Mid-term formative evaluation is used for teaching improvement. It produces information which instructors can use for teaching improvement during a course. The instructor is in control of how and when the evaluation occurs, and the method of eliciting feedback can be crafted to match the needs of the course.

The methods of formative evaluation include:

& Information from Yourself: evaluating your own teaching to help you become aware of what is going on in class (this may include videotaping your class );

& Information from Students: distributing short questionnaires to your students two or three times during the course;

& Information from your Supervisor.

The benefits of formative evaluation are that you can modify your teaching at once, long before the end-of-year evaluation forms are completed by your students.

Remember that all the efforts you make to improve your teaching through seeking feedback are worthy of inclusion in your Teaching Dossier.