Interpreting of open-ended questions

Open-ended questions in the questionnaire enable the lecturer to get more detailed information about the students’ learning experience and consider it while developing the course. When interpreting the responses, it should be remembered that each learner points out the aspects that the learner expected from the course or that were important to the learner. As the prior knowledge, study skills and expectations of the learners are different, it is natural that the comments may be contradictory (e.g., the assignments were suitable for some students and not suitable for others) [32].

This course feedback questionnaire includes five open-ended questions or options for commenting. In case of a more serious problem, the learners may repeat their answers under various questions. The learners’ answers may be divided into three groups. First, comments, remarks and observations that refer to a possible problem (e.g., students are not prepared for the seminar/practical, because the lecture took place some time ago, or the assessment seems unfair, because assessment criteria were not expressed in writing). Secondly, remarks, comments and observations caused by insufficient explanations (e.g., why we are studying, dealing with this part or topic; why do we use this particular method). Thirdly, comments and observations that are not under the lecturer’s control (e.g., sequence of courses; time of a lecture, seminar or practical). Therefore, when reading the learners’ comments, it is recommended that you think what you as the course lecturer could change or improve so that learners could learn better, and focus on these comments when developing the course.

In the following, recommendations are given by each open-ended question in the course feedback questionnaire.

What enhances your learning in this course?

Learners respond to this question immediately after rating the statements for teaching, and therefore the responses may be driven by the statements. In addition, the responses help to understand what in the learners’ opinion already enhances their learning. The answers to this question help evaluate the efficiency of changes that have been made (e.g., if previously students gave feedback that the structure of the course was problematic, whereafter you made a change, and now you can see what the learners have written, what they think about the structure of the course). 

The testing of the questionnaire showed that students’ comments in the teaching part concerned or were related to study materials (e.g., a good textbook, lecture notes), activities or characteristics of the lecturer (e.g., helpful, ready for discussion), assignments (e.g., well-phrased, practical, engaging) and discussions (e.g., possibility to discuss, depth of discussions). In their answers, students also described issues relating to their own activities (e.g., personal efforts, hard work, motivation and interest, etc.).

What would you do differently in the teaching of this course?

Learners answer this question immediately after rating the statements for teaching, and their answers suggest what in their opinion should be changed in the teaching of the course so that it would better support their learning.

The testing of the questionnaire revealed that students’ comments dealt with the structure of the course (e.g., seminar/practical was difficult for the learner due to the lack of sufficient knowledge, there were too few seminars/practicals or assignments to apply or continuously practice what had been learnt), assignments (e.g., the learner did not understand why they had to do certain assignments, or the assignment was poorly worded, etc.), the aim/focus of the course or intellectual challenge (e.g., the course seemed too simple, too many subjects to delve into, etc.), study materials (e.g., seemed outdated or there were too few of them, lack of structure, etc.), variety in teaching-learning activities (e.g., one teaching style was used or one type of assignments), and the relevance of teaching methods (e.g., the style of teaching or the structure of the course did not enable to achieve learning outcomes; teaching and assessment focused heavily on one learning outcome, etc.).

Other opinions and comments about the course

After completing the learning part of the course feedback questionnaire, the students can additionally express their opinion on the course or learning. The testing of the questionnaire revealed that here, among other things, the learners also gave a general evaluation of the course (e.g., liked the course, the course was varied, or the course was difficult, part of it was confusing) or the teacher (e.g., the teacher explained it very well or kept students uninformed). Here they also pointed out what they particularly liked about the course or what needs improving, i.e. elaborated or repeated what was already said in the answers to previous open-ended questions.

Recommendations for learning for future learners

At the end of the questionnaire, the respondent can give recommendations to future learners. During the testing of the questionnaire, it appeared that here, in addition to giving recommendations, the learners also described and evaluated the course – therefore, here the lecturer can get additional information about how the learners understood the course and the teaching (e.g., the course seemed simple, or something in the teaching was not supportive of learning, etc.).

In conclusion

Analysing and interpreting of feedback may prove an interesting yet time-consuming task. The received feedback may additionally be contradictory because learners are different. Therefore, when you interpret course feedback, it is recommended that you consult and discuss it with colleagues and/or academic developers.