What I Do with Student Feedback

(And What I Don’t)

Teaching is a conversation. And that includes student feedback. This week, I looked at my summer evaluation reports. One student said,

The mind map got a little confusing, and the homework could be more interactive. I felt that the course could be more fun with different assignments.

It wasn’t harsh or negative. It was their experience. In my one-hour courses, I keep the format the same each week to make it easier for students. You read, write, then turn it in. It also reminded me of a moment from last spring. After class, a student almost apologetically said, “I don’t like this book. It was outdated the minute it was printed.” Not in a confrontational way. He was just worried; I could tell in his writing that he didn’t like it. This one was a bit easier to respond to. I let him know he’s entitled to his own opinion, but he does need to read it all. In the end, he wrote thoughtful responses.

That moment stayed with me more than any anonymous comment ever could. When feedback comes face‑to‑face, it’s part of a relationship. It’s not a rating; it’s a conversation. Conversations help me understand not just what students think, but why they think it. This is so much more useful than a number on an evaluation form.  One student’s experience is important, but it’s not the whole story. I pay attention to feedback that repeats, echoes, or aligns with what I’ve already noticed in the classroom. If multiple students say an assignment feels confusing, that’s a signal. One student comment is something I need to pay attention to, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I need to change my syllabus for the next class or next semester. It’s more of something to keep an eye on.

I plan to blog about the mind map next week because I thought it was a successful experiment. I’m not sure how to fix the “more interactive homework.” I ask them to pick a quote and tell me why it’s the most important one of the week. “More fun assignments” is also hard to change. The classes are designed to have students read a book or article, watch a movie, do an assignment, and then talk about it. This was the students’ first class like this, so they probably wanted something more like high school with lots of variety. I can understand where they’re coming from, and I’ll have to think about what could change. Interactive homework? Different assignment types? Those are things I think about when I design courses, especially in intelligence and espionage studies where creativity and analysis matter. I’ve considered assigning movies, but most are on platforms you need to pay to watch, which feels unfair to me. I can revisit it. I’ll reflect on assignment design and whether there’s room to expand or adjust.

Students often experience things differently than you intended; keep that in mind. Class is meant to be engaging and a space to learn; it doesn’t always need to be fun. Especially when books talk about torture and blowing up railroad tracks. If “fun” means more engagement. Great, then I’m listening. But “fun” means entertaining you; that’s not the goal of the class or my job. Feedback can be hard, but you have to remember it’s about their experience, not your feelings. I’m grateful for feedback like this, particularly the student chat. Not because it tells me what to do, but because it reminds me that teaching is a relationship. Students bring their experiences, and I bring mine. Somewhere in the middle, we learn.