A Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) is a formative
assessment of students’ learning, a kind of mid-stream
evaluation or checkup that usually takes place in the 4th, 5th,
or 6th week of the semester. It can, however, be done at any
time. SGID’s are most commonly conducted by someone other than
the instructor – usually a person from the teaching and learning
center – in order to give students greater freedom to express
their views. However, a faculty member could ask his or her
students the SGID questions him or herself. An SGID is a great
way to evaluate if the students are learning and if there might
be better ways to help them learn during the remainder of the
semester. Doing an SGID early in the semester gives more time
for meaningful improvements in the course and in students'
learning – improvements that are based on the students' feedback
during the SGID – to occur. In addition to the quality feedback
faculty receive, students often are pleased that their
instructor is willing to listen to their