Another problem with the 'feedback form'

For a teacher or lecturer, praise is not just gratifying but also reassuring. Good, or even adequate, feedback gives the message: “I don’t need to change”. As I mentioned earlier, traditional feedback forms are almost useless. Around 99% of their value comes from the small part devoted to free-text, and from those few who write useful comments.

The second problem with feedback lies deeper, and exists because of a misconception about the role of a lecturer.  A lecturer is there to teach, to challenge, to stimulate thought, and to alter practice. They are not there to entertain.  If you want entertainment then go to the movies.  Lecturers try to impart wisdom that effects long-lasting change.

And yet we judge lectures immediately afterwards. The questions span two domains.  First: did we enjoy it?  What did we think of the audio-visual aids?  Was the presentation clear?  These address the ‘entertainment’ aspects of a lecture.

Second: how useful did we think the lecture was? How much new knowledge did we acquire?  These address the ‘outcome’ of a presentation.  We are asked this directly following a lecture, when it is impossible to make a realistic judgment about its usefulness.

I have attended glamorous, entertaining lectures, which I thought were brilliant and insightful.  I’ve sat through less scintillating talks which I didn’t rate as highly.  But I frequently find that a week, a month, perhaps a year later, it is the second type that have stuck in my mind and changed my practice.

As a lecturer I would prefer if people were to enjoy my talks. But I would be happier still if attendees were stimulated to think, to change, and that there was a long-term benefit for them.

Our current assessment of lecturers is a comedy. We request listener feedback on all the wrong things, and none of the right ones.  Our aim should be right feedback, at the right time.  A month down the line we should be asking, “did that lecture help you? Has it been useful?”. That is the only metric that matters.  But of course that’s difficult and time-consuming. Collecting reams of meaningless data from feedback forms is much, much easier. And I suspect that’s what we’ll stick with.