SAMPLE SURVEY QUESTIONS
for the Basic Option

General Questions

1. Why did you take this class?  Program requirement?  Degree requirement?  Other reason?

2.  What assignment do you consider the most helpful (or most interesting or most thought-provoking) during this course? Why?

3.  What assignment was the least helpful (or interesting or thought-provoking) during this course?  Why?

4.  What would you do differently if you were taking this course over again and wanted to improve your success in it?

5.  Which assignment or activity in this course encouraged or enhanced your particular talents?

6.  What would you suggest to improve the instruction and pacing of the course?

7.  Which determined most your choosing this particular class?  The hour it was offered? Its length in weeks?  The instructor?

8.  What other information should you have been given about this course when you registered?  Would that information have helped you be more successful in the course?

9. How important were the teaching techniques used in the course to your over-all appreciation and gain from the course?

10. Did the pre-requisites for this course play any important role in your success with the assignments?

11.  On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your actual success in the course as compared to your expectations of success?

1=success was much lower than expected
5=success was much higher than expected

Literature Questions

12.  When you registered, were you informed enough about the knowledge of literature that this course would require?

13.  Which literary selection was the most thought-provoking (or inspirational) to you?  Why?

14.  Which literary selection could (or should) have been omitted?

15.  Did the instruction and content of the course enhance your appreciation of the genre (or literary period or movement)?

16.  On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your understanding and appreciation of good literature now as compared to the beginning of the semester? 

1=no gain in understanding and appreciation
5=tremendous gain in understanding and appreciation.

Writing Questions

17.  What particular writing skills did you hope to improve in this class?  Do you think you were successful?  Why or why not?

18.  Did the prerequisite(s) for this course adequately prepare for the writing skills that would be required?  Why or why not?

19.  What particular writing activity was the most helpful to you personally?  Why?

20.  What writing activity could have been omitted?  Why?

21.  On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your writing ability now as compared to the beginning of the class? 

1=no increase in writing ability
5=tremendous increase in writing ability.

Language and ESL Questions

(These questions will need to be adapted to fit the language level of ESL students.)

22.  What activity in this course helped you use better English in your daily life?  Explain.

23.  Has the course expanded your concept of how English is similar to and different from other languages?

24.  If English wasn't your first language, what activity in this course gave specific help to you in the improvement of your English language abilities?

25.  What change in the course content could be made to enhance your ability to write in English?  To speak in English?  To read in English?

26.  On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your ability to speak (or write or read) the English language before the course as compared to your ability to speak (or write or read) the language now?

1=no gain in speaking ability
5=tremendous gain in speaking ability.

Research Questions

27.  What types of sources had you used in school research before you entered the class?

28.  Which of the sources that you learned about in this class do you feel will be most helpful to you in college or later in life?

29.  Which activity was the most helpful to you in producing a research paper?

30.  Which activity seemed least helpful or productive to you in producing a research paper?

31.  On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your research skills before this class as compared to your research skills after this class? 

1=no change in research skills
5=tremendous change in research skills

Reading Questions

32.  What critical reading technique learned in this class has helped you most?

33.  What reading assignment did you find to be most interesting? inspirational? helpful?

34.  What reading assignment or activity did you find to be the least helpful?

35.  Did this course offer you the kind of reading practices that you expected? Why or why not?

36.  On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your reading ability now as compared to your reading ability before you completed this course?

1=no change in reading ability
5=tremendous change in reading ability

Technology Questions

37.  Was the technology instruction in this course adequate for your completion of the course?

38.  Did the technical skills enhance your learning or distract from what you expected to learn?  Explain your answer.

39.  Was the fact that this course was taught in a lab classroom a surprise or was it the reason you selected the course?

40.  What technical instruction was unnecessary?  most helpful?