Include Beginning of the Course and Mid-semester Surveys

Course Design Tools Help

Include Beginning of the Course and Mid-Semester Surveys

One way to learn more about your students and their experience in your course is to conduct surveys at the beginning and mid-semester points. A survey at the beginning of the course will allow you to get a better understanding of the challenges students may face in a remote instruction course, as well as provides an opportunity to learn more about each student on an individual basis. A mid-semester survey provides an opportunity to find out what’s working and what’s not in your course, and then make adjustments where needed. It allows students to have a voice in the course and empower them to take an active role.

In the Core Template

The template includes two surveys that you can use in your course titled Welcome to the Class and Mid-Semester Check-in. Both surveys are already populated with questions relevant to the beginning and mid-point of the semester.

The Welcome to the Class survey includes questions to help you get to know your students and understand any specific challenges they may face with remote instruction. It is a Graded Survey, which allows for you to see individual student responses via the Gradebook

The Mid-Semester Check-in survey includes questions about how students are experiencing the course so you can surface any areas you may want to revise in the second half of the semester. It is an Ungraded Survey, which allows for students to respond anonymously.

How to Use the Surveys

Both surveys can be accessed by going to Quizzes in the left navigation. Within the Quizzes section, you will see the surveys listed under Surveys. Note that the surveys are unpublished in the template, which means students will not automatically see them when the course starts.

Both surveys are located in the Quizzes section of the template.

If you would like to use the provided surveys, begin by selecting the survey. Review the already provided questions by going to the Questions tab. Follow the instructions in the provided Canvas Guides linked below for how to edit questions in a quiz or survey if you would like to edit or remove a question. 

When you have completed editing the survey, select Save & Publish to make it visible to students. Note that because Welcome to the Class is a Graded Survey students will receive 1 point when they complete it. It is recommended to attach a point value to the survey as a way to encourage students to complete it and allow for easy tracking of completion.

Once you have published the survey, you will need to let students know it is available. If you use the Welcome to the Class survey, consider adding it to the Getting Started menu on the homepage. If you use the Mid-Semester Check-in survey, consider adding it to one of the weekly landing pages for a relevant week. In both cases, also include the survey in the relevant modular pathway in Modules. It is also useful to share the survey and remind students to complete it via an Announcement

Resources

Canvas Guide

Note that surveys and quizzes are edited the same way, which is why resources on quizzes are provided below.

DLS Core Template Getting Started

Center for Teaching and Learning