The purpose of this assessment is to understand what factors help and hinder student learning in Dr. Pargas' ESOL Level 2 community education class.
As an instructor teaching this class for the first time, it is crucial to understand what is working well in the class and what isn't, which will enable continuous improvement. Additionally, conducting the assessment will provide real-time feedback to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning with current students. The feedback will inform the professor on what to act upon to promote learning within the timeframe of the class, as opposed to feedback provided after the class has concluded, and those students do not benefit from the changes.
The MSF practice is implemented at the midpoint of the class. Students receive a worksheet with three central questions that they complete independently. The form is anonymous and only lists the information from the class. The questions are as follows:
- What helps you learn in this class?
- What limits or hinders your learning in this class?
- What suggestions do you have to improve your learning?
After the students complete their worksheet, the facilitator collects it and compiles the feedback, synthesising as much as possible. The facilitator shares the synthesis with the entire class to clarify and provide students with the opportunity to add any further comments for each question. The facilitator then compiles all feedback and shares it with the instructor for action. Feedback is listed in order of recurrence or importance, and with the number of students who reference that comment. The instructor then makes adjustments to the class based on the feedback.
The synthesized results for each question are as follows:
- The instructor (17), students say, is patient and makes them feel comfortable sharing, even if they “mess up.” The exercises in class (writing, speaking, practicing). The videos in the book and the listening clips. Breaking down the exercises, the homework, and reviewing homework together. The rule to only speak English in class.
- Feeling shy and insecure to speak, job makes students late to class or causes absences, partner tries to speak Spanish and interrupts all the time, homework instructions are not clear sometimes.
- More class time, meet 3 or 4 times a week. More opportunities to practice. Read children’s books in class to practice pronunciation and comprehension with instructor support.
This submission details the implementation and results of a Midterm Student Feedback (MSF) assessment conducted in Dr. Pargas' ESOL Level 2 class. The primary purpose of the assessment was to gain real-time insight into the factors that help and hinder student learning, enabling continuous pedagogical improvement within the current class term. The MSF was administered anonymously at the midpoint of the course using a three-question worksheet that focused on learning aids, barriers, and suggestions for improvement. The feedback was synthesized by a facilitator, shared with the class for clarification, and then presented to the instructor for action.
Results indicated that students highly valued the instructor's patience (cited by 17 students), the practical classroom exercises (including writing and speaking), and the use of course videos and listening clips. Major hindering factors included shyness, insecurity about speaking, scheduling conflicts due to jobs, and interruptions from partners attempting to speak Spanish. Students suggested increasing class meeting frequency and having more opportunities to practice, such as reading children's books with instructor support. Based on this feedback, next steps included changing student partners, actively minimizing interruptions, clarifying homework instructions, and communicating the request for increased class time to the program director. This process demonstrates a commitment to using timely student input to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning.