Good practices of giving feedback

  When giving feedback on courses and teaching, try to be guided by the following good practices.

• If possible, justify your evaluations in the text fields.
  “I liked/didn't like... because...”
• Try to be as specific and constructive as possible when writing comments and justifications. Focus on your observations and facts instead of talking about general and vague things. 
  “The main textbook X used in the autumn semester was written in 1989 and thus contains a lot of outdated information.”
• Highlight the specific circumstances, activities and strategies you think the teaching staff member can change. Longer textual answers are of great use to the teaching staff member if these draw attention to specific aspects that need changing and give recommendations about what in your opinion could be done differently.
  “The lecturer could have uploaded all the slides used in the lectures on the course page. They would have been very helpful in reviewing the material.”
• Feedback involves more than evaluation of the teaching staff member and the course. It is also an evaluation of the student’s own contribution. Be as honest as possible and draw your own conclusions. This will be useful for your future studies.
  “I am satisfied with my time management. I did my homework at the right time, attended most lectures, and went through the material of missed lectures by watching the video lectures.”
• Feedback does not only mean being critical. Feedback is also a possibility to acknowledge and praise the teacher! Highlight what was useful to you and what the teaching staff member should continue doing. 
  “The lecturer encouraged students to engage in discussions and debate on the subject, which was very good in my opinion.”
• Do not let yourself be affected by emotions and try to give an objective evaluation. If possible, give feedback some time after the final evaluation in the course.
• Thank you for being polite when giving feedback! Disparagement and rudeness will not help the teaching staff member or the programme director improve the teaching or content of the course.

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