How students and teachers work together for better education
In education, course evaluation is a valuable tool for gaining insights into student experiences and improving teaching methods. But what if there are new, more creative ways to collect this feedback? Lisanne Hagenbeuk, a third-year student in Communication and Information Sciences, and Marije van Braak, a lecturer in Communication and Information Sciences and educationalist, collaborated with several other teachers on an innovative evaluation project.
Collaboration Between Student and Teacher
Lisanne enthusiastically shares her involvement: “I took the course ‘Face-to-Face Communication’ in my first year, where Marije was my tutorial leader. When I saw a call for participation in this project, I responded immediately. I thought it would be exciting to contribute to research and help improve course evaluations.”
Marije adds: “The idea actually emerged from the ‘Face-to-Face Communication’ course, which revolves around conducting conversations. We already use many alternative working methods in this course and wondered if we could apply this creativity to the evaluation process. The project developed in collaboration with our teaching team—Bram Vertommen, Stef Spronck, and Tessa van Charldorp—and Esther van Dijk, an advisor from Educational Development & Training, in the field of SoTL.”
We found that these conversations provided us with much deeper insights into the student experience
The Value of New Evaluation Methods
The project's aim was to determine whether an alternative evaluation method would yield richer, more nuanced feedback from students. Instead of standard evaluation forms, students documented their experiences with the course or selected Dixit cards that represented their experiences. They then discussed these with a fellow student, recording the conversation. “We noticed that these discussions gave us much deeper insights into the student experience,” explains Lisanne. “Students could engage in dialogue about their experiences, which often led to more context and nuance.”
Marije adds: “One example is that a lecturer often read in the course evaluations that they created a pleasant, approachable atmosphere in the classroom but wondered how exactly they achieved that. Thanks to the discussions, they received concrete examples of what students meant, such as walking around during assignments and personally engaging with students.”
Challenges and Solutions During the Project
During the research, Lisanne and Marije encountered challenges as well. Lisanne states: “We had to determine how we wanted to approach the project as we went along. How could we best analyse the students’ conversations? Much discussion with each other and with Esther helped us with that.”
Another challenge was ethical considerations: “The data could not go directly to the lecturers to avoid influencing their assessments,” explains Marije. “So, we had to devise a system where Lisanne collected the data anonymously, and the lecturers only accessed it later.”
Additionally, not all students submitted their assignments. “We sent a reminder, but not all students responded. That was acceptable—they were participating voluntarily. Despite this, we ultimately had more and richer data than with regular evaluations,” Marije notes.
Esther helped us approach the project in a systematic way. It may sound contradictory, but her combination of expertise and distance made a significant difference
The Role of External Guidance
Esther van Dijk played a crucial role in the project. “She brought structure to our project,” says Marije. “We started with a simple idea, but Esther helped us approach the project systematically. Her experience with similar projects was incredibly valuable, especially in resolving ethical issues and analysing the data. Moreover, she had the objective distance to notice patterns and connections that we might have overlooked. It may sound contradictory, but her blend of expertise and distance made a significant difference.”
Conclusions and Lessons for the Future
Lisanne and Marije emphasise the importance of actively involving students in such projects. Lisanne: “As a student, I truly felt part of the team. My opinions were valued, and I genuinely feel I contributed to something important.” Marije adds: “Collaborating with students brings enormous value and is very enjoyable. It was fantastic to experience Lisanne’s fresh perspective and contributions. This project directly addresses student issues, making her substantive input incredibly valuable.”
Lisanne and Marije's project demonstrates that there is much to gain from creative and interactive forms of course evaluation. By allowing students to reflect on their experiences in new ways, teachers can learn significantly more about how their teaching is perceived—and how it can be improved.