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SGIDs
- A vehicle for gathering student feedback
Small
Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGIDs)
The
SGID or midterm evaluation is a process designed to gather information
directly from
students and instructors with the goal of aligning expectations to improve
teaching and learning. The process involves an initial meeting with the
instructor, a classroom interview, which requires 20 to 35 minutes of
class time (depending on class size), a final report and instructor follow-up
with students.
Conducted
at midterm, the classroom interviews involve a peer facilitator interviewing
the students, in the instructor's absence, to identify course strengths
and areas for change. The facilitator then summarizes this information
and meets with the instructor to discuss the
students' perceptions and pedagogical options for reinforcement or change.
Research into the use of class interviews indicates that students appreciate
the opportunity to provide feedback to the instructor before the end of
the semester.
Class
interviews, as one component of a comprehensive program of evaluation,
can be an important and valuable supplement. They provide concrete information
for faculty and TAs to use in deciding what goals they want to set to
improve student learning. Because the class interview gathers information
directly from students for an individual instructor, it can address the
unique challenges that the instructor may be experiencing in a specific
class.
As a component
of departmental or program assessment
The SGID provides
a synthesis of recurring themes from class interviews across different
sections, which are used to identify overall strengths and areas for improvement.
In some instances, peer facilitators conduct class interviews for all
faculty or TAs teaching a course in a department or program and then summarize
the information to indicate general strengths and areas for improvement
in the course. In other cases, the interview process is used with all
students in a program as a way of obtaining curriculum feedback.
* Information came from; Preparing for Peer Observation, a guidebook.
Prepared by The Center for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Texas
at Austin.
Teaching
Perspectives Spring 2002
Teaching
Perspectives / Publications / STU
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