Improving Transformational Teaching and Learning by Advancing Higher Education Feedback-Based Dialogues at Texas A&M University

Feedback mechanisms are critical to iteratively improving most societal systems, and yet there is minimal documentation on the best practices of leveraging feedback to improve teaching and learning in higher education. We attest that facilitated dialogues have the potential to start conversations relevant to improving policy that otherwise would not transpire. In higher education, facilitated dialogues between students, faculty, staff, and administration provide a unique face-to-face opportunity for all participants to provide feedback to one another on real-time institutional strengths and weaknesses. More specifically, facilitated dialogues have the potential to start a conversation on improving the learning in higher education. This work notes the theory facilitated dialogues and offers discussion on the long-term potential for such conversations to serve as a medium for iterative feedback in larger societal systems. Further, this thesis documents our development of a facilitated dialogue, The Student-Faculty Dialogue, which will act as a plenary event at Texas A&M’s inaugural Transformational Teaching and Learning Conference on April 17, 2018

Improving Transformational Teaching and Learning by Advancing Higher Education Feedback-Based Dialogues at Texas A&M University

Feedback mechanisms are critical to iteratively improving most societal systems, and yet there is minimal documentation on the best practices of leveraging feedback to improve teaching and learning in higher education. We attest that facilitated dialogues have the potential to start conversations relevant to improving policy that otherwise would not transpire. In higher education, facilitated dialogues between students, faculty, staff, and administration provide a unique face-to-face opportunity for all participants to provide feedback to one another on real-time institutional strengths and weaknesses. More specifically, facilitated dialogues have the potential to start a conversation on improving the learning in higher education. This work notes the theory facilitated dialogues and offers discussion on the long-term potential for such conversations to serve as a medium for iterative feedback in larger societal systems. Further, this thesis documents our development of a facilitated dialogue, The Student-Faculty Dialogue, which will act as a plenary event at Texas A&M’s inaugural Transformational Teaching and Learning Conference on April 17, 2018