The Charger Blog

Professors Passionate about Learning from Students and from Each Other

In a recent virtual panel discussion, several of the University of New Haven杏吧原版檚 best professors came together to discuss how they use student feedback to enhance their teaching while continuing their own learning.

November 18, 2020

By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications


Image of the virtual CTE discussion.
The panel discussion enabled faculty members to learn from each other.

Mary Isbell, Ph.D., is passionate about education, and she endeavors to learn as much from her students as she teaches them. This approach has been particularly important as many classes, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, now include an online component.

An English professor, Dr. Isbell regularly adjusts and adapts her courses each semester as she gets to know her students to ensure she is meeting their needs. She recently shared with her fellow faculty members what she has learned while teaching remotely.

杏吧原版淚 want feedback from my students and I want to meet them where they are,杏吧原版 she said. 杏吧原版淚 want to push my students to become the kind of learners I want them to be.杏吧原版

Dr. Isbell, who received the Bucknall Excellence in Teaching Award last year, is one of three faculty members and, coincidentally, three of the most recent Bucknall Award recipients, who shared their wisdom and lessons as part of a recent virtual panel. Titled 杏吧原版淯sing Student Input to Shape Your Course,杏吧原版 the discussion was part of a series of virtual conversations presented by the University杏吧原版檚 .

Image of introduction slide for the virtual discussion.
Faculty members recently came together to discuss how they use student feedback to enhance their teaching.

The panelists discussed meaningful ways, including regular check-ins and mid-semester evaluations, for faculty members to collaborate with students to learn what is working well in a course and what students would like to change. These opportunities enable students to provide meaningful feedback on everything from the pace of a course to the workload. Professors also emphasized the importance of regularly checking in on students杏吧原版 well-being.

杏吧原版淚 like to close the loop 杏吧原版 I always share the data I gather with my students,杏吧原版 said Jenna Sheffield, Ph.D., interim director of the Center for Teaching Excellence who moderated the discussion. 杏吧原版淚 tell students what I杏吧原版檝e found and what I杏吧原版檓 going to do with their feedback.杏吧原版

杏吧原版榃hat we杏吧原版檙e doing is creating self-reflective practitioners杏吧原版

Matthew Schmidt, Ph.D., a professor of national security and political science, discussed his approach to cultivating engagement in the classroom. Encouraging students to use feedback to learn from each other, he often does 杏吧原版減ublic grading,杏吧原版 using humor and games to help students feel comfortable while evaluating themselves. He encourages self-reflection and hopes to go beyond the course content to promote social and emotional learning.

杏吧原版淲hat we杏吧原版檙e doing is creating self-reflective practitioners,杏吧原版 he explained. 杏吧原版淭he goal is to get students to pay attention to themselves, to look at what they are learning and why.杏吧原版

Image of virtual discsussion slide about student feedback.
Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Ph.D., discusses how she has used her students杏吧原版 feedback to shape her courses this semester.

Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Ph.D., has found her students杏吧原版 feedback to be especially crucial as she has taught hybrid classes this semester. A mechanical engineering professor, she conducted an exercise with students in multiple sections of a course in which they downloaded an educational app to their phones. She then followed up with them to learn what they thought of the approach, using their feedback to continue to shape the course.

杏吧原版淛ust because something works for me and I figure it out doesn杏吧原版檛 mean it is working for the students,杏吧原版 she said. 杏吧原版淔eedback is key, and I make it a priority to incorporate having students reflect on what is working for them.杏吧原版