Unit evaluation

Gathering unit feedback from students

The University uses a system called Blue to operate mid-unit check-in and end of unit reflection surveys. Blue is intuitive for both students and staff to use and allows surveys with a mix of set and customisable questions. Blue facilitates Unit Directors to view the student feedback and provide a response to students.

Please see the University Policy on Unit Feedback from Students, the general guidance on gathering unit feedback on the ESS SharePoint and associated guidance on how to use Blue on BEAM.

The expectation is that Blue will be used for mid-unit check-in and end of unit reflection surveys, except for:

1. mid-unit check-in for
   1. the small number of units running in teaching blocks TB1-A, TB1-B, TB2-C and TB2-D where short timescales do not lend themselves to this method;
   2. units with around 20 or fewer registered students, which may find that an alternative, perhaps more discursive, method may be more appropriate;
2. mid-unit check-in and end of unit reflection for units that do not run according to the University’s standard teaching blocks (e.g. run over 2 weeks or the summer vacation).

This page gives guidance on other tools available.

Mentimeter

Mentimeter is an online polling software available at the University. It’s great for quick online polling, with students adding their responses through their mobile devices. This could be a useful tool for formative unit evaluation.

Blackboard Surveys

Blackboard surveys are anonymous and are completed in the relevant Blackboard course. They can be run witihin a seminar or lecture or made available for a certain period and completed in students' own time. Surveys are best completed using a laptop or desktop computer (not the Blackboard app), so if planning to use them in a face-to-face session please ensure students are advised to bring a laptop. Results can be viewed in Blackboard or exported.

Blackboard templates available for download:

Mid Unit surveys available for download:

• Approach A (Blackboard template ZIP file)
• Approach B (Blackboard template ZIP file)
• Approach C (Blackboard template ZIP file)
• Approach D (Blackboard template ZIP file)

End of Unit surveys available for download:

• End of unit survey (Blackboard template ZIP file)

You can view the questions on pages 6-12 of Annex A of the Unit Evaluation Policy which is found on the AQPO Unit Evaluation page .

Point Solutions/TurningPoint

TurningPoint (now known as PointSolutions) allows students to respond to questions either by using a clicker keypad, or their mobile device. Surveys are run in a face-to-face session, and results can be seen immediately. These results can be shared with students if required, or downloaded for analysis later. TurningPoint requires a licence to run a polling session. If you are interested in acquiring a licence please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk

TurningPoint/Point Solutions powerpoint templates available for download:

Guide to using PointSolutions for unit evaluation (PDF).

Mid Unit surveys available for download:

• Approach A (pptx)
• Approach B (pptx)
• Approach C (pptx)
• Approach D (pptx)

End of Unit surveys available for download:

• End of unit survey (pptx)

You can view the questions on pages 6-12 of Annex A of the Unit Evaluation Policy which is found on the AQPO Unit Evaluation page .

Blackboard Surveys, Turning Point, and Mentimeter are all supported by the Digital Education Office.

Other available tools

There are other available tools that can be used for unit surveys. The links provided give information on these.

• Microsoft Forms - part of the University-supported Office 365 suite. The "Office 365 tips" group on Yammer is a learning and support community of practice for users of Microsoft Office 365 tools, and a good place to ask questions about using Forms.
• Online surveys (formerly BOS, now run by JISC). You will need an Online Surveys licence to use this. Check if your School or Department already has one. Contact for queries.