Mid-Quarter Surveys: Best Practices and Sample Questions
Introduction
Students can provide valuable feedback on their course experiences. Using a midterm or midquarter survey provides students the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, challenges, and progress so far. These student-level insights can help identify where adjustments can be made to better support students’ learning and wellbeing.
This list of potential midquarter survey items includes over 50 examples, along with sample introductory text. Please choose the items that best align with your course and the specific feedback you seek from your students. Be sure to review the best practices for helpful tips on creating, analyzing, and sharing the results with your students.
Best Practices
Creating midterm surveys
- Communicate to students about why their participation matters – it helps them and you.
- Let students know how you plan to use the data
- Use a mix of closed and open questions
- Keep it short – 10 questions or less
- Focus on what is important and actionable
Maximizing response rates
- Let students know ahead of time you plan to use a midterm survey
- Set aside time in class to complete the midterm survey (10-15 minutes)
- Use technologies easily accessible to students
- Consider offering incentives for completion
Analyzing midterm surveys
- Consider both positive and negative feedback
- Look for patterns, not just outliers
- Explore quantitative data
- Read qualitative data
- Bring the data together
Sharing results with students
- Provide a summary of the feedback within one week
- Review what you learned
- Acknowledge limitations – you can’t always make all the changes students request
- Inform them of changes to be made and follow through
Resources
- Teaching guide: Leveraging mid-quarter student feedback to improve your teaching
- Assessment guide: Using SET surveys to inform teaching practice
- How to create a quiz in Bruin Learn
- How to create a quiz using iClicker
- How to create google form
- Ask for help: email us at assessment@teaching.ucla.edu for more support
Tell us how it went
Email us and let us know how you have used these resources, ways you have enhanced the questions to better fit your class, and ways we can incorporate new items.
Midquarter Survey Items
Sample Introductory Text
Your voice matters! Please complete this brief survey designed to gather your feedback about activities, resources, and technology being used in this class. Your honest and thoughtful input is helpful in making adjustments that can improve your learning experience while you’re still enrolled. Thank you.
Student Participation
- Why did you enroll in this course? [select all that apply]
a. Required course for my major
b. Elective course for my major
c. Interest in or curiosity about the topic
d. No other course options available this term
e. Other: [please specify] - Estimate how much of the assigned reading for this course have you completed?
a. 100%
b. 80%
c. 60%
d. 40%
e. 20%
f. none - FOR IN-PERSON OR HYBRID/FLIPPED COURSES: How much of the course have you attended live (either in-person or synchronously) so far this quarter?
a. 100%
b. 80%
c. 60%
d. 40%
e. 20%
f. none - FOR FULLY ASYNCHRONOUS CLASSES ONLY: How much of the course content have you engaged with (e.g. watched lectures, participated in discussions, etc.) so far this quarter?
a. 100%
b. 80%
c. 60%
d. 40%
e. 20%
f. none - On average, do you feel you need to complete the reading assignments before class to be well prepared each week?
a. Yes, I need to read all of the assignments completely and thoroughly in order to feel prepared for class.
b. If I skim through the reading briefly or just read some of the assigned reading, I feel prepared for class.
c. I can get by without doing any of the assigned reading for the class. - Approximately how many hours per week, outside of regular class meetings (lecture plus lab/discussion section), do you spend on this class?
a. Less than 2 hours
b. 2-3 hours
c. 3-4 hours
d. 4-6 hours
e. 6 or more hours
Course components
- How much, if at all, do the following activities help your learning? [Not at all, A small amount, A moderate amount, A large amount, A great deal, N/A]
a. Attending in-person lectures/seminars
b. Watching pre-recorded lecture/seminar presentations
c. Watching recorded Bruincast lectures/seminars
d. Having access to lecture slides
e. Class handouts/materials
f. Engaging in active learning during class (e.g., peer instruction using clickers or other polling tools, working on shared documents, etc.)
g. Engaging in discussion or lab section activities
h. Engaging in rehearsals, performances, or studio work
i. Collaborating with peers outside of class on group projects, performances, or exhibitions
j. Working on assigned homework, problem sets, or creative projects
k. Creating and revising drafts or prototypes of your work (e.g., papers, paintings, machines, etc.)
l. Attending instructor office hours (in-person or remotely)
m. Attending TA office hours (in-person or remotely)
n. Course-based resources (e.g., readings, textbook, etc.)
o. Content-related materials you found on your own (e.g., YouTube videos, online tutorials, etc.) - How much, if at all, do the following components of the course website (Bruin Learn) help your learning? [Not at all, A small amount, A moderate amount, A large amount, A great deal, N/A- I didn’t use these, N/A-These were not available]
a. Course organization
b. Modules
c. Quizzes
d. Recorded lectures/seminars
e. Other recorded materials (e.g., YouTube videos, performances, etc.)
f. Communication tools (e.g., forums, announcements, messaging, etc.)
g. External tools (e.g., Kaltura, Peerceptiv, Perusall, etc.) - Please indicate your agreement with the following statements [Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree, N/A]
a. The assignments have enabled me to demonstrate my learning.
b. The exams have enabled me to demonstrate my learning.
c. The exams are conducted in a way that encourages academic integrity.
d. The exams reflect course readings, lectures, and class activities.
e. I have been given clear instructions (e.g., rubrics, examples, grading criteria, etc.) that help me succeed on exams and assignments.
f. I receive sufficient and useful feedback from the instructor on class assignments.
g. I receive sufficient and useful feedback from the TA on class assignments.
h. There are sufficient opportunities to practice what I am learning.
i. I have the prior knowledge necessary to be successful in this course.
j. In this course I am encouraged to connect new content to things I already understand.
k. This course incorporates real-life applications and examples and/or current research in the field.
l. This course includes examples and activities tha
Learning environment
- Please indicate your agreement with the following statements [Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree, N/A]
a. The learning environment (remote or in-person) is supportive and accessible for my learning.
b. I feel comfortable participating in this class.
c. I feel comfortable participating in our discussion/lab section.
d. I felt comfortable asking my instructor questions.
e. I felt comfortable asking my TA questions.
f. I feel welcome in this class.
g. I feel welcome in our discussion/lab section.
h. I feel welcome attending instructor office hours.
i. I feel welcome attending the TAs office hours.
j. I feel this course offers sufficient flexibility in supporting my learning.
k. I feel wellbeing is promoted in this course.
Student Challenges
- To what extent, if any, are you encountering challenges with any of the following? [Not at all, A small amount, A moderate amount, A large amount, A great deal, N/A]
a. Keeping pace or staying on top of the schedule of this course.
b. Staying motivated to complete the work for this course
c. Inadequate study space
d. Inadequate access to necessary technology
e. Distractions in my environment
f. Remaining focused on academics when I’m concerned about other things
g. Effectively preparing for exams
Open-ended items (Select 1-3 items)
- What has enhanced your learning in this course? Please give specific examples.
- What are a couple of important things you have learned so far in this class?
- What has hindered your learning in this course? Please give specific examples.
- Is there anything that you think might improve your learning in the class? Please give specific examples.
- Is there anything I/the instructional team can do to improve your learning? Please give specific examples.
- Please share any insights about how you prepare for class assessments like exams and quizzes. Do you study with peers? Take notes on the assigned readings? Watch videos on the topics? What works best for you? Do you have any tips or strategies that might be helpful for other students who may be struggling in the course?
- Do you have any additional comments or constructive feedback you would like to provide to help improve the learning experience for yourself and your peers this quarter?
TA Specific Items
Sample Introductory Text
Your voice matters! Please complete this brief survey designed to gather your feedback about your discussion/lab section only. Your honest and thoughtful input will be incredibly helpful in making adjustments that can improve your learning experience while you’re still enrolled. Thank you.
TA Items
- Please indicate your agreement with the following statements [Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree, N/A]
a. I feel welcome in our discussion/lab section.
b. I feel comfortable participating in our discussion/lab section.
c. I feel welcome attending the TA’s office hours.
d. I feel comfortable asking my TA questions.
e. The discussion/lab section was helpful in reinforcing course material.
f. The discussion/lab section helped me prepare for exams or assignments.
g. I feel wellbeing is promoted in this discussion/lab section. - Open-ended questions (pick 1-2)
a. What has enhanced your learning in this discussion/lab? Please give specific examples.
b. What has hindered your learning in this discussion/lab? Please give specific examples.
c. Is there anything that you or the TA might do to improve your learning in your lab/discussion section? Please give specific examples.