A Teachable Moment:
Getting Students to Provide
Responsible Feedback
Brenda M. Coppard, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Creighton University
Objectives
• Articulate one way of preparing students to
give responsible feedback on IDEA Student
Ratings of Instruction.
• Generate addition ways to prepare students
for responsible feedback.
Context
• Creighton University, Catholic & Jesuit school
• School of Pharmacy and Health Professions:
– Pharmacy, Physical Therapy & Occupational
Therapy
• Orientation during first week of classes,
repeated with classes thereafter each Fall
semester
What is constructive & instructive
feedback?
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•
•
•
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Information about performance
Aim to improve or enhance performance
Based on facts
Built on trust, honesty, genuine concern
Instructive: instructions on how to improve
are incorporated into constructive feedback
http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/pdf-giving-feedback/
Hints to provide constructive feedback
• Describe versus evaluate
– “I experienced…, I noticed…, I observed…”
– State observations versus interpretations
• Be direct
– Get to the point; use a straightforward manner
– Give feedback to the person; avoid giving
feedback via technology messengers
http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/pdf-giving-feedback
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-622.html
Hints to provide constructive feedback
• Specific versus general
– “I perceived you were not listening when you did
not give me eye contact as I was voicing my
concerns about the assignment and I felt forced to
accept your arguments.”
• Focuses on facts versus the person
– “You talked more than anyone else in the group”
versus, “Joe was a loud mouth.”
• Directed at an issue or behavior that can be
corrected
– “The teacher’s accent is annoying.”
http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/pdf-giving-feedback
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-622.html
Hints to provide constructive feedback
• Feedback involves suggestions for improvement
– “Allowing time in class to work on our group
projects may have eliminated some of the
frustration in coordinating busy schedules to meet
outside of class time.”
• It is well thought out; don’t “shoot from the hip”
– Motivations? Retaliation or wish to improve course
for the next offering
http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/pdf-giving-feedback/
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-622.html
Unconstructive/Destructive
• “I learned NOTHING.”
• “I didn’t feel like I learned a lot during this class.”
• “The teacher made a few people upset with her
ideas.”
• “You didn’t think the assignments through. They
don’t meet our learning needs.”
• “The course was bad. It was not what I
expected.”
• “You were late to class sometimes. It’s
inconsiderate of you to show up after class time
has started.”
Constructive/Instructive
• “The course website was organized well. I
thought the weekly reminders on the website
helped me meet the deadlines for
assignments.”
• “It was difficult to read more than 10 pages or
so---reading 40 pages or more were tedious
and time consuming, which interfered with my
studying.”
• “Hands on experiences & practicums helped
me apply what I was learning.”
End of Course Student Ratings
• Must complete the IDEA Student Ratings of
Instruction to receive final grade report
• Completed on-line; classes are given 30
minutes of compensation time per course to
complete the IDEA
• Reflect back on semester using your syllabus
to remind you of the class sequence,
assignments, activities and assessments
• Avoid completing IDEA if you are overly
emotional
What happens with data from the
IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction?
• Results about course are routed to the OT Program
Assessment Committee to forward any
recommendations to appropriate
committees/individuals
• Chair receives a copy of all faculty member’s ratings;
one data point used to judge a faculty member’s merit
performance in teaching
• Used to help develop faculty member’s teaching
knowledge and skills
• Your feedback back matters!
• Overtime, copies are included in a faculty member’s
dossier to be considered for tenure & promotion
When will you have chances to give
constructive/instructive feedback as
a student & a future practitioner?
References
http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/pdf-giving-feedback
http://ces.edgateway.net/cs/resources/view/ces_res/26
http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/pdf-giving-feedback/
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id622.html