Here are some of the best questions for a Middle School Student survey about teacher support, plus tips on how to create them. If you want to quickly build a conversational, AI-powered survey for this, you can generate it with Specific in seconds.
Best open-ended questions for studying teacher support
Open-ended questions let students express their thoughts and stories in their own words. That’s how you discover surprises and real insights—the things no one knew to put in a multiple-choice option. They’re especially helpful when exploring new topics, addressing sensitive issues, or when you want honest, uncensored feedback. Plus, students can tell you about details you never anticipated.
Can you describe a time when a teacher helped you understand something you were struggling with?
What do you wish your teachers did differently to support you in class?
How do you feel when asking a teacher for help?
What’s the best example of a teacher making you feel supported?
Is there anything teachers could do to make learning easier for you?
How do teachers check in with you when you seem to be having a hard time?
What makes it easier or harder to ask questions in class?
Do you ever feel like teachers don’t notice when students need support? Tell us about that.
If you could change one thing about how teachers help students, what would it be?
Describe how a teacher could make you feel more confident about your schoolwork.
Using open-text questions like these encourages richer stories and can reveal trends or needs you might miss with yes/no or scale questions. According to a recent Digital Education Council survey, 86% of students use AI tools in their studies, with nearly a quarter using them daily—a shift toward digital feedback tools that make it much easier for students to share their candid thoughts. [3]
Best single-select multiple-choice questions
Single-select multiple-choice questions are most useful when you want clear, structured data you can quantify. They’re perfect for topics where there are common experiences or predictable answers—say, understanding how supported students feel most of the time. These are easy for students to answer and let you see patterns at a glance. They also open the door to deeper conversation when paired with a follow-up question.
Question: How comfortable do you feel asking your teachers for help?
Very comfortable
Somewhat comfortable
Not comfortable
I don’t know
Question: How often do you get the help you need from your teachers?
Always
Most of the time
Sometimes
Rarely
Question: What’s the biggest thing stopping you from asking for help?
Afraid of looking “dumb”
Don’t want to bother the teacher
Not sure how to ask
Other
When to follow up with “why?” It’s smart to ask “why?” when you notice answers that suggest uncertainty, discomfort, or a problem. For example, if a student says they’re not comfortable asking for help, following up with “Can you tell me more about why?” will clarify what’s really getting in their way. These short follow-ups turn your survey into an honest conversation and highlight issues you might never see through stats alone.
When and why to add the “Other” choice? “Other” should always be an option when you can’t predict all possible answers. Students’ reasons are sometimes unique or outside your existing framework. Adding a follow-up with “Can you explain?” helps uncover unexpected insights and becomes a gold mine for your teacher support strategy.
Using NPS-style questions with students about teacher support
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple, proven way to measure loyalty or advocacy—typically used with customers, but powerful for education. Here, you’re gauging whether students would recommend their teachers’ support to another student. It summarizes overall perception, makes it easier to compare over time, and invites open-text follow-ups from students who feel strongly—either way. It’s quick, clear, and universally understood.
Curious how this looks? Try creating an NPS survey for middle school students about teacher support instantly.
The power of follow-up questions
Great surveys don’t just ask once—they listen and probe deeper, just like a real discussion. Automated AI follow-up questions make this possible at scale for everyone, especially when engaging middle school students. We’ve found that letting AI ask smart, context-aware follow-ups in real time turns every survey into a genuine conversation, opening up richer and more honest responses. This saves hours of back-and-forth emails and avoids misinterpretations.
Student: “I don’t always get help when I need it.”
AI follow-up: “Can you talk about a time when you needed help but didn’t get it? What happened?”
How many follow-ups to ask? Usually, 2–3 follow-ups is the sweet spot for depth without overwhelming the student. With Specific, you can set rules so the AI asks just enough—then moves on when you have what you need.
This makes it a conversational survey: Rather than a cold list of questions, students feel seen and heard. Each answer leads to the next, just like a natural conversation.
AI makes analysis easy: Running lots of open-ended and follow-up questions can feel unmanageable—but modern AI survey analysis tools digest these responses instantly. You can chat with your results or generate automated insights, whatever the volume.
These automated follow-ups are a fresh approach—try creating your own conversational survey and see the difference for yourself.
How to prompt ChatGPT for great questions
Want to use your own AI assistant to generate survey questions? Start with direct, clear prompts for best results.
Begin with a basic question like this:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Middle School Student survey about Teacher Support.
But you’ll get better output if you give the AI more context—describe your audience, purpose, and what you hope to learn. For example:
I’m designing a survey for 6th to 8th grade students in a public school, aiming to learn how teachers can better support students who struggle or don’t usually ask for help. The purpose is to identify barriers to support and actionable improvements. Suggest 10 thoughtful open-ended questions.
Once you’ve got your list, you can sort and refine:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
After reviewing, pick the category you want to explore further, and ask:
Generate 10 questions for categories “Barriers to asking for help” and “Examples of good support”.
Iterating like this ensures your survey hits the right notes and is well-tailored for your audience.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey feels like a real chat—not a dull, robotic form. Instead of presenting all questions up front, it guides students one reply at a time, actively listening and asking smart follow-ups just like a thoughtful interviewer. This AI-powered approach is different from what’s possible with manual survey creation tools, which can’t adapt in real time or go beyond the basic questionnaire format. For teacher support topics, this is a game-changer—students open up more, and you get richer, more trustworthy feedback.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated, Conversational Surveys |
|---|---|
Static questions, no adaptability | Dynamic, personalized follow-ups |
Hard to explore unclear answers | Clarifies and digs deeper automatically |
Time-consuming to analyze open text | AI summarizes and categorizes instantly |
Feels impersonal | Feels like a chat—students are more engaged |
Why use AI for middle school student surveys? With so many students now using and expecting digital tools (Common Sense Media reports nearly 75% of teens have used generative AI for schoolwork alone [2]), meeting them where they are just makes sense. Specific’s conversational surveys fit how this generation communicates, giving you honest, contemporary insights—while AI survey generation saves hours from creation to analysis.
Want step-by-step advice? See our guide on how to create a survey for middle school student teacher support.
With Specific, you get best-in-class user experience—both for those creating surveys and those responding. It’s simple, fast, requires no technical expertise, and leads to better, more actionable data, thanks to intelligent conversation design and real-time AI-powered follow-ups.
See this teacher support survey example now
See for yourself how easy it is to capture students’ real voices, turn feedback into action, and unlock a more supportive classroom experience. Create your own AI-driven, conversational survey to start building a better environment today.