What strategies do you have at your school to receive feedback from students? What methods to use to receive feedback from students? Do you use formal and non-formal approaches? How do you handle such feedback and respond to it? Do you use students' comments as part of the review of the curriculum? What strategies do you use?
As Ian pointed out, the students often don't have actual experience in the field so they may not be fully aware of what is actually required out there. However, student input is relevant. It makes the department and the university aware of their wants and needs. This is especially valuable in electives. We don't really want to be teaching the construction of buggy whips (except in a historical context) and not be teaching about the more modern subjects in the industry. Exceptions might be valid in history or literature, but otherwise we really need to stay aware of what is going on. In my field (criminal justice) case law and technology are constantly changing.
While it is a good idea to ask for student feedback on the curriculum, they seldom have the knowledge of the professional practice required in the workplace. Hence their remarks are often limited to unhelpful gripes about "there being too much work".
Nowadays students feedback is also considered in making changes in the curriculum.
As Ian pointed out, the students often don't have actual experience in the field so they may not be fully aware of what is actually required out there. However, student input is relevant. It makes the department and the university aware of their wants and needs. This is especially valuable in electives. We don't really want to be teaching the construction of buggy whips (except in a historical context) and not be teaching about the more modern subjects in the industry. Exceptions might be valid in history or literature, but otherwise we really need to stay aware of what is going on. In my field (criminal justice) case law and technology are constantly changing.
The outcome of students' feedback about the curriculum can be one approach to obtain data for an evaluation study however, from this one, stand-alone set of data no conclusions can be drawn, nor recommedations can be suggested. More data sets are necessary (typically 2, both quantitative and qualitative), so that with 3 sets of data will allow a triangulation of the results and these will increase the validity of the evaluation study. Students' evaluations through a survey (like those professors administer at the end of a course) will be valuable only if matched by more data sets. Keep in mind that evaluation studies differ from empirical studies because they cannot be generalizable. They simply provide a "picture" of the program/s at a specific university with implications for other institutions to: adopt, or adapt some of the findings, but not necessarily.
This is a very relevant question, as it uncovers our understanding of curriculum in pedagogical practice.
It was Scriven (1967), who realizes the importance of feedback on achievement of learning goals, standards during the process of evaluation. He differentiate this evaluation as formative evaluation from the summative evaluation of achiavement in learning. In his interpretation, the aim of this evaluation is to clarify the goals both for the studnets and teachers, for helping the later to complete their curriculum design according to the summative and formative findings. That was clearly an influance of a new paradigm of curriculum theory - the process-based approach of curriculum design.
In this paradigm of curriculum theory, curriculum is a process, and it could be even a non-directive process (like in Rogers's and Niel's convincing pedagogical approaches), which means that it could be built on the spontaneuos inquiry of students. This approach has been completed with the problem based learning or inquiry based approaches in curriculum design (both of them meanly based on the findings of projectpedagogy discourse). This approach is supported by the self-regulative and autonomous learning discourses derive from the pragmatical learning philosophy of Dewey.
In these approaches, feedback from the side of the learners seem crutial for designing a relevant, reliable, and efficient curriculum for the given learners.
There are also several manuals available to learn how to conduct a curriculum evaluation. Among these I would recommend the following:
1. Patton, M.Q. 1990. Qualitative Evaluations and Research Methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2. Popham, J. W. 1993. Educational Evaluation. 3rd Ed. Needham Heights, MA: Prentice Hall.
Students are one of the pillar in the educational communities so their input is always necesary; we need to hear from pur students to guide our instruction and based our curriculum on what students really need. Maybe, they will not have the profesional expertise, but when talking about engaging and meaningful envirornment then their comments become very relevant. I normally use some questionnaires to rate mostly activities and then and triangulate the information using some critical disussion circle.
If one looks at curriculum in the broader sense of syllabus plus how it is delivered, then certainly student feedback is important for the making of changes for the better.
It is necessary in all higher educational institutions for quality and good service
Asking students for feedback can be one of the most effective steps toward improving teaching and ultimately improving curriculum. This students can give us a reasonable sample of how to improve teaching and how their learning is evaluated to make substantive comments.
Even i agree with Lan Keneedy seldom have the knowledge of the professional practice required in the workplace, but from my experience i see that students feedback is very good way to improve teaching which will lead to improve curriculum because when you will search for new methods to develop teaching you will sure find yourself investigating about new topics at the subject this is what usually happens with me .So students feedback work as motivator for curriculum continuous development.
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