We have discussed the importance of getting midsemester feedback from students. Mid-semester feedback lets instructors “check the pulse” of their class partway through the semester. By surveying students, especially after a chance to evaluate evidence of learning, instructors and students alike can gain practical and actionable insights about what is working as well as recommendations for improving… Read more »
Student Feedback
Evidence Based Research Supporting the Use of PlayPosit in classes
PlayPosit https://app.teaching.iu.edu/tools/playposit is an interactive teaching tool/application used to make interactive videos, also known as bulbs. The application can be integrated into the Canvas using your own videos or by extracting videos from other sources, such as YouTube or TED Talks, and convert them into an interactive, topic- and student-focused mini-lessons by adding questions at appropriate time-points… Read more »
Getting to Know Your Students
Jennie Carr, an Associate Professor at Bridgewater College, explains that researchers have found “strong positive correlations between [faculty] building relationships and rapport with students and academic achievement, attendance, student interest, motivation, empowerment, self-efficacy student attention, classroom behaviors and interactions (Benson, Cohen, Buskist, 2005, Houser & Frymier, 2009, Kozanitis, Desbiens, Chouinard, 2007; Myers, Goldman, Atkinson, Ball,… Read more »
Quick Tip: Wise Feedback and Assessment Resources
What is Wise Feedback? (From Temple University) Wise feedback is targeted feedback which conveys high expectations, the instructor’s genuine belief that those expectations can be achieved by the student and provides concrete information to help the student meet the expectations. Here, “wise” does not necessarily mean smarter or better. Instead, wise feedback refers to psychological… Read more »
Upcoming Workshops and Revisiting SERs
Last year we discussed the importance of using the Student Engagement Roster (SERs) to provide students with timely feedback on how they are doing in your course. These reports also provide records of your observations and recommendations to academic advisors, who can look for patterns across all a student’s courses. This allows advisors to reach out to students in… Read more »
Strategies for Course Communications with Teaching Tools
Creating dialogue between your students can be a challenging yet fundamental part of teaching. Effective communication can help to build and foster a safe learning environment where students can thrive, prosper and learn. In addition to the rhetorical moves you may use to structure your speaking style and structure your communication, you can also develop… Read more »
Top Hat / Student response systems (SRS) and Upcoming Workshops and Conferences
Top Hat is an online student response system with many features that can boost both face-to-face and virtual interactions between students and the instructor. Student response systems (SRS) can promote active learning, allowing the physical classroom to become a collaborative space. Instructors ask questions via the Top Hat software platform and students respond using their personal… Read more »
Considering Feedback
In a recent conversation via the National Institute for Scientific Teaching, STEM educators gathered to discuss practical strategies aimed at improving teaching and learning. One of the outcomes was a discussion on how to provide thoughtful and relevant feedback to students. Some of the key points and related resources are mentioned below: Wiggins (2012) defines… Read more »
Mastery Grading
Robert Talbert, Ph.D., Department of Mathematics, Grand Valley State University recently gave a talk (2021) on mastery grading. He explained that mastery grading aims to make grading a positive, useful, even enjoyable (?!) process by refocusing on grading for eventual mastery of well-defined learning targets rather than one-and-done assessments and points and focusing on instructive feedback rather than auditive point allocations. Campbell,… Read more »
Feedback Essentials
As educators, we know the importance of feedback. Sometimes it can be challenging to figure out how to provide feedback that helps students understand what they did well and what needs to be improved, without demotivating the students. In Seven Keys to Effective Feedback, Wiggins (2012), states, whether feedback is just there to be grasped… Read more »