Reflection on staff and student feedback

 

I was pleased to receive positive feedback from my colleagues and students. I would like to repeat this exercise in 2016, as I will have been teaching for longer within the department and working more intensely with a range of staff, so should receive more specific feedback. It was good to hear from the students that they found the course enjoyable and that some of the qualities I hoped to demonstrate shone through - e.g. supportive, practical, engagement. I am aware that these feedback exercises carry a high level of response bias, as the students who most enjoyed it were more likely to respond. I would have liked to hear from a higher response rate but colleagues have informed me that this (30%) is fairly typical. I know from colleagues that 360 evaluations are not always taken seriously either, as they are often conducted immediately prior to a colleague applying for a salary review. However, the most positive comments came from my line manager and head of school, and so these are key people for me to receive feedback from.

 

I had two pieces of feedback which I reflected on more than others: 

 

Simon is very willing to share his ideas and opinions in a constructive manner; however I do get the impression sometimes that he may not appreciate efforts that have taken place previous to his involvement to ensure that there is flow between courses in the degree programme. It would be great if he could acknowledge that such efforts have been made. - Anon OISA Staff member

 

The staff member who made this comment has offered this form of indirect feedback before during the year - once via my line manager, and again here. I would prefer this kind of feedback to come to me directly, as this helps to maintain trust between colleagues. While my managers and other staff have responded well to my input, as I bring a new fresh set of eyes to the same issues - other staff (one in particular) has felt quite threatened by my arrival. He has been in the same role for a long period of time, and teaches in a similar subject area. Putting this to one side, I have taken the comment on board. I can see that I needed to spend more time when I first arrived observing the change process within the department and the culture surrounding this. I could have acknowledged the work done previously on a course I was teaching on, and I will be more mindful of the way my approach impacts on different people. When I discussed this with my managers, they acknowledged that change can be slow within our department, but that my efforts are still appreciated in this respect. 

 

It's great that Simon is seeking colleague feedback but I'm unsure as to whether he actually wants to be here at OP. On several occasions he has mentioned about changing careers and heading in a different direction so I'm not really sure where he's heading. - Anon OISA Staff member

 

Regarding this comment, I was more negative. I remember focusing on it for a long time, and allowing it to overshadow the other feedback I had received. It bugged me and still does that someone would write this on a document which my HOS/LM would read. This was based on a confidential (at least thats what I assumed) conversation with a colleague who seemed genuinely interested in my plans. This was at a point when I was on a fixed-term part-time contract, which I had begun only 6 months after I had arrived from my travels. Reflecting on this, I can see that in my desire to be myself, I can be too honest with my thoughts and that I need to be less naive and more careful with who I trust.

 

Its a shame my reflections focused on these 'negative' comments, but its a good lessons to remember when I am giving students feedback.