6 Effective Ways To Gather Feedback for Online Classes

Divyansh Bordia -

Imagine you are buying a new dress, you try it on, look at yourself in the mirror, take suggestions from friends and then proceed to buy the dress based on the feedback that you have gathered. It is of paramount importance to apply the same process in the classroom as well. Online classes are an excellent medium to teach children of all age groups. They make it possible to study a variety of subjects in detail using several creative learning modules. However, amidst the gap created between the teacher and the student in online education, it is prime to ensure that there is no gap in understanding. Therefore, taking feedback for online classes becomes paramount to ensure effective learning.

Feedback can help you improve your course by understanding the expectations of the students and your performance better. By taking timely feedback, you can make the program advantageous for current learners and future learners. Read with us to know the multiple ways to gather feedback for online classes to add value to your courses.

6 Helpful Ways to Gather Feedback for Online Classes

There should be continuous communication between the teacher and the student to strengthen their relationship and make the most of the educational program. Do not wait for your course to end before asking for feedback. Students tend to skip the feedback section at the end because it no longer impacts them. They might quickly rush through it at the end of the course, reducing its relevance. Further, emphasize constructive criticism in your feedback for online classes so that people can voice their opinions. You must also make sure to gain the student's trust by implementing their suggestions.

Here are the 6 best student feedback for online classes example:

  1. Introduce pre-course questionnaires: It is essential to know the learner's expectations from a course before taking it. With a better sense of the expectations, you can ensure better delivery. The pre-course survey can have questions, such as:
  • What are their expectations from the course?
  • What prior learning experience do they have in the field?
  • Where do they plan to implement the knowledge?
  • What fascinates them the most about the course content?

You can also add a query section in the form to solve any issue arising from the course. After this feedback, connect with students individually to clear out any queries. This form will help you know your students better, which is prime for productive teaching.

2. Middle of the course feedback: There should be a continuous evaluation to assess whether the students understand the concepts or not. Along with this, you can release a feedback form asking students about their experience so far. This feedback survey can have questions, such as:

  • What was the most challenging topic you learned?
  • What was the most helpful learning by far?
  • Which lesson was the most and least fascinating?
  • Which topic would you like to study in-depth?

You can also allow the students to fill up anonymous feedback forms to ensure maximum transparency and honesty.

3. One-on-one live sessions: If the number of students makes it viable, the instructor should mention a schedule of when they can meet in person. You can do this once a week or once in two weeks to provide students with personal feedback. Use this time to clarify any queries that students have and understand their needs better. Both the instructor and the student can provide constructive feedback in these live sessions.

4. End of the course feedback: The best way to gather feedback for online classes is the post-course feedback form. After undergoing the entire course, students can pinpoint the problems and highlight the positive parts. This form must have questions, such as:

  • Do you find the concepts helpful?
  • Can you practically apply the concepts learned in the course?
  • Which learning module has helped you the best and how?
  • What could have been done by the instructor to make the classes better?

All these questions, when answered thoroughly, will provide an insight into the learner’s psyche and help enhance the course for future learners.

5. Post-course individual feedback: Besides the feedback form, you can also sit with your students to understand their learning experiences. You can do it in person, over a phone call, or a video call. It is best to pick diverse people for this exercise, including students from different backgrounds, varied intellectual capabilities, working at different positions, and across age groups.

6. End of the course emails: Another excellent way to get the required feedback is to mail all your learners and ask about their experience. You can personalize these emails to increase the chances of them being opened and responded to. Send these emails after a month of the course to understand if students can implement the knowledge. It is crucial to comprehend whether the knowledge provided in the program is helpful for the students later or if it dies out after some time. The answers related to the applicability will add a great deal to the instructor’s methods and modules.

These were some valuable ways to gather feedback for online classes that can help in improving the course. However, you must note that after getting the feedback, it is essential to implement it in the modules to gain the trust of the learners. It will help you in retaining the existing students and capturing new ones by word of mouth publicity.

The best way of getting good feedback is to determine which area of the course you desire to analyze. You must lay down your objectives and then formulate the questionnaires to receive the required information with no unnecessary time and effort. After receiving the desired feedback answers, you can work on different areas individually to add to the overall learning experience. Take up these changes in the new feedback round with new joiners. It will help you analyze the usability and effect of the changes you have made.

Teachers must keep in mind that getting feedback and implementing it is the key to reaching the students and enriching their course. At the end of the program, the student's satisfaction determines the success of the online course.  

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