Survey
Survey
Moodle’s survey consists of questions about the students’ attitudes towards learning in general, and the course specifically, and about the students’ experience with the course. Moodle enables you to create five different surveys, all of which are pre-created for you. The survey questions are designed to help you assess your students. The questions and choices in these surveys are set, and you cannot edit them. If the stock survey questions are not appropriate for your usage, you will need to repurpose a quiz into a survey.
Creating a Survey
To create a survey, add it to your activity and then select the Survey type. Set the Group mode, edit the introductory text, and the survey is complete. The questions are set for you.
Survey Types
Moodle offers five different surveys, divided into three survey types.
COLLES
COLLES stands for Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey. There are three surveys in this category. Each consists of 24 statements, to which the student indicates a level of agreement or disagreement. The questions ask about:
The course’s relevance to the student’s interests and professional goals
The level of critical or reflective thinking that the student applies to the material in the course
The level of interactivity the student engages in, during the course
The level of tutor support the student is receiving in the course
The level of peer support that the student is receiving in the course
The success of the student’s tutor, and other students’ interpretation of the interaction between them
The three COLLES surveys ask students about their preferred learning environment, the actual learning environment they are experiencing in the course, and a combination of the two.
ATTLS
ATTLS stands for Attitudes To Thinking and Learning Survey. It consists of 20 questions that ask about the student’s style of learning, discussion, and debate. For example, the survey asks about the student’s attitude towards logic versus personal concerns—I value the use of logic and reason over the incorporation of my own concerns when solving problems.
The ATTLS questions are useful for measuring the student’s attitudes in general, but not for measuring the student’s perception of, or satisfaction with a course.
Critical Incidents
The Critical Incidents survey is different from the COLLES and ATTLS surveys
in two ways:
It is much shorter, has only five questions.
Students answer by typing short responses instead of selecting from
multiple choices.
This survey asks students how they feel about recent events in the course. The five questions in the Critical Incidents survey are:
1. At what moment in class were you most engaged as a learner?
2. At what moment in class were you most distanced as a learner?
3. What action from anyone in the forums did you find most affirming, or helpful?
4. What action from anyone in the forums did you find most puzzling, or confusing?
5. Which event surprised you most?
When to Use the Different Types of Surveys
At the beginning of a course, the COLLES (Preferred) survey can give you an idea of the students’ preferred way of learning. This can help you design and present the course in the best way for your students. During the course, you can use a COLLES (Actual) survey to measure how well the course is meeting their needs. These are long surveys, so use them sparingly.
The ATTLS survey can also be used at the beginning of a course to help you understand the students’ learning style. Remember that this survey is about the student, not the course. You might want to ask each new student in your learning site to complete an ATTLS survey before participating in any courses. Then, each teacher can check their students’ ATTLS surveys, and know ‘who they are dealing with’ in their course.
As the Critical Incidents survey is short, and asks about recent events, you can use this survey after each topic or week. It provides a useful guide for making quick, small changes to a course in progress.