Surveys
Purpose: Knowing who your students are at the beginning of the semester is very helpful in teaching. It allows you to build rapport between the teaching staff and students, lets your students know that you care about them as individuals and that you value their experiences as adults, and lets you know if you should make adjustments to your course. It can be particularly important for online courses with adult students since you can ask what time zone they are in, when they are available, etc. A survey is a way to privately gather information from your students as opposed to students sharing information with each other on a discussion board or during class. It’s fine to use both methods.
Steps for Implementation
1. Use the Canvas Quiz Tool to Create an Ungraded Survey
Click Quizzes in the left panel of your Canvas site
Click the “+Quiz” button in the upper right of the screen
Type a title for the Survey in the “Quiz Title” box
Type a brief description in the “Quiz Instructions” box
To right of the “Quiz Type” box, choose ungraded survey from the drop down list
Add questions by clicking on “Questions” above the Quiz Title
2. Use Canvas Announcements to Inform Students to Respond to Survey
- You can let students answer before the semester begins, but can’t penalize them if they don’t
Questions to Ask
1. For All Types of Courses
Are you taking this course as an undergraduate, graduate, or non-credit student?
Why are you taking this course?
What do you want to gain from this course?
What is your educational background?
Do you have experience working in this field? Please describe.
Where are you located/what time zone are you in?
Do you prefer to work as part of a group or alone?
Is there anything else you’d like to share with me?
2. For Courses with Asynchronous Students
Do you plan to participate mostly synchronously, mostly asynchronously, a mixture of both? (You do not need to commit to always participating in the same mode).
3. For Hyflex Courses
Do you plan to usually come to campus, usually attend synchronously via Zoom, or participate asynchronously? (You do not need to commit to always participating in the same mode).
Instructor Checklist
- I know what information I want to have about my students so I can make final adjustments to my course content, activities and assignments.
- I know what aspects of my students’ educational and professional backgrounds I want to bring into in-class and online discussions.
- I know how I want to incorporate my students’ experiences so they can make meaningful contributions and learn from each other while engaging in in-class and online activities.
- I know when it will be helpful to have advance notice about which students will attend synchronously, on-campus or asynchronously.
- I know which activities will work more smoothly if I know in advance which students will attend synchronously, on-campus or asynchronously.
- I know what criteria I want to use to group students for projects and in-class activities.
Resource
How do I create a survey in my course? (Instructure Community)