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The benefits of using a “get to know you” survey in large classes

How many of your students are first-generation? How many of your students work more than 15 hours a week? How many of your students want to become doctors? If you teach a small college class, then it’s easier for you to get to know who your students are, but this is much harder in a large class. Also, the impersonal nature of large science classes makes it difficult for students to feel like they relate to the instructor, which can negatively impact student learning and engagement, especially for members of marginalized groups. One simple strategy that has been recommended for helping instructors get to know their students is to distribute a “get to know you” survey at the beginning of the semester, but there’s a lack of data on how this might affect students. So, a recent study explored whether an instructor collecting and sharing aggregated student demographics in a large biology course could positively impact students. Below are some of the main findings: Most students appreciated