Developing Human Resources
Course Feedback Memo
Around 3 pages, double spaced. Like any assignment I should see correct grammar and no typos.
Please remember to include your LAST NAME in the FILE NAME.
Your assignment is to give me feedback about the course. You may have already done that anonymously, but this is a chance for you to practice giving effective feedback, as suggested by Difficult Conversations and Thanks for the Feedback.
Paper should be about 3 pp. double spaced, 12 point type.
Note that, as defined by Thanks for the Feedback, I am asking primarily for evaluation. But coaching – guidelines or suggestions for improvement – is also very welcome. (And so is appreciation, but this is a chance to practice giving critical feedback, so make sure you take this opportunity!)
Here are some guidelines for giving feedback, based on the various sources (and some of my own editorializing).
Include positives as well as negatives, if possible.
Be as specific as possible about problems or concerns; avoid using vague terms (Instead of “the course is boring,” try, “I found the class on xyz to be dull because …” Instead of “I am not learning very much,” something like “I was hoping to learn abc.”)
Do the same with suggestions for improvement: Be concrete.
Avoid over-generalizing (using words like “always” or “never”).
Don’t speak for others without hard data that you can reveal to the person being given feedback. (Saying “Lots of people feel this way too” is simply unhelpful unless you have credible data that the person receiving feedback can use or follow up on in some way. The anonymous feedback posted on Brightspace gives you real data to use, if you wish).
Here are some “advanced” guidelines – these are more difficult, but very much worth striving for. “A” papers should follow these guidelines.
Clarify your assumptions; admit your own frame.
Don’t assign blame; explore the contribution system.
Balance advocacy and inquiry: State your opinion but ask if the other person sees the situation differently or other relevant questions.
Think about the quality of your questions: Shoot for open-ended questions and avoid leading questions.
The readings are mostly about face-to-face interactions, but most of what they say can apply to written documents. Though the memo is a one-way method of communication, think of it as an invitation for a two-way interaction. Include inquiry, even though I won’t be there to answer the questions. (And you will have the chance to give me verbal feedback in class, so it’s useful to have this in mind for that as well.)
Areas to assess (you don’t have to include all of these, this is just to give you a sense of the different categories): readings (be specific about what you like and don’t like), assignments, class discussions, student participation, course logistics, my teaching/presentation style, specific content areas or classes, anything else that occurs to you.
Consider using the anonymous course feedback posted on-line. This is a great source of hard data about how other people are experiencing the course. Not a requirement, just a suggestion.
Grading: These will be graded by fellow class members to avoid an obvious conflict of interest and to give you additional experience in giving feedback.
More later about how to grade, but let me clarify from the outset that I will review all the grades and will increase a grade if I think someone has been unfairly graded too low. I will not decrease any grades.
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