University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center

Parents' Program Provides Special Support For Teaching Analysis Polls
Bill McAllister, Faculty Consultant, TRC and Department of History

We are pleased to announce that the Parents Program has awarded the Teaching Resource Center a grant that expands our ability to offer Teaching Analysis Polls during the 1997-98 academic year. The Parents Program, an organization comprised of non-alumni parents of current U.Va. students, supports important services and projects at the University.

Any faculty member or teaching assistant can request a Teaching Analysis Poll (TAP). The poll is conducted by a trained member of the Teaching Resource Center staff. Instructors absent themselves during the TAP to promote frank feedback from their students. The TRC staff member conducting the poll asks the students three questions: "What most helps you learn in this course? What most impedes your learning? What suggestions for improvements can you make?" The TRC staff member clarifies ambiguities and confirms that opinions represent those of the majority. S/he relates the results to the instructor soon thereafter, and often in the process they confer about course improvements. The instructor then responds directly to the students. For a more detailed description of the TAP process please visit the TAP web page.

Teaching Analysis Polls offer many benefits. Most directly, students who participate in a TAP contribute to a more effective learning environment, and instructors institute measures to improve their pedagogy. Unlike end-of-semester evaluations, a TAP results in mid-course enhancements of direct benefit to both students and instructors. Students usually respond positively to a teacher who listens to their concerns and takes corrective measures. Moreover, after participating in a TAP, students often consider more carefully what they must do in order to prepare properly for class. An enhanced classroom dynamic commonly results from the TAP; students learn more and instructors teach better.

Teaching Analysis Polls engender a less direct, but perhaps more enduring legacy as well. Professors and graduate students who participate in a TAP invariably report that the improvements they institute carry over into other courses and subsequent years. Indeed, many instructors request multiple TAPs over the course of several semesters in order to hone their pedagogical skills. Here's a sampling of comments from faculty and TAs who have utilized the Teaching Analysis Poll:

The TAPs resulted in improved instructor/student learning experiences. I have made some alterations based on student feedback.
The TAP was very enlightening in many respects. I received some instructive feedback about the course; far better than the information I get from the end-of-semester course evaluations.
I garnered useful information that I suspect could not have been derived in any other way. I expect its beneficial effects will be noticeable and long-lasting.
The TAP was helpful in that it brought up a few easily solvable issues and it provoked some reflective class discussion in the next session. I do intend to continue to use this and other TRC resources.
I felt like my course was going well, and it was nice to have this affirmed by the TAP. The suggestions and constructive criticisms from the students were good to have, and, in my opinion, were accurate. As a result, I have endeavored to make some improvements.
I found it quite useful. It convinced me to provide an outline in this particular course. It also provided indications that they preferred clear organization of topics more than they were bored with repetition. It made more real for me the problems of note-taking. Finally, it helped by eliminating the outrageous comments that are few in number but often disproportionately affect my reaction to evaluations.
It provided useful feedback about a class-in-progress, which I used in particular to restructure certain aspects of the course.
I was struck by how the atmosphere changed after the TAP. Not only did I receive helpful hints as to how to improve my performance as a teacher, but the poll itself somehow helped the students realize that they needed to pull their own weight as well. They seemed better prepared, and had a heightened sense of their personal responsibility as active agents in their own learning.
Everything is confidential (even the fact that the TAP occurred); nothing is binding; there is no further follow up unless the instructor requests it. The specialist I was paired with was exceptionally skilled, understanding, professional, and very helpful. My understanding of what works well is now greatly clarified. I would have never guessed what the students perceived as shortcomings. Their ideas for change were honest efforts and I will implement those that I can. I found the entire process a "safe" and positive learning experience. I recommend it.

To arrange a TAP for your class, contact the TRC at 982-2815 or trc-uva@virginia.edu.