Thriving in Academe

Tales from Real Life
Reflections on GIFT in the Classroom

I'd conducted numerous Group Instructional Feedback Technique sessions without any major glitches. Then I was invited to visit a colleague's night class that was fairly evenly divided between older, non-traditional and younger, traditional students. It soon became apparent that the younger students were more vocal and offered more suggestions, but the process itself seemed to be going well.

The next day, an older student dropped by my office. She was concerned at some of the remarks made by younger classmates.

Although I explained that this procedure was voluntary and confidential, she thought the negative comments might be viewed as evidence of weakness and could harm her professor. I assured her the situation was quite the opposite, and she eventually seemed to better understand the pedagogical process.

My co-author had a similar experience while building the GIFT program at another college. These occurrences stand out in our minds because they are the direct opposite of most students' reactions to the GIFT.

The norm is for students to consider involvement in the collection of student feedback to be strengths of both the professor and the university. They see the process as a sign that the instructor and the institution are dedicated to their learning because they have an opportunity to witness change and improvement before the end of the semester.

— Douglas Eder
Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville

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