student feedback and leadership - Office for Learning and Teaching

Student Feedback & Leadership
ECON1010 – Macroeconomics 1
First Semester 2008
The following comments relate to general student feedback and student mark
results following course developments in Semester 1, 2008:
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Most students were very positive about the use of the DVD series, with
many expressing genuine interest in economics. As a result an email was
sent out to students with a list of readings they may enjoy in the future
related to economics.
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The majority of students also continue to enjoy the feedback sessions.
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There has been no significant change in the failure rate for the
course. Certain groups continue to excel while others tend to lag
behind in outcomes.
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A survey was also conducted to determine student reaction to the
feedback sessions and DVD series (264 respondents):
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68% found the feedback sessions to be extremely/very helpful
55% found the DVD series extremely/very helpful in understanding
the role and importance of economics in every-day life. (26% helpful
and 17% little or no help).
First and Second Semester 2008
Since 2005, there has been a progressive increase in the GTS component
of the CES for Macroeconomics, and the GTS has been consistently higher
in Semester 2 (Table 3 and Figure 3). These results may suggest that fewer
enrolments in Semester 2 facilitate an enhanced learning experience for
students, especially in terms of satisfying the level of personalised feedback
and individual attention required.
Furthermore, the increase in GTS since 2005 may suggest that there
has been a considerable improvement in student satisfaction following the
2005 introduction of feedback forums and student question time after lectures.
A student expectations survey was conducted in Semester 2, 2008 and
found that students expect the most effective feedback to come from dialogue
with academic staff, followed closely by feedback classes. Given these expectations,
it is not surprising that an improvement has been seen following the
2005 initiatives. However, a GTS comparison does not necessarily provide
a direct indication of how well initiatives have been received by students, so
perhaps a more useful evaluation tool would be to conduct additional surveys
specifically designed to capture feedback regarding particular initiatives.
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