{"id":5526,"date":"2016-04-26T08:40:15","date_gmt":"2016-04-26T08:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/?p=5526"},"modified":"2016-04-27T07:23:21","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27T07:23:21","slug":"feeding-lessons-with-students-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/2016\/04\/26\/feeding-lessons-with-students-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeding Lessons with Students\u2019 Feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Angelos Bollas<\/em><\/p>\n

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Image Source: http:\/\/www.thebluediamondgallery.com\/highlighted\/f\/feedback.html<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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In the teaching days prior to receiving professional training, not only did I not ask my students for their feedback in regards to my teaching but also did not even think that it could make my lessons better in any way. Thinking back, I can also confess that this did not happen consciously. In other words, I was not uninterested in what they had to say about our lessons; I just didn\u2019t know any better. I am sure there are many teachers out there who are so overwhelmed by the things they have to do in a lesson that they \u2018forget\u2019 to ask whether the learners actually learn, enjoy, or want something different from the lesson and\/or the teacher.<\/p>\n

In this post, I would like to share my experience of making students\u2019 reflection an integral part of the lessons I taught last year at a pre-sessional course offered by a UK institution of higher education to international students who applied for Masters or Doctorate studies. The course, lasting 10 weeks over the summer, focused on the development and honing of students\u2019 academic skills so that they would be able to cope with the demands of their postgraduate course after completing it.<\/p>\n

It was their cultural and educational background that made me realize in the beginning of the course that there was a real need for me to see whether my teaching had any effect. By that time, I had experience teaching students from all over Europe and North America but I had never taught students from China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Thanks to my previous training, I was aware of the relevant literature that described learners\u2019 academic strengths and weaknesses (in relation to learning English, that is) and I did consult different sources, but I was still not sure that this would be enough. So, the first thing that I introduced was an online learning diary.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Online Learning Diary<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Image Source: https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hippie\/2475835909<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I set up a wiki space using PBworks (click here<\/a> for more information) and had the students create their own private pages. Every Friday they were asked to provide short answers for the following questions:<\/p>\n