April 5, 2011

Engaging students at the end:  Wrap-up activities for the last week of class

In the final weeks of a term, students and faculty can become so focused on “getting finished” that they neglect to reflect on the learning that has taken place during the term.

If you have succeeded in pacing the discussion of course content and managed to preserve one day in the final week of classes for a reflective activity, you might consider one of the following activities to help students identify and articulate their learning during the term.  If you have spent more time than planned on some topics and find you need every remaining minute to address content you intended to include in course discussions, consider assigning one of these activities as an out-of-class reflection that can be uploaded to a drop box in D2L, turned in on the last day of class, or offered as a bonus essay with the final exam.

Reflections on student learning

Class memories
Ask students to write down three things they think they will remember most about the class.  Give students an open agenda for these reflections, including memorable comments from other students, examples or demonstrations, or unexpected interruptions or unplanned events during class.  In addition, ask students to write down two things they know now that they did not know before they took your class (that is, two things specifically related to something they learned in your class). 

Students can complete this activity during class time or bring this to class as an assignment on the final day.  For the class activity, ask students to share their memories and descriptions of new learning as a group activity.  Begin this discussion by describing a couple of highlights or events from the class that will be memorable to you and then invite students to share their class memories and reflect on their learning.

Advice to future students
Ask students to write a brief letter to future students who will enroll in this course and include tips on strategies future students should adopt if they want to do well in the course (read the material before class, see the instructor during office hours as soon as you can if you don’t understand something from class).  Ask the students to describe one thing future students will learn in this class that will benefit them in their major or that they will be able to apply to real-life problems.

As with the class memories activity, these comments can be shared among students as a group activity.  The most useful suggestions for future students can be compiled in a handout for future classes or included in the syllabus.

This tip is based on a compilation of suggestions to a question posed on PSYCHTEACHER (Society for the Teaching of Psychology Discussion List) by Jordan Troisi, University at Buffalo—SUNY.

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April 29, 2008

Create a Strong Ending for Your Class

Ask students to write a letter to the future students of the course. Have them summarize the course material, discuss study techniques and learning strategies that helped them learn, explain problem areas they encountered with the material, and describe the class in terms of a general introduction for future students. Grade this work as a pass/fail (done/not done) assignment. The comments and suggestions might be used as part of a handout for students on the first day of class the next time you teach this course.

Based on:
Haussermann, Carol. "How do you end your class?"
Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching, Western Kentucky University
http://www.wku.edu/teaching/booklets/endsem.html#final

 

Updated 04/05/11