in this type of self-reflection and improvement, teachers can provide a more effective learning experience for their students.”
Peer feedback
In many educational settings, students have to complete evaluations on their classmates, usually when they work together on a group project. “These allow students to provide and receive constructive criticism from their peers,” says Winstead. “Through this type of evaluation, students can learn how to give and receive constructive feedback in a respectful manner. This helps build communication skills and promote a positive learning environment.”
Extra-curricular activity feedback
Extra-curricular activities such as sports and music are a major part of the learning experience. School administrators can gather this type of student feedback to learn what types of activities students enjoy. This also can help them determine the ideal scheduling for those activities.
Self-evaluations
Getting students to provide feedback on their own work is a great way for teachers to learn about how students feel about their own abilities. This can help teachers craft future lesson plans to support students in areas where they need extra help.
“Self-evaluations are an important tool for personal growth,” says Winstead. “Through self-evaluations, students can reflect on their own performance and track their progress over time. This can help them identify areas where they need to improve and also celebrate successes.”
What is the ideal solution for collecting student feedback?
When it comes to collecting student feedback, Jotform is a great tool. This survey software is ideal for any educational institution that values students’ input and wants to hear their opinions.
Jotform offers hundreds of educational templates and feedback templates, which schools can customize to create their own surveys. Examples include a student survey form, student course evaluation form, student daily feedback form, and student feedback questionnaire.
Administrators and teachers can use Jotform’s intuitive, drag-and-drop user interface to easily edit text, visuals, and form structure. With Jotform, gathering student feedback is simple and effective — providing schools with the insights they need to better serve their students.
Photo by Antoni Shkraba
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