Strategies for 'closing the loop' with students

When students participate in an evaluation process their main concerns are whether their opinions mattered, what happens to their responses, whether the lecturer acted on their responses, and if the lecture communicated their responses and the outcomes to the following cohort of students. If we expect students to take the evaluation process seriously then we must take their concerns seriously and close the feedback loop with them by indicating:

  • Which comments/suggestions will be acted upon and how.
  • Which comments/suggestions you would like to act on but are unable to and the reasons why.
  • Which comments/suggestions you will not be acting on and why.
Some examples of how to close the loop with your students are included below.
  • Share formative feedback gathered during the semester on the unit Moodle site
  • Set aside some face to face time with your students as soon as practicable after you gathered the feedback to discuss the feedback with them
  • Ask your students to select a student representative(s), discuss your evaluation outcomes with the representative(s) and then give the student(s) an opportunity during teaching time to report back to the students they represent
  • Include a report to students in the unit outline document
  • Place summaries on notice boards
  • Construct posters and display these where students will see them
  • Include articles in your Faculty newsletter
  • Send an email about your outcomes to students
  • Establish a staff-student liaison committee and report your evaluation outcomes to that committee
  • Discussion at the first class of the semester followed by on-going conversations over the semester


For more information:

Brennan, J. & Williams, R. (2004). Collecting and using student feedback. A guide to good practice. UK Learning and Teaching Support Network. Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/id352
_collecting_and_using_student_feedback_a_guide_to_good_practice.pdf

Hendry, G. (2005). How do we react to student feedback? Synergy, 22, pp. 3-4. Available at: http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/synergy/default.cfm?issue=22

McCormack, C. (2005). Reconceptualising evaluation of teaching: An ethical framework for changing times. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 30(5), pp. 463-476.



|For more information email - Coralie.McCormack@canberra.edu.au|