From Seed to Blossom
The beginning of the school year is full of anticipation and potential. We begin to plant the seeds of learning and plan the ways we want to nurture those seeds through our lessons, experiences, and celebrations.
But at the end of the school year, we are so busy trying to wrap things up that we sometimes forget to step back and marvel at what sits before us—a group of students who have blossomed under our care.
As another school year winds down, I create my end-of-the-year student survey. I have been teaching for 14 years, and I am sure I have at least 10 different surveys. Each year I change or add questions, depending on the dynamics of the class and the feedback I want. Making time for reflection and giving my students an opportunity to share their thoughts is essential to our learning and growth during our year together, as well as my planning for the following year.
Although the surveys may differ from year to year, the goals of the reflection or what I wish to accomplish with the feedback are similar.
Student Growth
I want students to see their areas of improvement and growth. They can do this by looking at the goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the year and at each quarter and identifying their successes and challenges. Looking at their reading records allows them to see how many total books they read and their author and genre preferences and compare that with the previous year. Here are some questions that could be included in this section of the survey:
- How did your feelings about reading/writing change from the beginning of the year? What caused them to change?
- How many books did you read? Was this more or fewer than you read last year? Does this surprise you?
- What was your favorite piece of writing this year? Why was it your favorite?
- What do you think you did well this year as a reader and as a writer? What do you still need to work on?
- What are you most proud of this year?
Teacher Growth
This section of the survey is sometimes the most difficult to read but is also what keeps me humble. Teachers need to know the effect they have on their students’ lives and their learning. Here are some possible questions:
- Tell me about a time when you felt heard in my classroom.
- Tell me about a time when you felt respected in my classroom.
- Did you feel like I was fair to all students? Why or why not?
- What is one thing you would like to tell next year’s students about me? About my class?
- How can I better help next year’s students?
Curriculum and Classroom Changes
The feedback from this section allows me to reflect on the next year. I always tell the students to be honest, especially in this section, because they have the power to make changes in the classroom for the better. Book questions give me feedback on what to add or what is missing from our classroom library. These are some of the questions I have included in this section of the survey:
- What were the three most important things you learned this year? Why were they important?
- What is one thing you would change about this year? Why would you change it?
- What is one thing we did this year that you would recommend doing again next year? Why?
- What is one thing we did this year that you would not recommend doing again next year? Why?
- What was your favorite book(s) you read this year? Why was it your favorite?
- What books do you wish we had in our classroom library? Why should I buy them?
Identify the areas where you want feedback. Are you wanting students to reflect on their own learning? Do you want feedback on your teaching or what your students thought about your class? Take the questions here or use them as a starting point to create your own questions.
End-of-the-year surveys give students a chance to reflect on their own growth as readers and writers and an opportunity to share their opinions. They help me reflect on my teaching practices and make adjustments for the next school year.
Most importantly, they give me a chance to see if those seeds I planted back in August have taken root and will continue to blossom when they leave me, knowing I will no longer be there to water and nurture them.
