Group Instructional Feedback Technique (GIFT) is a mid-semester, anonymous student checkin offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning. If you've ever wondered whether your course materials, assignments, or class structure are really working for your students, a GIFT session might help you answer those questions. GIFTs are designed to help you make mid-course adjustments, improve communication with your students, increase student engagement, and build a positive culture of reciprocal feedback.
GIFTs are wonderful for faculty who are:
- Trying something new and wondering whether it is working.
- Struggling with a particularly quiet or unengaged group of students.
- Hoping to gather evidence on their successful teaching strategies.
- Instructors new to the university or to teaching in general.
- Experienced instructors who are worried their classes are getting stale and who are looking for student suggestions on how to improve.
- Instructors who just like to touch base with their students and get feedback.
GIFTs are totally confidential and only offered at the instructor's request. They are performed by the Senior Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning around midterm, and they consist of three parts:
- Initial meeting/Request: A faculty member requests a GIFT though our GIFT request form. Once the GIFT is requested, the faculty member works with the Center for Teaching and Learning to schedule an appropriate time for the visit, reviews the GIFT process, and shares any concerns they have about the course.
- GIFT Offering: the GIFT moderator shows up to class on the selected day and meets with students alone for approximately 30 minutes. During that time, the moderator puts the students into groups and asks them four questions:
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- What about this course helps you learn the material for the subject matter?
- What about this course does NOT help you learn the material for the subject matter?
- What could YOU (students) do to improve your own learning?
- What suggestions do you have for future versions of this course?
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- GIFT Consensus: After the student groups answer the questions, the moderator leads a whole class discussion where the groups share their answers to the questions, and the class comes to a consensus on their advice to the instructor.
- Instructor Feedback: After the GIFT is complete, the moderator writes a report sharing the student feedback, and shares that report with the instructor. The report is completely confidential, and the instructor can choose to keep it confidential or share the report as part of their annual review materials as a means of demonstrating successful teaching. The instructor is encouraged to discuss the feedback with their students.
GIFTS are typically an extraordinarily positive experience for both students and instructors. Students are often thankful that faculty take the time to ask their opinions, and they are very insightful in their feedback.