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Center for Teaching, Learning, & Outreach (CTLO)
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Custom Feedback Surveys

Early and Mid-quarter Feedback Surveys

On request, we work with faculty to design and deploy early feedback surveys for courses and sections. We provide summarized results and consult with faculty after surveys are complete. Individual student responses remain anonymous. Survey data and results belong to the faculty for their use in the course; they are not shared with anyone else, unless the faculty member requests or grants permission.

Surveys can be customized to examine aspects of the course most salient to the instructor's goals and interests. Here is a sample survey showing some of the question types that Caltech instructors have found helpful in the past.

Survey templates are also available in both Google Forms and Microsoft Forms, which Caltech instructors and TAs may duplicate and adapt to use in their courses:

  • Google Forms version of mid-quarter feedback survey example (must be logged in with access.caltech.edu Google Workspace credentials, not personal Gmail/Google Drive).
  • Microsoft Forms version of mid-quarter feedback survey example.

For more information, please email us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Caltech faculty experiences with feedback surveys:

The midterm feedback survey "had an effect because the students felt empowered by being heard during the course and not after the end. I think it is the first such midterm survey in the Institute and the hope is this catches on." - Professor of Physics

"[CTLO] took the initiative to design and analyze a survey to get feedback on different aspects of the class so we could adjust to improve the learning environment for the students. [They] had the clever idea to encourage participation by giving 5 extra bonus points on a homework set for completing the survey. This resulted in nearly 100% participation—a truly meaningful readout of the class. Once the surveys were returned, [CTLO] went through each response and constructively synthesized the feedback, keeping a record of which types of comments were made and with which frequency. [They] did this overnight, and did it extremely professionally. This allowed me to take the pulse of the class and adjust certain aspects of the course." - Professor of Biology