Thread: Teachers, do you encourage feedback...........

............from your students?
I feel I'm in a bit of a pickle as a fellow student has mentioned that she and several others are no longer learning as much as they would like. The complainant said there is too much talk and not enough dancing in class and because I am a good friend of the teachers could I have a little word with her about it :(
Well after some thought I decided to email the complainant to suggest it would be better if she directed her dissatisfaction directly to the teacher as I did not wish to be a go-between. I asked her to think about what she wanted from class and what she felt were problem areas etc,, I also pointed out that a good teacher wants to give her students as much cultural and musical knowledge as possible and at times she may repeat herself for the sake of those who missed the previous class and that I'm certain the teacher was more than aware of herself doing so (I know so)
I can see that some of them have plateaued and that could be due to a number of things, lack of practice being the main one. I think a suggestion box could be a good idea.
I also personally feel it would help them to explore improv which I'm fairly sure they never have in the 4 or so years this group have been taking with her. I suggested all this and more and have received a reply along the lines of "thanks for the thought provoking ideas" but it's not just her alone who is unhappy.
Also I know for a fact this has come up in the past where they did have a spokesperson so I assume it's a similar situation.
So how do you as teachers go about getting feedback? do you ask the class out-right?
How would you feel if you were approached by a go-between, I'm not a delegate as I don't have an issue with classes but I don't want to see her lose students either.
Do I stick my neck out or just wait till classes start up again and see how it transpires?
I also want to see my friend be the best teacher she can be and I do believe she is good at her job but it may be time to reassess. Thanks in advance

Even though I own my studio and run things the way I like I regularly use anonymous feedback forms for all levels of the classes so that I can gauge what I am providing that works and what might need improvement. What gave me the idea is teaching at the Rec Centres. Participants are often asked to fill out feedback forms so the Centre can assess the viability of running a particular class and what the participants think/feel about the instructor and their delivery of the material.

Also many workshops ask participants to fill out feedback forms so I thought why not do it for my classes?

Sometimes I get conflicting feedback (i.e. some students like the cultural & music information but others hate it and just want the movement instruction. Some people want more of a fitness component and others are interested in learning how to dance). In those cases it just gives me the opportunity to make sure I am clear about what I offer as well as assess whether I am meeting my own goals and intent as a teacher, director and studio owner.

Because I also still consider myself a student I think about what I want out of a class and an instructor in order to keep learning and improving and try to structure classes to foster those goals. I change music all the time, try to keep a balance between talking and movement, try to incorporate warm up, drills, choreography, improv and cool down in every class, change up the class music for each session and try to provide variety in the choreographies I compose and teach.

No teacher is perfect or can provide everything for every student but it's a good thing to be kept on our toes so that we don't get lazy

It's not clear from the description whether this other student wanted to get you involved because she simply wanted you to be the messenger, or she was secretly hoping you would join their ranks and bolster support for their grievances, too. If you agree with what they want, then perhaps you are a good spokesperson for the job. If not, or if you are convinced the problem is more their personal issues (e.g., practice ethic) than the teacher's lesson plans, for the sake of your friendship with the teacher, it may be better to not get too involved. If the teacher is a very close friend, you could compromise and just mention that a few of the students have talked to you and leave the ball in her court to pursue the matter.

I'm gathering from the "thanks for the thought provoking ideas" part that this teacher is not always terribly responsive to input? It's a difficult balance between adapting the curriculum to give students what they want and flapping in the breeze of public opinion to the point where you're following someone else's possibly inexperienced, scattershot, or not well enough rounded plan of what needs to be covered in class. Students don't always know what they need to know or see the immediate value of doing something, so letting them steer the ship can be a bad decision. On the other hand, most teachers are not of such prestige that they can play that my-way-or-the-highway card without alienating students, and occasionally students have legitimate input that a conscientious teacher would be foolish to ignore. Without knowing the details, it's hard to advise.

If this were my class, I would want to know, either to explain why I wasn't doing what they wanted, or to reconsider whether my lesson plans needed revising for this particular group. Then again, I've also been on the student side of this problem with a teacher who wasn't connecting the dots between her dwindling attendance of regulars and her over-repetition of lessons, and in hindsight, thought I'd have been better off staying dissatisfied than speaking up. Teachers are human beings, too, and they can fall into the mental trap of taking student feedback as a challenge to their authority, if not a personal betrayal, without considering the validity of what's being said and the sincerity behind it. Whatever happens, go forward with the knowledge of the interpersonal minefield this can be.

A few thoughts on feedback forms from someone who is not a dance teacher but definitely pays the rent with teaching! I often don't have time to do feedback forms during the semester, but when I have had the time, I've found them very valuable.

1. I don't ask what students like or don't like. For each component of my teaching (say, discussion, lecturing, group assignments, etc.) I ask if they want more, less, or about the same.

2. When I do feedback forms, I do them in the middle or just after the middle of the semester. It allows me to react to them in time!

3. I also share the results with my class, and discuss what actions I will or won't take. So if they all want more of something and I think it would be pedagogically valuable, I say I will try to do more of it. If I have my own reasons for not doing something (or for doing something they don't like), it gives me a chance to explain what they are -- and thus to treat them as adults.

4. A split vote on something is not a bad thing. The students don't always know that their classmates have different desires than they do, especially if other classmates are not as vocal. So I can say, "Half of you wanted more lecturing, while half of you wanted less, so I'll keep it at about the same."

5. Sometimes the evals also tell you what you're doing right, and what they don't want changed. And that's valuable too.

6. The teacher's horrible secret: doing and working through evals this way tends to make students feel better about the class, even if you're changing very little. If I were smarter, I'd do it with every class, every semester, but as you can see, doing it properly takes serious time away from classwork. I have tried to incorporate more freeform discussions to make them part of the pedagogy, asking them questions like, "What assignments get you to do your best work?" and "Which of the readings did you find the hardest, and what strategies did you use to get through them?" But it always comes at the cost of covering actual course material.

Still, I think this could be useful for dance too. I suspect some of my students don't realise how much work their better-performing colleagues do outside of the classroom. (I remember one student talking about re-reading a play for the third time for a paper, and other students looking a bit stunned. I had to point out to them that yes, you really need to read it more than once to write a good paper.) And I suspect that some of y'alls dance students don't realise that their better-performing classmates might be practicing outside of class instead of just "talented." So why not make learning and pedagogy part of the teaching?

Sorry for the long comment -- and for the mixed Canadianisms and Texasisms. Lord knows what will happen to my English next.

Thanks ladies for the input. Most of what you pointed out I have suggested already with the exception of the "feedback forms" which I have come across in workshops situations only, I often wonder though how honest people are with filling them out. I do though like the choices of "more, less or about the same"
I guess I felt a bit put out in being asked to speak to her as the group concerned is not even in my class. Yes it's a hard call for a teacher to know how much is too much and where that balance lies.
I'm assuming this group love going to class for the fun of it foremost but they obviously love performing too which is why the "facts" are so important. I don't usually have an issue pointing things out or making suggestions but this is a tricky group of ladies who I'm starting to think enjoy a little discord and I don't want to get sucked into that mindset. Also the teacher is a lovely, soft and gentle type who may be assuming they aren't up to the challenge and could be worried she will lose them if they find class too difficult. Likewise I don't wish to jeopardize what we have by being that spokesperson, holy crap this all seems childish why can't people just speak out for themselves.

Originally Posted by mim

Likewise I don't wish to jeopardize what we have by being that spokesperson, holy crap this all seems childish why can't people just speak out for themselves.

Grownups who are paying for classes need to be able to articulate what they need in a polite way. You should definitely not be involved in these shenanigans.

Whenever students (of any age) have come to me and said, "I need more of this to learn," I have invariably thought them mature and responsible, and been delighted that I had the chance to help them. I simply cannot imagine how I would react if a student came to me and said, "Some of the other students are upset about this, it's not really my thing, but they've asked me to talk to you." I'd probably primarily be horrified that I'd come across so scary and unapproachable that they had to send an emissary, and I would be more likely to see it as a confrontation too.

I think you should say to these people something along the lines of: "I know the instructor to be someone who wants to do the best by her students, so why not tell her you think you need more practice/drills/new moves to keep improving?"

Seriously, how old are the people involved? This sounds like high school to me.

I hand out a feedback form to my students bi-annually to assess their perception of the class. They consist of two parts:

1. 10 statements related to the class to gather feedback on specific topics (ex, effectiveness of the warm-ups and cool-downs, challenge of the choreography, teacher preparedness, etc) on a 1-5 number scale (5 being "strongly agree" with the statement and 1 being "do not agree at all").

2. 3 open-ended questions with space for students to write their thoughts and ideas. I use these questions to ask things like: What do you enjoy most/least about class and what suggestions do you have to improve it? What topics would you like to learn more about?

I do not make these forms anonymous. I explain to the students beforehand that I am not going to take any of their feedback personally and that they are helping me to improve as an instructor. I also want to be able to answer any questions they may write, or address any specific issues they may have, and I can't do that if I don't know who filled out the form.

I haven't developed any way of reporting back to the students to let them know the results of the feedback surveys. I like that idea though.

Originally Posted by philoclea

I think you should say to these people something along the lines of: "I know the instructor to be someone who wants to do the best by her students, so why not tell her you think you need more practice/drills/new moves to keep improving?"

Seriously, how old are the people involved? This sounds like high school to me.

Yes that's about exactly what I said, ending with "let me know how it all goes"
They are mature age women and my involvement ends now. Annoyed that I even let it get to me pphpht!

As a teacher I'm always looking for productive feedback. I do have evaluation forms that I hand out at the close of each session of classes I offer. But I trio to encourage discussion all the time regarding my students dance education. I take some time each class, just three to five minutes to check in with my students and see if they have any input to what they have been learning in class. I would rather have my students be open and honest with me. If they are not learning what they would like to be learning (that is appropriate for their dance level) then I want to change that as soon as I can. If they want to learn something that I don't think they are ready for, I always explain why we are not working on that move or technique just yet. Then I give them take-home exercises that will help them work towards that goal outside of class in addition to their work in class.

As a student who is in your situation, I would not want to get in the middle of things unless you share the same view point. If you too feel that you are not learning enough in class then bring it up to your teacher. Maybe she has a reason for all the "lecture style" teaching she is doing.