Improving Learning Outcomes with Real-Time Surveys

The question I receive the most from April to May is what am I doing for the summer because most people I meet assume the library is closed for summer. I don’t know if it’s because people forget students take classes in the summer, but I also respond that I am still working in the summer. I would argue this summer has been busier than my spring semester. It’s the end of June, and I’ve taught three classes, all asking for different information. I still have two orientations before the end of July that will not overlap much information. 

This is all to say that I’ve introduced a new evaluation method into my classes this summer. Rather than sending out an evaluation post-class or relying on professor feedback, I’m having students fill out a pre & post-class survey during class time. These surveys have increased student engagement and allowed me to gauge what I should focus on and student familiarity with the materials I present. It also lets me know what I should change and how to change class, depending on materials, content, or activity. I use the feedback to improve upon the next class and the next. I have used Menti and Microsoft Forms to create my surveys and will also try Google Forms soon. 

My favorite part of the real-time survey is that I can adjust the length of presentation sections based on what students expect and their comfort levels on various topics. This does not always work as I had hoped, but it’s a process like everything else. While going over the agenda, I also ask students what they expect from me and the class. I do not include the question in the survey. It is something I like to do to give ownership over the class to students. I find this helps their engagement levels. 

I have questions specific to what I am covering for each class but follow a similar flow. Rather than send out a survey link, I ask students to scan a QR code to complete the survey and have them fill out the first two questions before we begin and the last two at the end of class. I give students one to two minutes to fill out the form. The first question is what you would like to focus on most today, and I have students rank agenda topics. I ask this question to adjust my talking points. I do not want to spend 30 minutes going over using databases if it turns out students would instead take more time on citations. From here, I ask how comfortable they are coming into class on our agenda topics. Students have five options, from very uncomfortable to very comfortable. I am again able to gauge my time in an area and how engaged I should make a section. For example, I most recently taught on Citations and included a Zotero setup. I walked students through setting up accounts, finding an article, and joining a group. 

After we have gone over all the materials to cover, I will take about 5 minutes at the end of class to answer any follow-up questions and have students take the second half of the survey. Again, I ask them to rate their comfort level with our agenda topics post class from very uncomfortable to very comfortable, with a range of 5 options. This lets me know how students feel after class and what (if any) additional information I should include on slides I send out after, and it enables the professor to know what students got out of the class. The final question is open-ended and receives the least number of responses, but it lets me know how to improve upon covered topics directly. I ask if there is anything they would like to see or do differently from me in the class. 

When I send the slides to professors after class, I include a summary of the survey results. I do this so that they know and will (hopefully) continue to use library resources and share their experience with colleagues. Sharing the results also lets professors know how valuable a resource the library is and continues to be. As I continue to improve upon the survey, I would love to know more about the types of measures and questions others ask. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, feel free to reach out or comment below!