Jill Maschio, PhD
August 11, 2023
At the end of the term, faculty receive their student feedback reviews. Students are asked at the end of the term to report their Professor’s preparedness, knowledge of the course topic, and other factors that represent the faculty’s job performance. The surveys are used by the institution to gauge their faculty’s teaching abilities, and along with the reviews comes the institution’s expectation that faculty will utilize the reviews as information to guide them to make changes to their curriculum and teaching methods for improvement. The reviews fail to ask students what their needs are to be successful in education. By knowing students’ needs, faculty can have discussions with their students about those needs, and more importantly, faculty can address their needs in the ways that they teach, in how they structure the classroom, and in the way they provide course content.
We know from the literature about education that students have a variety of concerns that can stifle their learning both for traditional classes and online. And yet, there are many ways the educational system in America is failing its students. By learning directly from students, an educator can have a better understanding how students feel about learning and what they worry about the most that may hinder their academic progress.
In my book, Create a Winning Online Course with Brain-Based Learning Strategies, I report how I surveyed all my students at the start of an academic term. I asked my students to report, voluntarily, what their top concerns were for learning remotely. What I found was that my students had a number of fears and concerns about college that if I had not sent out a survey, I would not fully understand my student’s learning needs. For example, one of the most reported concerns was that students felt they cannot learn the course material and would fail the course. Another top concern was having the time to study and pass the course.
The concerns all have solutions that faculty can address. It may take faculty some time to come up with and implement solutions, but addressing their concerns can make a difference in how many students continue through the class and stay motivated to learn.
