TUESDAY TEACHING TIP: Transforming Midterm Feedback into Equitable and Effective Learning

Did your students just take their midterm exam? Have you provided feedback yet? Consider using this moment not just to report grades, but to deepen learning, motivation, and student confidence.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Hold a Feedback + Reflection Session to promote metacognition, accountability, and ownership of learning.

• • Review key questions, address common challenges, and discuss strategies for improvement.
  • Invite students to submit a brief reflection on what they did well, what they would do differently next time, and what support they need.

2. Offer a Re-grade & Review Opportunity to turn mistakes into a learning opportunity rather than a permanent penalty.

• • Allow students to correct missed questions for partial credit by explaining the correct reasoning.

3. Provide Structured Retake Opportunities that reframe the learning process in a way that fosters hope, motivation, and persistence, especially for students who have struggled early.

• • Replace—not average—retake grades: Update the grade to reflect current mastery rather than averaging old and new scores, keeping grades accurate and aligned with actual understanding.
  • Embed retakes in future assessments: Integrate prior content into later exams so improved understanding can replace previous low performance, reinforcing cumulative learning.
  • Make retakes equitable: Consider mandatory retakes for all students to ensure everyone has the opportunity to demonstrate mastery, not just those confident in their ability to improve.
  • Reduce test anxiety: Knowing a retake is possible lowers stress and can even improve initial performance.
    
    

Together, these strategies transform feedback into an active, equitable, and motivating learning experience, helping students build confidence, deepen understanding, and stay engaged throughout the course.

 

DID YOU DO IT?

Let us know how it went. We would love to hear your feedback about how you implemented today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip in your classroom. Click here to fill out our 3-question survey. The survey is anonymous, but if you choose to enter your name, you’ll be entered in a drawing at the end of the quarter to win a new book from Faculty Development!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS 

CAFEs, Workshops, and more!

CAFE Lifting SCU Voices on Wednesday, November 5

On-Campus Writing Retreat on Thursday, November 6

CAFE Classroom to Career on Wednesday, November 12

Trade Book Writing Workshop with Donna Freitas on Thursday, November 13

Office Hours Workshop with Jeremy Hsu on Friday, November 14

CAFE Interdisciplinary Research Networks on Tuesday, November 18

 

WANT TO READ A LITTLE MORE?

• ‘Feedback that Really Works’ in The New College Classroom, by Cathy N. Davidson and Christina Katapodis (Harvard UP, 2022) (borrow it from our Library in Varsi Hall, 2nd floor!)
• ‘Practicing’ in Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning, 2nd edition, by James M. Lang (Jossey & Bass, 2021) (borrow it from our Library in Varsi Hall, 2nd floor!)

This week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip was prepared by Emily Park on behalf of the Faculty Development and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Missed a teaching tip? Read them all here. 

And check out our full calendar of CAFEs and other Faculty Development events.