Instructions for Informal Early Feedback (IEF)

1. TAs in the Mentoring Program -- Schedule a 20 minute IEF conference with your mentor. If at all possible, it should be within a day or two after you hand out the IEF forms.

2. Allow for approximately 10 minutes of class time, preferably at the beginning of class.

3. Tell the students the purpose of the IEF questionnaire:

a. All TAs in this department receive feedback at the end of the semester. However, you wish to receive feedback sooner than that, in order to help you assess how you are doing in the classroom now.

b. By receiving helpful feedback from your students early in the semester, you may be able to make changes that will be beneficial to them.

4. Assure the students of anonymity - tell them not to sign their names.

5. Hand out the IEF questionnaires and go over the instructions, telling them to circle the number of the item that best represents their perceptions. If your class is a discussion section, ask the students to rate you, and not the professor. Remind them of the things over which you have control. Ask them to address these only.

6. Encourage them to take time in answering the open-ended questions; some of the best feedback comes from these answers.

7. Thank the students for their help. You can stay in the room as they complete the forms, located so you can't see what they're writing. Have them place the completed forms face down on a nearby desk. When time is up, place the forms in a folder or envelope and begin class.

8. Do not look at the forms until after class.

9. Do a frequency distribution and calculate a mean for each scaled item on your IEF. Also, list and categorize the responses to the open-ended items. Please bring these materials with you to the IEF conference with your mentor.

10. At the next class meeting, after the IEF conference with your mentor, tell the students that you read the forms and thank them for their help. Select one or two areas that you wish to discuss with them. If you're making changes, you can let them know that. If not, you can use the opportunity to remind them of the reasons for your policies, etc. It can also be very helpful for students to hear how their classmates responded to some of the questions, such as the pace or difficulty of the course.