16 | the
Cannon
NOVEMBER 2016
WHAT’S GOING ON IN SKULE?
SpeakUp, Skule! SAMANTHA STUART VP Academic and Cannon Contributor At the end of each semester, students are given the option to review courses and offer recommendations for changes that could be made. This feedback is conducted by the Faculty and sent directly to the professors to review. Although this has been shown to work, and courses in all departments have been improving based on this feedback, it leaves a limited window for students to offer suggestions. Additionally, some professors choose not to read the feedback as it requires a significant time commitment. Students often have to review a course after they’ve finished it and aren’t able to offer continual suggestions while it’s still relevant to them. This is why the Engineering Society has started the initiative “SpeakUp,” a tool that allows students to provide feedback whenever they want throughout the term. This even includes providing test feedback, right after it happens. The hope is that professors will be able to adjust their courses and tailor their classes for the learning styles of the students based on this feedback. This new initiative allows students to SpeakUp about their course experiences whenever they want throughout the semester. The platform is currently live at SpeakUp.skule. ca, and has been designed based on current student and Faculty input. It collects casual student dialogue about course components online, organizes it, and offers professors the opportunity of engaging with
it via discussion with class representatives. Data is collected anonymously, and is stored in a database only accessible by disciplinary class representatives and academic directors. They will amalgamate the comments by the students and present the main feedback to professors throughout their department. Since the academic directors are the only ones with the raw data, the professors only need to hear about the common complaints amongst all students in their classes. The professors can then use the data to decide if there are any major issues or learning gaps in their courses, and adjust accordingly. The interface of SpeakUp includes six emojis (two positive, two neutral, and two negative) and a corresponding “SpeakUp” text box. Students will then be walked through “flash cards” for their given course (e.g. Tutorial, Lecture, Office Hours, Exams) and associate a given emoji with each card. They are also given the option to provide additional rationale or suggestions for improvement with the SpeakUp button. This will enable class academic representatives to improve the efficacy of their advocacy, reduce the amount of time students spend filling out forms, and help increase response rates. SpeakUp is open throughout the term, and we hope that students start giving their feedback immediately. We plan to overcome the idea that undergrads have no say in the way classes are conducted, and to start making changes as soon as possible. So remember to SpeakUp!