ArticleMedical education online2023
When students' words hurt: 12 tips for helping faculty receive and respond constructively to student evaluations of teaching.
Article in Medical education online, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Faculty professional development and career advancement through Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs).BMC proceedings · 2026Article
- Improving Leadership Handling of Student Concerns about Faculty Benefits Both Students and Faculty.ATS scholar · 2025Article
- The impact of teachers' perceived competence in information and communication technology usage, and workplace anxiety on well-being, as mediated by emotional exhaustion.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Student evaluations of curricular experiences and instructors are employed by institutions to obtain feedback and guide improvement. However, to be effective, evaluations must prompt faculty action. Unfortunately, evaluative comments that engender strong reactions may undermine the process by hindering innovation and improvement steps. The literature suggests that faculty interpret evaluation feedback as a judgment not just on their teaching ability but on their personal and professional identity. In this context, critical evaluations, even when constructively worded, can result in disappointment, hurt, and shame. The COVID pandemic has challenged institutions and faculty to repeatedly adapt curricula and educational practices, heightening concerns for faculty burnout. In this context, the risk of 'words that hurt' is higher than ever. This article offers guidance for faculty and institutions to support effective responses to critical feedback and ameliorate counterproductive effects of learner evaluations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.