Course Evaluation Pattern Analysis
Overview
Tool: TerpAI or NotebookLM*, and your Course Experiences report
Time: 30 min
What you need: written comments from two or more semesters of course evaluations
How to do it:
- Download or copy your course evaluation comments from at least two semesters of the same course. You can use data that you've collected yourself through surveys, or download the report found in your Course Experiences account. You do not need quantitative scores for this activity — the qualitative comments are the focus.
- Paste all comments into a single document.
- Go to TerpAI and upload your comments, or go to NotebookLM, create a new notebook, and upload the document as a source.
Paste the prompt below.
"Here are student comments from [number] semesters of the same course. Do not summarize. Instead identify: (a) themes that appear in more than one semester, (b) comments that are outliers or appear only once, (c) areas of tension where students express directly contradictory views, and (d) anything students mention that seems to surprise them, suggesting an expectation mismatch."
- Then ask: "Of the recurring themes you identified, which one seems most actionable — where a specific course design change might directly address what students are describing?"
Notes:
Student evaluations reflect perception, not learning. They are shaped by factors outside your control — course difficulty, student expectations, time of day, grade received. Use this analysis to surface patterns for reflection, not as direct performance measures.
For support with how you can use student feedback to improve your course, connect with a member of the TLTC's Academic Innovation team.
*We encourage you to exclusively use UMD-approved GenAI tools, which are deployed in alignment with institutional security and compliance requirements.