How University Teaching Staff Learn from Negative Student Feedback

Based on a grounded theory approach the study investigated how university teaching staff are learning from negative feedback in student evaluations of teachers (SETs). To collect qualitative data semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 university teaching staff from a German university. Voluntary sampling method was used to select participants with an intention to learn from SETs. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through open, axial and selective coding. The analysis resulted in a typology of four learning modes centered on a newly introduced category of dealing with negative feedback. This typology does not only expand the theoretical knowledge of learning from SETs but provides valuable insights into differential learning potentials. Keywords: Student evaluation of teachers, university teaching staff, grounded theory, modes of learning from negative feedback