Students are often first exposed to the geosciences during introductory geology courses, which can serve as a chance to impact student interest and major choice. Graduate TAs are often the lab instructors for these courses and routinely get informal feedback as well as have their own observations about a lab's utility and impact. Their insights can drive curricular improvements, but are often limited by a lack of data.

To guide the iterative revision process of introductory geology labs at the University of South Carolina (USC), the instructional team consisting of course instructors and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) developed an 8-question scannable lab survey to collect student feedback in Fall 2024. Questions targeted student perceptions in terms of interest, impact on understanding, relevance, difficulty, and hands-on and authentic scientific engagement; in Spring 2025, an additional item each for enjoyment and accessibility were added. Ratings were provided using 5-point Likert items (e.g. not at all interesting to very interesting). The labs cover topics common to geology syllabi (Egger, 2019), including a four-week series on minerals and rocks, a field trip to a local stream, and several one-off labs (e.g. earthquakes, plate tectonics). Labs are designed for 2-hour face-to-face sessions, with digital, accessible versions available as needed.

Since implementation, survey results have informed iterative improvements to labs and engaged both students and TAs in the revision process. Instructional team leaders used these data and their own insights while participating in a TIDeS workshop to guide major changes to the lab structure, including a lab practical exam and a radically changed grading policy. We will share how this feedback guided our decision-making, challenges to its collection, and offer suggestions for how this data-driven model can be applied in other settings.