Appendices
Appendix A: SGID Questions
The following SGID facilitation sheet has been developed by the educational development staff at the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching at The Ohio State University.
Student Feedback on Teaching
In the box at the top of this page, put the number of people in your group. For each comment that your group writes under each question, if not all agree with it, please indicate how many people in your group do agree.
1. What are the strengths of the course and instructor that assist you in learning?
2. What things make it more difficult for you to learn?
3. What specific changes would you recommend to the instructor that would assist you in learning?
Thank you for your comments!
Appendix B: SGID How-to Sheet (if conducted by an educational developer—someone other than the instructor of their own course)
The following is a “how-to” sheet I developed, based on (1) Clark and Redmond’s original articulation of the SGID; (2) Barbara J. Millis and Jose Vazquez’s refined version of the SGID, called the “Quick Course Diagnosis”; and (3) the work of the educational-development staff at the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching at The Ohio State University.
- 1. Explain the purpose and process of the SGID (2-3 minutes)
- Purpose:
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- Emphasize that you are collecting feedback on how students are learning in the course.
- Emphasize that the feedback collection is voluntary
- Tell students that in most classes, they fill out feedback at the end of the term. But the next class benefits from this, not them. By providing feedback now, they have an opportunity to improve their learning environment while in it.
- Process:
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- Student responses will be confidential and written responses will be typed so that handwriting is not recognizable.
- Students will get into groups of approximately 4 students and will write down their answers to these questions:
- What are the strengths of the course and instructor that assist you in learning?
- What things are making it more difficult for you to learn?
- What specific changes would you recommend to the instructor that would assist you in learning?
- Students should write the number of people in their group in the box at the top of the sheet.
- Consensus for their responses is not required. If students reach consensus on an answer, they should write the number of people who do agree (say, 2 out of 4)
- Remind students to choose someone with neat handwriting.
- Remind students to be as specific as possible with their answers.
- 2. Small-group student feedback (8-10 minutes)
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- Put students into groups of 4.
- Tell them they have about 8 minutes to write their responses to the three questions.
- 3. Large group discussion of feedback (8 minutes)
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- Lead a large-group discussion on students’ responses to the three questions. Take notes on student responses.
- Ask question 1: What are the strengths of the course and instructor that assist you in learning?
- Ask for volunteers to share responses from their group.
- Ask for a show of hands from those in the class who agree.
- Ask clarification questions if needed.
- Ask question 2: What things are making it more difficult for you to learn?
- Ask for volunteers to share responses from their group.
- Ask for a show of hands from those in the class who agree.
- Ask clarification questions if needed.
- Ask question 3: What specific changes would you recommend to the instructor that would assist you in learning?
- Ask for volunteers to share responses from their group.
- Ask for a show of hands from those in the class who agree.
- Ask clarification questions if needed.
- 4. Wrap up and explain next steps (2 minutes)
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- Ask students if they have any final thoughts they would like to share or would like their instructor to know.
- Thank students for their time and feedback!
- Tell students their instructor will go over the responses in class once they have them.
- Collect the sheets
Appendix C: Minute Paper
A “minute paper” is a short, anonymous, in-class writing activity. Instructors pose a question to students about the classroom environment and/or student learning. A common prompt for a minute paper is, “What was the most important concept you learned in class today?” This provides instructors written feedback about student learning, hopefully from all students, regardless of whether or not they verbally participated in class. Minute papers can also ask students to respond to any range of questions, including those related to participation. For example, “What would have made it easier for you to participate in today’s discussion?”
Appendix D: Writing-Conference Guidelines
CONFERENCES WILL TAKE PLACE ON ____________ IN MY OFFICE. SIGN-UP SHEET WILL BE POSTED ON OUR COURSE WEBSITE. DISCUSSION BOARD POST #8 IS DUE BY 11:59 P.M. THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR CONFERENCE.
For your individual conference with me about your Research Paper, you will need to prepare by completing Discussion Board Post #8. The more time you spend on your Discussion Post and the more information you provide about your plans for the final Research Paper, the more help I can be to you during our conference. Your response to Discussion Board Post #8 must answer the following questions (in as much detail as you can):
- What topic have you chosen to write about? Why did you choose this topic?
- Do you have a general argument in mind? What are your ideas about what your thesis might be? (Or, if you have a working thesis already, go ahead and write it down here.)
- Have you found any sources yet? If not, where do you anticipate searching for sources?
- Do you have any questions that I can answer for you?
You should think of Discussion Board Post #8 as a formal piece of writing, and it should be in paragraphs. Provide more than a list of points you will address in your paper, and more than an outline with no written explanation.
If you have any sources you’re considering using or anything drafted that you’d like me to look at, please bring these to your conference. If you have any questions for me, please either include those in your Discussion Board Post #8 response, or ask me in person in the conference.
Conferences will be held during Week 9. You must have posted your response to Discussion Post #8 by 11:59 p.m. the night before your conference. (So, if your conference is at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, you need to have completed Discussion Post #8 by 11:59 p.m. on Monday.) I ask that you submit it before the conference so that I am familiar with your ideas for the Research Paper and the conferences can be more fruitful.
Conferences are 15-20 minutes long.
