Mid Semester Feedback
Why is mid-semester feedback important?
Mid semester feedback can serve as valuable sources of feedback for faculty and self-reflection for students. Surveys at the mid point of the semester can help you plan effective classes, and:
- Make course correction before big assignments
- Understand where your students are learning-wise and to maybe identify some areas where they are still struggling to grasp the material
- Rethink how you want to move forward and provide additional support to your students
- Identify areas where you may need to slow down or speed up
- Find out what kinds of activities your students get the most/least out of
- Find out how students are studying/preparing for assignments
- Find out about students’ sense of belonging/comfort asking questions in the class
What feedback do you want from your class?
General Feedback
Is it on the structure of the course? Your Performance as an instructor? Student Motivation? CITL notes: To get general feedback, your MSE could be as brief as 3 questions (What aspects of this course help you learn? What changes could the instructor make that would help you learn better? What could you do to improve your own learning?). Or you could write your own questions targeting specific teaching strategies or issues you want feedback on. Another option is CITL’s online mid-semester evaluation system, which includes both Likert-scale and open-ended questions. To learn more about CITL’s MSE, click on the video found on this page.
How to get more specific feedback
- Describe the kind of feedback you find most useful. In most cases, specific feedback with examples is more useful than general statements. See the handout “Providing Helpful Feedback to Your Instructions” from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan for examples of specific, constructive feedback.
Tools for collecting feedback
Online polling tools (e.g.,IU Tools include Slack Polls, Zoom Polls, Top Hat)
- Real-time visualization of student responses
- Usually quick & easy to set up
- Cons: Each type has its own limitations (see Linked UITS pages)
Formal surveys (e.g., IU Tools include Canvas Surveys, Google Forms* Qualtrics Surveys, )
- Relatively simple to set up (See sample Google Form)
- Many question types
- No limit to number of participants (in most cases)
- Con: lower response rate if taken outside of class
After you receive the feedback, talk to your students about their feedback
- Consider feedback as a whole and do not get too upset by outliers. Even the very best teachers will get critical (and sometimes hurtful) feedback from a few students now and then.
- You do not have to respond to feedback in the moment. If you feel put on the spot, tell students you have heard their concerns and you need time to reflect and consider how to best incorporate their feedback.
- Keep in mind that it may take a lot of courage for a student to come to you with feedback. Even if you disagree, thank them for sharing and try to respond with this context in mind.
- Always follow-‐up when feedback is provided and offer some kind of response, including a thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. Students appreciate when their feedback is recognized. If students feel their feedback was ignored this could have a negative impact
- From (Tufts university): Instead of raw survey results or data, even in aggregate, share HOW you will respond to what you learned from the data. For example, rather than sharing a data point which indicates that only 60% of students agreed that the instructions for completing assignments are clear, share a plan for how you will clarify assignments and expectations.
- If you plan to make a change right away: “I heard from a majority of you that the instructions for the week three lab were not clear, so I will add some more detail to the lab assignments that are upcoming.”
- If you plan to make a change but aren’t yet sure how: “I’m still thinking about X and will follow up soon.”
- If you received feedback about something that can’t be changed: “It sounds like many of you want X, and unfortunately that’s not possible. Here’s why.”
Sample Feedback Forms
- Example Feedback Questions (Bates College)
- Teaching Resources: Sample Midterm Evaluations (UC Berkeley)
- Mid-Course Evaluations (University of Colorado Colorado Springs)
- Mid-Term Course Evaluations (University of Ottawa)
This list is not comprehensive. Please share any strategies that you use below, or contact me directly (luddytl) if you would like additional support developing a survey or diagnostic specific to your class. We are all in this together! I look forward to your feedback.
* Use your IU Google Apps account to create a survey in order avoid receiving student data at your personal G-Suite account.
References/Resources
- George Washington University Instructional Core Office https://instruction.gwu.edu/getting-feedback-students
- McGowan, W., & Osguthorpe, R. (2011). Student and faculty perceptions of effects of midcourse evaluation. In Miller, J. & Groccia, J. (Eds), To Improve the Academy: Resources for Faculty, Instructional, and Organizational Development, 29, 160-172.
- UCLA Center for the Advancement of Teaching https://www.teaching.ucla.edu/
- University of Pittsburgh University Center for Teaching and Learning https://teaching.pitt.edu/omet/midterm/question-library-items/
- Nilson, L. B., & Goodson, L. A. (2017). Online teaching at its best: Merging instructional design with teaching and learning research. John Wiley & Sons. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/iub-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5144407
Upcoming Assessment Conference
The Assessment Institute, https://assessmentinstitute.iupui.edu/index.html hosted by IUPUI and usually held in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the oldest and largest higher education event in the United States focused on assessment and improvement. This year, the institute is offering complimentary registration to this event, which will be held October 24-27, 2021, and feature approximately 400 unique educational sessions. It is designed to provide opportunities for:
- individuals and campus teams new to higher education assessment and improvement to acquire fundamental knowledge about the field;
- individuals who have worked as leaders in assessment and improvement to share and extend their knowledge and skills; and
- those interested in assessment and improvement at any level or in any collegiate context to establish networks that serve as sources of support and expertise beyond the dates of the Institute.
Pre-conference workshops and sessions are arranged by the following tracks:
- Accreditation
- Assessment in Online Courses and Programs
- Assessment Methods’
- Community Colleges
- Community Engagement
- Competency-Based Education and Assessment
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
- Emerging Trends in Assessment
- Faculty Development
- General Education
- Global Learning
- Graduate/Professional Education
- HIPs in the States (High-Impact Practices, including ePortfolios)
- Institution-Wide Data Collection/Use
- Leadership for Assessment
- Learning Improvement
- National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
- STEM Education
- Student Affairs and Co-Curricular Programs and Services
- Student Partnership and Engagement in Assessment
- Use of Technologies in Assessment
Additionally, the website features information about Assessment Update, a bimonthly publication from Wiley; Trends in Assessment, an edited volume from Stylus with contributions from more than 40 Assessment Institute leaders; and Leading Improvements in Higher Education, a new podcast series that debuted at last year’s institute.
Important Dates:
- Advanced online registration will close: Monday, October 11, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern)
- Cancellation of registration deadline: Friday, October 15, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern)
Although the Assessment Institute is being offered complimentary this year, all attendees, including presenters, need to register: https://assessmentinstitute.iupui.edu/registration/index.html
Please reach out to planning@iupui.edu with questions you have or information you need.
Making Thinking Visible
This summer, faculty from the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science (TIDES) at the University of Austin, held a workshop on metacognition which started with a couple basic assumptions:
- Instructors want students to learn
- Learning is the result of thinking.
They argued that the connection between learning and thinking is a connection we often take for granted but is important, because if we know how our students approach thinking, we can:
- View what students know and how they make associations between concepts
- Support gains
- Reveal and correct misconceptions
Two guides TIDES recommended from The American Society for Cell Biology that you may find useful are (click here if you need help using the guides: http://lse.ascb.org/how-to-use-these-guides/:
- Stanton JD, Sebesta AJ, and Dunlosky J (2021). Evidence Based Teaching Guide: Student Metacognition. LSE. Retrieved from https://lse.ascb.org/evidence-based-teaching-guides/student-metacognition/ – Lang (2012) https://www.chronicle.com/article/metacognition-and-student-learning/ describes metacognition as the ability to assess our own skills, knowledge, or learning. That ability affects how well and how long students study—which, of course, affects how much and how deeply they learn. Patterson (2021) elaborates that such processes including the ability to adjust strategies to improve, are critical for effective learning. So, if we accept this to be true, then learning requires awareness and control of thinking.
- Wilson KJ, Long TM, Momsen JL, Bray Speth E. (2019) Evidence Based Teaching Guide: Modeling in Classroom. CBE Life Science Education. Retrieved from https://lse.ascb.org/evidence-based-teaching-guides/modeling-in-the-classroom/ – Patterson (2021) argues that if we believe that learning depends on learners to actively build their understanding by combining new knowledge with what they already know, (Constructivism), then learners create models (mental models) that are consistent with how they think. So, when students share their mental models, with others, that is equal to thinking being made visible. This means instructors can help students develop thinking skills (both general and discipline specific) if they know what the student’s thinking skills are. This means you must identify these processes when you see them or set up opportunities for students to practice them through regular parts of your teaching practice.
They also recommended the book, Making Thinking Visible (Available at IU Libraries through interlibrary loan: https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/14842268) which suggests that in most school settings, educators have focused more on the completion of work and assignments than on a true development of understanding. This implies that instructors rarely articulate what thinking skills are valuable (in general as well as by discipline). If these two premises are true, are the thinking skills that instructors may find to be valuable demonstrated or emphasized in classes in a way that is visible to students? The book argues that Instructors can facilitate deeper understanding of course specific content by
- Understanding what different types of thinking look like (a few from the book include),
- Observing closely and describing what is there
- Building explanations and interpretations
- Reasoning with evidence
- Making connections
- Considering different viewpoints and perspectives
- Capturing the heart and forming conclusions
- Wondering and asking questions
- Uncovering complexity and going below the surface of things
- As well as developing thinking routines: https://vimeo.com/108000553 or a set of teaching practice(s) designed to reveal, scaffold and support student thinking. A few resources are available here: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines
Group Work
When students hear the phrase “group work”, they often become concerned. Some questions that may rise from students internally (or aloud) are…
- Will I get stuck doing all (or a disproportionate amount) of work?
- Will everyone earn the same grade (regardless of output)?
- Will I have to speak to people regularly (as an introvert)?
- to learn interactively.
- to generate a broad array of possible alternative points of view or solutions to a problem
- a chance to work on a project that is too large or complex for an individual
- with different backgrounds to bring their special knowledge, experience, or skills to a project, and to explain their orientation to others
- the opportunity to teach each other
- a structured experience so they can practice skills applicable to professional situations
Coding Strip – Using Comics to Teach Core Computer Concepts
The article Coding Strip: A Pedagogical Tool for Teaching and Learning Programming Concepts through Comics https://sanghosuh.github.io/assets/pdf/codingstrip_vlhcc.pdf describes the design process researchers at the University of Waterloo used to teach many of the core concepts taught in introductory computer science courses.
Building on the concept books like Lauren Ipsum https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/15607718 and Secret Coders https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/15934462 which use comics to teach the concepts of coding without any code, these researchers used tools like https://excalidraw.com/ to connect code to storytelling illustrated through comic panels. This website https://sanghosuh.github.io/codingtoon-sigse/ describes the design process, and provides demos, as well as use cases related to teaching coding with comics.
The Human Connection in the Classroom
Workshop Related Resources
-developed for the workshop, Relationship-Rich Education by Joan Middendorf and Akesha Horton
- The slides from the workshop are here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15p_yiXbc87BaqlIQ64R6Q0-mrykCA343/view?usp=sharing
- The Jamboard from the workshop is here: https://jamboard.google.com/d/1buyiHNUw8GCDuH4kJLchYCemlv46FtzwHA8WNlVD6Ts/edit?usp=sharing
Videos Provided by
- Dr. Maria E. Hamilton Abegunde: https://iu.zoom.us/rec/play/97KHDLCn9PCsWeq2cbjBadHeLUIJptqJcmM5i0Cn3j0yy_cur003y6A5r-vpHIpQ7nOwbrll-dsntEot.CNS0HGIAtoNsfMCd?startTime=1629121591000
- Dr. Kalani Craig: https://iu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/t/1_n1b8db4m
- Dr. Meghan Porter:https://blogs.iu.edu/citl/2020/12/07/quick-tip-of-the-week-encouraging-community-in-zoom-classrooms/#.YRwAl9NKiqA. 4:06
Overview
Social and emotional components of learning can reduce achievement gaps by half through teaching in ways that promote connection and encourage student success. There are many ways to do this. Why should we take the time to do this? Because students want to feel welcome in the classroom AND evidence shows this will make them more likely to succeed. In this activity, each of you will learn one of several constructs for building relationships with students and briefly teach it to your table mates.
What single factor makes for an excellent education?
Relationship-Rich Education
Felten and Lambert (2020) argue that there’s a simple answer to this question: Human relationships. Social and emotional components of learning can reduce achievement gaps by half through teaching in ways that promote connection and encourage student success. Their book, Relationship-rich Education, interviewed multiple professors and students for ideas to build connections to our students and to help our students build connections with one another. For example, in the Oakton Community College Persistence project faculty committed during first 3 weeks of semester to:
- Learn to use student names (NameCoach)
- Articulate high academic standards paired with support for where students struggle
- Return an assignment with formative feedback
- Meet one-on-one with each student for 10 minutes
Some other examples…
- Pause class to ask students to compare notes with a few students around them. Students comment on content and format of notes.
- For large classes, let students know you will be there five minutes before class starts to spend some time getting to know each other. Throw a different question out, like “What good food did you eat this week? “Who’s seen a movie they recommend? Which one?”
- (In a math course) when students expressed doubt, encourage them to skip the homework tonight, and instead read about imposter syndrome. Take 5 minutes in class next day to talk about imposter syndrome.
- At the end of class, ask students to write in the chat, some success they had in the last week (which could be anything from seeing their family or getting into medical school
Most instructors know how to build relationships—if we simplify these efforts and do it more, we’ll get good results.
What is mindset? Why does it matter for instructors?
When instructors have a “weed-out” mentality or teach to the “best” students who seem likely go on to graduate school in our field, it can result in helplessness and poor persistence for many other students. Prof. Mary Murphy of IUB found that growth mindset reminds students course skills are malleable and the teacher can show them how to develop these skills. With an encouraging attitude towards effort and persistence, all students can improve their abilities to do well in a class. Instructors with a growth mindset approach the classroom with the attitude that all students can succeed. With growth mindset, the instructor might…
- Stress that improvement with the class comes with hard work and that anyone can be proficient if they try hard enough. Students will have the insights they need to do well in the class. Says: “I want you all to learn the material and I will help you learn it.”
- Provides a checklist to guide students through the elements of complicated projects or papers
- Develop exam wrappers after exams for students to characterize the nature of their errors and identify their individual strengths and weaknesses to guide further study.
- Instead of office hours, hold a “FREE Help Session” twice a week around a large table with bowl of snacks.
What is sense of belonging? How does this impact my classroom?
Over four years of study, Kevin Binning and co-researchers replaced student doubt about “Do I really belong here?” with the belief that adversity is universal and temporary. The 30-minute exercise below includes narrative writing, peer testimonials, and small group discussion that not only closes performance gaps between underrepresented and majority groups, and between genders, but also bolsters attendance, retention, and long-term performance for all students.
Introduction of Exercise:
The instructor introduces the idea that everyone struggles. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed or to sometimes wonder to yourself, ‘Do I really belong?’
Writing prompt (10 mins):
“Coming to college is a big transition. Write about the experiences and challenges you’ve had since coming to IUB. You can think about your experience with making friends, taking classes, adjusting to dorm life, and difficulties and challenges that have begun to improve as you have spent more time in college.” Collect the essays. Briefly scan and read from a handful of essays. “As I’m looking at some examples of what you all have written, I see a lot of very common concerns. I am also not surprised; I had some of the same concerns when I took first year physics.”
Peer testimonials:
Show students quotes from graduating seniors collected in advance and chosen to highlight overcoming challenges and initial loneliness (and be sure and have examples of men, women, and diverse groups.) Some example quotes: “Sometimes I had difficulty with an idea that my classmates understood. But the important thing is not to give up and help each other out.” OR “I felt unprepared for the increased workload and differences in grading of college. I felt stressed as a result. But then I got some help from the instructor and AI. I found a study group and was able to turn things around. Looking back, I think my struggles were pretty normal. Even though they seemed overwhelming at the moment.”
Discussion Prompts (7-8 mins. in teams):
- Why do you think people often think they’re the only one who worries about whether they fit in the in college?
- How do you think your life will be different when you’re a junior or a senior?
Debrief:
“Will someone share what you discussed in your group? This will help summarize the discussion for all of us and will give feedback for the physics department.” (The debrief is important to synthesize and summarize this exercise.)
This exercise pops the belief bubble that “I don’t belong.” It works great on the first day of class or when the class approaches a known bottleneck (a difficult concept or challenging test).
How can we teach with empathy, equity and justice in mind?
For too many years, instructors have left it up to somebody else to talk about the overt and systemic inequities facing historically excluded people. Now, every teacher is encouraged to face a powerful reckoning in higher education. “LACE, or Love, Authenticity, Courage, and Empathy, is a model for connecting people with values to bring about change. With LACE, change is not a checklist or a plan, but a lifestyle. By connecting the head with the heart, anti-racism and other forms of anti-oppression become who we are, not simply the work that we do” (Alex-Assensoh, 2020). Here are some examples…
- Love Slow down. Rather than focusing on getting through the curriculum, identify the truly crucial information and focus on creating passion and interest; using the classroom as the context, invite students to select a relevant area to build courage and commit to using the term to build muscle.
- Authenticity Structure ways for students to explain new information to one another, using examples from their own lives and experiences.
- Courage is contagious. Model it by daring to show up differently, assess differently or engage differently with students.
- Empathy Assign everyone in class a partner to interact with weekly via phone or text to talk about how the course material is resonating with their lived experiences; reflect on what you need to understand about the world today that the diverse students in your class are facing: Students with no internet or computers. Students living in abusive contexts and functioning with different levels of ability. Students for whom food and shelter are a daily struggle.
How can we include students as partners?
When faculty invite student partnerships, relationships are re-defined, with both students AND teachers becoming teachers and learners. The biggest difference is that everyone contributes on an equal footing, though not necessarily in the same ways. This effects student-teacher and student-institution relationships, as students gain voice. Faculty and students see each other as peers, as people who can meaningfully contribute to the process of teaching and learning.
Student partnerships may fall into one of four categories:
- Learning, teaching, and assessment (active participants in their own learning)
- Consultation on pedagogical and curriculum design
- Subject-based research & inquiry
- Teaching and learning based research and inquiry (SOTL) (Healey, Flint, and Harrington, 2014; Mercer-Mapstone et al., 2017; Cook-Sather, Bovill & Felton, 2014).
References
Alex‐Assensoh, Y. M. (2021, February). Using Neuroscience and Positive Psychology to Enhance College Teaching and Learning. In The National Teaching & Learning Forum (Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 1-3). Link: https://go.iu.edu/402m
Binning, K. (2019, October). Fostering a Sense of Belonging in the College Classroom: Peer Interactions that Improve Student Success. Sloan Equity and Inclusion in STEM Introductory Courses (SEISMIC) event, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Link: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/36006/
Canning, E. A., Muenks, K., Green, D. J., & Murphy, M. C. (2019). STEM faculty who believe ability is fixed have larger racial achievement gaps and inspire less student motivation in their classes. Science advances, 5(2), eaau4734.
Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Encouragement through partnership: students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. The Higher Education Academy. Link: https://go.iu.edu/402t
Felten, P., & Lambert, L. M. (2020). Relationship-rich education: How human connections drive success in college. JHU Press.
Dweck, C. 2015. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine.
Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: a guide for faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mercer-Mapstone, L., Dvorakova, S. L., Matthews, K. E., Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten, P., . . . Swaim, K. (2017). A systematic literature review of students as partners in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners,1(1). doi:10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3119.
Quick Tips – Final Thought on First Day Preparations
I realize two weeks ago, I said I would provide a two-part series of tips to help with the first day of the course. We discussed faculty-student engagement, student-to-student engagement, and how to get to know your students. However, we have not discussed ideas on what to actually do on the first day of the class.
As the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University reminds us,
“What happens between you and your students in your classroom or lecture hall depends largely on what you want to happen. How you treat each other and how you and your students feel about being in that place with each other is modeled and influenced by you.”–From the chapter “Classroom Contracts–Roles, Rules, and Expectations” in David W. Champagne’s The Intelligent Professor’s Guide to Teaching https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/966238
Some faculty cover the syllabus with the students and then quiz them over the points in the syllabus. While it is important that students learn the course expectations and classroom policies (especially as we continue combat Covid), the first day is also an opportunity to provide students with insights on of your teaching style, an active experience how the course is structured, and a clear roadmap for what you aim to cover/help them accomplish during the semester.
Our CITL agrees: Set the tone by engaging students the way you intend to throughout the semester; that is, if you expect to engage actively in class, do that on the first day–telling them about how they will be active learners is counterproductive. In other words, let them practice learning the way they will throughout the semester. (see also group work, team-based learning, student response systems, lecturing, discussion techniques)
A few great activities that come from Carnegie Mellon include:
- Directed reading-thinking activity. Lyons et al. (2003, p. 87) suggest the following exercise:
- On your own, list everything you can think of that might be in a book entitled [your textbook, or the name of the course if you don’t have a textbook].
- Get with a partner, share your ideas, and then put the ideas you both generated for step 1 into categories.
- Give each category a name.
- Get with another pair and together combine your ideas. Then arrange the categories as a table of contents for this book and write it on the chart paper each group has been given.This activity gets students talking to each other, makes them realize they bring relevant knowledge to bear, and it makes them think about a possible overarching structure for that knowledge. If that structure is appropriate, you can capitalize on that, otherwise this exercise will expose some of the misconceptions students possess, giving you a chance to correct them. The activity typically takes about half an hour.
- Collect data from the students about issues related to course content. This exercise gives you knowledge about the students and is relevant in social science courses that involve research. A statistics instructor always collects data on the first day and uses the survey and the students’ responses to illustrate points about survey sampling.
- Have students generate hypothesis about a typical problem in your course. This exercise can be used to foreshadow different positions and camps in your discipline. When appropriate, you can push the students to think about how they would test their hypotheses, getting deeper into methods of inquiry appropriate for the discipline.
- Connect course content to current events. Bring in newspaper or magazine clips that relate to your course. Whenever you can connect your field to current events, or pop culture, or student interests, you demonstrate relevance, which increases student motivation.
- Common sense inventory. Nilson (2003; we have a newer version in our library: https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/16660002 ) describes a “Common Sense Inventory” where students need to determine whether 15 statements related to the course content are true or false (e.g., in a social psychology course, “Suicide is more likely among women than men,” or “Over half of all marriages occur between persons who live within 20 blocks of each other”). After paired or small group discussions, you can reveal the right answer. This works particularly well in courses where students bring in a lot of misconceptions (e.g., Introductory Physics).
Lastly, One Way to Show Students You Care — and Why You Might Want to Try It demonstrates how one instructor encourages her students to reach out: “When life happens … send me an email.” The article discusses what level of engagement should faculty be prepared to provide students. It is an interesting read and encourages thoughtful consideration of your comfort levels when it comes to engagement.
Quick Tips: Preparing for the first day of classes (Part 2)
Last week we discussed ways to establish presence in your classroom and allow your students to get to know you. This week we will talk about ways to get to know your students, as well as help them know each other.
Attendance:
If you use a sheet to have people sign in, you can include a question by their name, such as, “What is your favorite hobby?” You could also do this digitally (face-to-face and online) using Top Hat. Change the question each week. As the semester goes on, consider questions that connect with the subject that you teach, such as, “Which app has the best user interface?” and start the next class out by inviting students by name to share what they like about the interface.
Surveys:
“I have decided to reply personally to every student’s survey. For a class of 300+ students, this has been time consuming, but well-worth it. To cut down on the overall time to reply to the students, I wrote a Python script to scrape the student information from the survey data and populate a set of quasi-form letters to send out. I go through each response and add a line or two that specifically refers to the students’ comments, and then have another script that sends the emails in bulk”. – Chris Gregg, Your First Year Teaching Computer Science: A Practical Guide to Success for New Computer Science Teachers (p. 32)
Some information you can collect from your students before the course starts. For example, you can print out the Photo Roster https://toolfinder.iu.edu/tool/iu-photo-roster. If you send a letter to students welcoming to the course prior to the start of class, you can ask them to complete NameCoach: https://kb.iu.edu/d/appu so you know how to pronounce their names. You can also provide them with a survey through Google Forms: https://uits.iu.edu/services/accounts-and-email/google Qualtrics https://uits.iu.edu/qualtrics or Canvas as a non-graded survey: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-create-a-survey-in-my-course/ta-p/782 to find out the following:
- The reasons why they signed up for the course and what they are most looking forward to learning. What challenges do they think they will have with the course content? Do they need reasonable accommodations? https://studentaffairs.indiana.edu/student-support/disability-services/get-help/accommodations/index.html
- What are their goals after graduation and how will this course help them achieve their goals?
- If applicable, the reason why they might need to arrive late or leave early to your course. This can help with possible seating logistics and minimize possible future disruptions.
- Fun questions help to get to know students such as: If a song played when you entered the room, what would that song be? If you won one million dollars, what would you do first?
- If you are teaching a new course, find out what relevant information and skills they bring to the course. Depending on how many students are lacking certain knowledge or skills, you might choose to:
- tell them how they can bridge the gap on their own
- decide to devote one or two classes to a review of important foundational materia
- if possible) offer review session ran by your AI
- contact Tiana Iruoje: tiwillia@indiana.edu to see if Luddy Tutoring services may be able to provide supports.
The Center for Teaching Innovation at Yale notes, icebreakers have several benefits in the classroom. They can:
- Help to create a relaxed environment where students share ideas and participate more fully in the class.
- Encourage students to share ownership for the learning environment of the class.
- Build rapport among students and foster a productive learning environment.
- Prepare students for collaborative group work.
This article provides programming specific icebreakers that can be used in first year courses: https://peer.asee.org/fun-innovative-computer-science-activities-for-the-classroom-and-outreach.pdf Contact me if you would like more general icebreakers or help with any of the ideas mentioned in this email.
Next week we will conclude this series on the first day of classes by discussing how to set the tone for your course through reviewing the syllabus and/or previewing the format of the course.
Quick Tips: Preparing for the first day of classes (Part 1)
5-6 minute read:
I’ve collected tips from a variety of sources and summarized them below. Some of these ideas may be ones you already do, but I have found reminders never hurt.
The Eberly Center at Carnegie Mellon University suggests the first class meeting should serve at least two basic purposes:
- To clarify all reasonable questions students might have relative to the course objectives, as well as your expectations for their performance in class. As students leave the first meeting, they should believe in your competence to teach the course, be able to predict the nature of your instruction, and know what you will require of them.
- To give you an understanding of who is taking your course and what their expectations are.
A few actions that can help facilitate those purposes are:
-
Visit the classroom prior to the first day your class meets, and try out the technology, microphone, lights, etc. Contact SICEHELP if you need assistance with technology in your classroom. If you have not been on campus for a while and your classroom is located away from the Luddy buildings, travel to your class to see if your route is the same, or if you need to allot more time for travel. As a reminder, you can also review IU’s Toolfinder: https://toolfinder.iu.edu/ for a list of available tools faculty can use for technology-enriched learning, to enhance their content, strengthen communication, and deepen student learning.
“Professors who established a special trust with their students often displayed the kind of openness in which they might, from time to time, talk about their intellectual journey, its ambitions, triumphs, frustrations, and failures, and encourage students to be similarly reflective and candid.”
–From the chapter “How Do They Treat Their Students” in Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do (Harvard Press, 2004), available in the CFT Library
- Arrive early on the first day your class meets and greet students as they arrive. Introduce yourself and post how you want students to address you, (Professor, Dr., first name?) course name, and section of the class on the projector screen, so that when students walk in, they know that they are in the correct place. CITL reminds that you can send a welcome email to your students, perhaps inviting them to use NameCoach https://toolfinder.iu.edu/tool/name-coach to record and learn the pronunciation of each other’s names.
- The Center for Teaching and Learning at Washington University suggest you consider, What do students want to know about you as their instructor? Consider sharing with students how you teach and/or how you expect students to learn. One way to help increase engagement with students is to share with students why the subject is interesting to you, or ways of learning successfully in the class. You can also include comments from students in previous classes, personal history of your work in this subject, or examples showing:
- how you apply the course content in your work or use it to solve problems
- how content is used in industry or other parts of society.
- Share some information that will personalize you – your teaching experience, the reason you entered your discipline, an anecdote from your undergraduate learning days. This point is meant to encourage you to let your students see the enthusiasm you have for your subject and your love of teaching. It’s much more effective to begin the course letting students know that this is a course you want to teach with content you love, and that you are there to help them learn. If you have graduate teaching assistants, introduce them, and let them tell something about themselves as well.
- Set up clear communication strategies for the students. These could include when you will have office hours, the best way to contact you, e-mail parameters, phone policies, as well as whether you will use a backchannel such as Microsoft Teams or Slack in your course, and if so, how will it be used.