Co-creating feedback dialogue tools through course evaluations

Abstract

This paper discusses a gap that lies between developing student-staff feedback literacy and engaging students in their learning community, bridged through a student-staff partnership. Four students and a staff member co-led a project to address how staff and students engage with student evaluations. While it is not typical to associate course evaluations with feedback, they provide an opportunity to reverse the roles of ‘teacher’ and ‘student’ in a feedback process. The results of this project illustrate a clear breakdown of the feedback process and although they were not surprising, they do indicate a need for a change in attitude and behaviours towards student evaluations.  The results suggest that incorporating an informal and conversational approach to course evaluations can create a more inclusive learning environment for students and staff and exemplify an effective feedback process.