Mid-Semester Student Feedback

As a way to help instructors capture student feedback mid-semester, CATE is piloting a midterm student survey process based on the Critical Teaching Behaviors Framework.

Instructors provide us with course details in order to arrange a date/time for a member of the CATE team to visit the classroom and facilitate a 10-15 minute student survey. We analyze both the quantitative and qualitative feedback from students, and discuss the results with the instructor in a 30-minute debrief.

 

If you are interested in receiving mid-semester feedback for our Summer 2025 Pilot, please complete the interest form below and a CATE team member will be in touch with you shortly. We look forward to connecting with you and your students!

The Value of Mid-Semester Student Feedback

Research across higher education consistently finds that mid-course feedback can produce meaningful, timely improvements in teaching performance, student motivation, student engagement, and end-of-course evaluations. Not only can the feedback prompt faculty to adjust practices mid-semester (Rohl, et al., 2025), but students also report greater motivation and engagement (Lewis, 2001; Hurney, et al., 2021). Meta-analyses show statistically significant improvements in both student attitudes and learning behaviors. Furthermore, instructors who act on the feedback tend to earn modest but consistent gains on end-of-course evaluations compared to instructors who don’t (Sozer, et al., 2019; Knol, et al., 2013).

 

Critical Teaching Behaviors Midterm Feedback Instrument (CTB-MFI)

The CTB framework identifies six (6) categories of effective teaching behaviors: align, include, engage, assess, integrate technology, and reflect, that have been shown by research to improve student learning. The CTB-MFI was selected/adapted for CATE’s Mid-Semester Student Feedback Service, precisely because the survey asks students to identify practices that not only have a demonstrated impact on student learning, but that are readily observable by students. In addition, a recent study showed the CTB-MFI tool to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure effective teaching. For more about the mid-semester survey, see a preview of the survey questions here.

 

Mid-Semester Student Feedback Process

  1. Instructors enroll and provide course information.
  2. CATE schedules a 10-15 minute visit to the classroom near the mid-semester point.
  3. CATE visits the classroom to deploy the survey.
  4. CATE analyzes the quantitative and qualitative results and produces a report for the instructor.
  5. CATE debriefs with the instructor to discuss results and next steps.
  6. The instructor discusses the results with students.

Pilot faculty needed

Eight (8) instructors will be selected for the pilot, and all remaining interested instructors will be prioritized for participation in an extended pilot during Fall 2025. We anticipate that instructors will need to dedicate at least one hour to their participation in the pilot. Surveys will be conducted during the week of July 7-11, 2025.

Questions?

Contact Dr. Lori Mumpower for more information about this process.