The Importance of Focus Groups

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Oswin Lambert
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1 Focus group pamphlet A small tool for students involved in focus groups at NTNU

2 Focus group work The goal with foucs groups is to ensure and increase the quality of education at NTNU, through a common arena where students can raise issues with teachers and the other way around. A focus groups enables the teacher to get direct and personal feedback concerning his or her work. Every focus group should write a report with their views regarding the teaching process. The report should be stored for future focus group members to look at. The report should be sent to the institute. Students in a foucs group should, in cooperation with their co-students, offer constructive and precise feedback for the professor. This may be done by holding a meeting with co-students after a lecture, getting feedback through , or by making a simple feedback form which the students can fill in. The work in foucs groups should involve both the professor and the students. The professor might have a notion about what he or she considers to be good teaching. If the students think differently there may be a problem, and this is the proper arena for a discussion on the subject. Even though a focus group meeting is a forum where criticism regarding the education should be discussed it s important to focus on the good things as

3 well. By clearly signaling what works and what doesn t it will be easier and more motivating to try and improve the parts of a course that needs improvement. Discussion and focus areas To make the most of a focus group meeting it s important to concentrate about the areas that the professor can actually change. Also remember to focus particularly on areas in which the professor can apply changes in the current semester, to make sure your fellow students will benefit from the feedback to the professor. A couple of example subjects for discussion at a reference group meeting: Are the educational goals for the subject known amongst the students? Are the goals clear, concise and aligned with the description in the student handbook? Do the lectures reflect the educational goals? Are the lectures based on research? Did the students have the necessary prerequisites for the subject? Is the pace of the course too fast or too slow compared to other subjects? Is there a suitable relationship with this subject and the other subjects taught throughout this semester? Is the subject on course to fulfilling the goals documented in the study plan. How is the work load? Are the efforts of the course staff coordinated? Is the learning environment good (space, comfort, noise levels)? What could be done to improve the learning environment? Is the professor-student communication good? How is the accessibility in the facilities?

4 Please see ntnu.edu/studies/education-quality for more information. If you have any problems with the course staff or you get the feeling of not being heard, do not hesitate to contact the student council at your faculty (see the last page).

5 The student parliament decides the common opinion of the students. Students at NTNU elects their representatives every fall. The representatives decide the student s political opinions. The student parliament are included in all processes that affect the students, and are represented in most boards and councils throughout NTNU. If you enjoy student politics you may run for election. Several of the positions are paid. All students can run for election and all students have voting rights in these elections. The students at NTNU shall have well planned courses and strong professors during their studies. The student parliament sets requirements for the content of the study programs, we also make statements about common subjects and work for fair and good assessments of students. An example: The student parliament demands that multiple choice exams shall not be the only form of assessment in one subject, - and the subject Eksperter i Team shall have real world assignments and groups composed in a way that reflects the problems in the assignment. The student parliament opinion on focus groups Every subject shall have a focus group. A focus group shall have at least 2 student members. It is the duty of the professor to create the focus group and make sure students are elected. There should be at least one student representative from each study programme in a subject. The student councils consists of the student representatives from the faculties and departments at NTNU. The councils are working continously to protect your rights as a student. You may contact them with any and all problems. If they cannot help you, they will surely know who to contact further about the issue. If you want to join the student council at your faculty you may run for election at the faculty hall meeting ( allmøte ). Several of the positions in a student council are paid. The difference between the councils and the parliament is that the councils only concern themselves with issues related to their respective faculty, not issues that concern NTNU as a whole. Studentrådet AB ab@studentrad.no Studentrådet IME studentrad_ime@org.ntnu.no Studentrådet NT studentrad_nt@org.ntnu.no Studentrådet DMF dmf@studentrad.no Studentrådet IØT svt@studentrad.no Studentrådet SVT svt@studentrad.no Studentrådet HF hf@studentrad.no Studentrådet IVT ivt@studentrad.no

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