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Get Midterm Feedback to Improve Your Course

Want to know how your class is going? Just ask your students! Gathering feedback throughout the semester provides you with multiple checks on the student experience and allows you to make adjustments to better meet their needs. A two-way communication channel fosters a positive classroom climate, builds trust, and ensures students feel their voices are heard.

Why Midterm Feedback Matters

Midterm Student Feedback (MSF) provides valuable insights that can improve both teaching and learning outcomes. While studies show that traditional student ratings may not always correlate with long-term success, MSF offers actionable benefits:

• Actionable insights: Gather feedback while there’s still time to make meaningful changes during the semester.
• Better outcomes: Enhance student engagement, learning, and course satisfaction.
• Stronger relationships: Show students that you care about their success and value their input.
• Student empowerment: Give students a voice in the course design and an opportunity to reflect on their own learning process.

  Check out our Midterm Feedback Implementation Plan for practical steps and strategies to get started

Best Practices for Gathering Feedback

1. Keep It Simple

• Use a concise questionnaire with 3–5 open-ended or multiple-choice questions.
• Focus on areas where you’re open to making adjustments, such as course structure, content, assignments, or classroom climate.

2. Flexible Delivery

• Collect feedback in the way that works best for your class:
  • Online Surveys: Use tools like or the tool for easy, anonymous data collection.
  • In-Class Surveys: Provide paper or digital surveys during class. Step out of the room while students complete them to encourage honest responses.

3. Set the Tone

• Emphasize that feedback is valued and will help improve the course.
• Let students know you’re looking for constructive suggestions to create a better learning environment.

Sample Questions to Ask Students

Midterm feedback is most effective when it focuses on specific aspects of the course. Here are some questions you might ask:

Explore Challenges and Opportunities:

These questions uncover areas where students may be struggling and provide actionable insights for improving their experience.

• What assignments or activities have been the most challenging for you, and why?
• Are there any barriers to completing your coursework that I might not be aware of?
• What worries you most about this class as you continue into the second half of the semester?
• What kinds of resources (e.g., office hours, readings, practice problems) have been most helpful to you?
• Are there any resources you wish were available to help you succeed?
• What parts of the course structure make it harder for you to stay engaged or on track?
• How manageable do you find the course workload in relation to your other classes or responsibilities?

Encourage Self-Reflection:

These questions encourage students to take ownership of their learning by examining their own habits and strategies.

• What study strategies or techniques have worked well for you in this course?
• What could you do differently in the second half of the semester to improve your learning?
• How often do you use the available resources, such as office hours, online materials, or study groups?
• What actions have you taken to prepare for quizzes, exams, or assignments, and how effective have they been?
• Are there areas where you feel you could engage more actively in the class?
• What do you think has been your biggest success in the course so far?
• How do you manage your time and workload for this class? Is there anything you’d like to change about your approach?

Assess Inclusivity:

These questions help identify any barriers to participation or areas where the course could better reflect diverse perspectives.

• Do you feel included and respected in this class? If not, what could be improved?
• Are the course materials and examples reflective of diverse perspectives and experiences?
• Do you feel comfortable asking questions or sharing your thoughts in class discussions?
• Are there any aspects of the course that make it harder for you to participate or engage fully?
• Is the classroom environment supportive of different learning styles and needs?
• Do you feel that your voice and perspective are valued in this course?
• Are there any ways I can make the course more accessible or inclusive for you and your peers?

Customizable Questions

These open-ended questions allow you to adapt to specific needs or goals for your course.

• If you could change one thing about this course, what would it be?
• Are there any new topics or approaches you’d like to see added to the class?
• How can I better support your learning in this course?
• What’s one piece of advice you would give me to help improve the course for the rest of the semester?

  Check out our Midterm Feedback Implementation Plan for practical steps and strategies to get started

Ways to Collect Feedback

1.

• Use the Zoom Poll feature to post simple multiple-choice questions during class. This is especially effective for remote or hybrid courses.
• Zoom offers other tools for engaging students, such as reactions or chat features.

2. Anonymous Surveys

• Tools like are quick, user-friendly, and free. Anonymous surveys encourage honest feedback, particularly about sensitive topics.

3.

• Create ungraded surveys using the Quizzes tool in Canvas. Alternatively, set up an asynchronous where students can share their thoughts anonymously.

4. Small Group Discussions

• Provide a set of questions and ask students to discuss them in small groups. Assign a scribe to take notes and share the group’s responses with you.
• This approach can also be done asynchronously using the Canvas tool.

5. Teaching Assistant Support

• If students are hesitant to provide feedback directly to you, teaching or learning assistants can serve as intermediaries. They can collect feedback during class or host separate feedback sessions.

Turn Feedback Into Action

Collecting feedback is only the first step. To maximize its impact, focus on actionable solutions and foster a culture of collaboration with your students:

1. Focus on Solutions

• Address concerns that are manageable within the course timeframe. For example, adjust due dates, refine instructions, or modify class activities.

2. Recommend Alternatives

• For issues outside the scope of the course, such as personal challenges, recommend appropriate campus resources.

3. Reflect and Clarify

• Use reflective listening to better understand students’ comments and refocus discussions on learning issues.

4. Continue the Conversation

• Encourage students to share ongoing feedback and make improvements a collaborative effort.

Inclusive Feedback

Feedback sessions are a great opportunity to assess and improve inclusivity in your teaching. Consider adding questions that address inclusion and identify any potential blind spots, such as:

• Do you feel that diverse perspectives and experiences are reflected in the course materials?
• Are there any barriers to your participation in this course that I can address?

The Colorado Department of Higher Education provides a checklist for reflecting on inclusive teaching practices. Use their to tailor your feedback process and ensure it aligns with equity-minded teaching principles.