|
These
materials are for use only by institutions that subscribe to
The TLT Group, to participants in TLT Group workshops that
feature this particular material, and
to invited guests. The TLT Group is a non-profit whose
existence is made possible by subscription and registration
fees. if you or your institution are not yet among
our subscribers,
we invite you to
join us,
use these materials, help us continue to improve them, and,
through your subscription, help us develop new materials!
If you have questions about your rights to use, adapt or
share these materials, please
ask us.
Table of Contents for "Seven
Principles Collection of TLT Ideas"
The fourth principle is
'giving prompt feedback' about their ability and work, at
the start of a program, as it goes on, and as it is ending.
In what ways has technology been used in your courses or at
your institution that, directly or directly, improves
feedback to students? We
invite you to submit your own ideas and practices to add to
this site.
Submit your description to Steve Ehrmann.
Closely Related Topics:
Active Learning (e.g.,
Laboratory Experiments);
Faculty-Student Contact
-
If the professor gets back to students in
a prompt manner with feedback, this makes all the
difference to a student. I find it much easier to give
prompt feedback on-line than with paperwork in the
classroom at the end of the semester!
-
By having the students use email to send
me their assignments, I can provide quick feedback and
reteaching if necessary.
-
Using the editing function in Microsoft
Word to make comments on student papers. Typing is
easier and faster than writing for me, and much more
legible. There is also plenty of room for extensive
comments. If I find myself saying the same thing to
several students I take the time to write a thorough and
coherent comment and then copy it from a document on my
desktop to the student's paper. …I spell and grammar
check the papers, before and after I make comments. This
may bring up problems that the student did not take the
time to correct and I can also make sure that my
comments are spelled correctly. It is also much easier
for the student to make revisions directly in the
document right where they find the comments. I also send
web addresses of useful sites to students.
-
Using software that shows as soon a
student has attempted & completed an activity, that
allows the teacher to give written personalised feedback
and that allows the student to look at other other
students responses for selected activities. [Monash
University, Australia]
-
In the new material we are developing, we
are planning on implementing 2 types of feedback: one is
an automated feedback that will provide general
information students should have considered in their
response to a particular question. The other type of
feedback will be more specific and will be provided by
the staff member in charge of the student group, or may
be provided by another student in a peer review in case
study work.
-
Feedback is always an issue and there are
concerns about workload issues for teaching staff in
providing prompt responses to student queries.
Recently, in one unit, the unit coordinator was taking
all queries relating to the unit subject matter,
technical issues with software, assessment enquiries and
the rest! On a review of the unit, feedback was best
broken down in to FAQ areas, discussion topics and email
for specific purposes. Responsibility for these
different areas was then delegated to particular staff
members and this arrangement then communicated to
students. The workload may be the same, but it is spread
more evenly and realistically over many people rather
than one!
-
After each homework problem, students are
told if it is correct and if it is wrong they are told
the correct answer. They can then work another similar
problem.
-
I teach math - all homework problems are
on computer and use randomly generated numbers. Students
can rework problems but get a different set of numbers
each time. They also get immediate feedback on whether
their answer is correct.
-
Hint boxes, prompts and carefully worded
questions are used as prompt feedback.
-
Richard Rogers, Prof of Resource
Economics at U Mass Amherst, reported in a talk at
Amherst College about using Online Web-based Learning
(OWL). Students do their own projects on topics of
their choice, collect data, submit it on line along with
their statistical analysis, and the computer
automatically checks the answers (mean, standard
deviation, range, etc.)
-
Students "converse" on line about topics,
suggesting sources, approaches, etc., and they also
conduct surveys and ask for help in other ways. I can
insert my own comments or create a discussion item that
will address an issue I see developing in the class. For
example, in one class, student responses to an article
by Stephen Jay Gould stressed the importance of avoiding
arrogance as one performs research. I was able to take
that idea and rephrase it so that students could reflect
on their own biases as researchers and write about what
they saw in their work that reflected their biases and
whether they were prepared to counteract them--and how.
The results were candid, subtle, and seemed to enrich
the written products.
-
The Personal Response System allows
polling large classes and permits immediate feedback.
Once students see what others have answered, they are,
in my experience, more likely to participate in
discussion, to ask question and to venture answers.
Editor’s Note: This kind of polling,
sometimes with Personal Response Systems, has gotten
good results.
If you’r e interested in learning more, this article
describes examples of polling during
class meetings over the past 30 years.
-
The use of technology, such as digital
projectors, for student presentations does improve the
students' presentations; I find students and others now
give feedback - often positive - to the student. It's no
longer just the instructor giving feedback.
-
There is one thing that we use that I
think addresses all 7 or 8 questions here, and that is
our use of an Anonymous Feedback system. It's like a
normal discussion group, but students don't have to
identify themselves unless they wish to. Being anonymous
encourages the weaker students to ask questions, without
exposing themselves as potential 'dufusses'. (Of course,
the only stupid question is the question that's never
asked!) Being anonymous can also be very challenging to
teachers, since students can and do abuse the normal
social constraints. I've learned to thicken my skin
since using the system, and have occasionally had to
delete offensive postings, but I make a point of not
ignoring the issues that provoke even the offensive
postings. Even they have something to say about the
teaching and learning process as it is taking place
within your context! One thing I have noticed since
using the system is that students are much more willing
to interact. There will always be those who use email or
regular discussion groups anyway, and there will always
be those who do not use an anonymous system. But my
perception is that anonymous systems encourage the
boundary between participants and non-participants to be
much closer to 100% participation. That has to be a Good
Thing. [Monash University, Australia]
-
This
2 minute eClip from a faculty member at Towson
University in Maryland (US) describes how she
encourages student response by providing an option for
anonymity on a discussion board, and why she finds it
valuable. (Requires Real Player).
-
After each lab exercise has been posted,
I then post a summary response to what everyone said
about the lab. I emphasize the points that students
raised about the lab and its results and mention
anything else that might help them understand and think
about what happened during the exercise. I have always
been conscientious about giving prompt feedback to
students about their assignments, so Blackboard hasn't
made much more than a day or two difference in that,
nonetheless, it frees up class time for more interesting
pursuits.
-
Following a class I taught on a Friday
evening I went into my Blackboard course and created an
announcement tying up the loose ends and providing
direction for the next class meeting (won't meet for two
weeks). To ensure that students were aware of the
announcement I was able to send a blanket e-mail message
indicating that there is a new announcement in
Blackboard.
-
The WebCT postings also keep me more
alert to their knowledge of concepts and issues that
concern them. I can sometimes go into a class ready to
address those matters or address them later as I see
them. Editor's Note: some faculty design
homework or online quizzes specifically to give them
insights that they can use to design the next class
meeting: insights about problems that at least some
students may be having with the material, insights into
potential disagreements and misconceptions that the
faculty member could use to trigger a productive class
discussion, etc.
-
As an adjunct [at Westminster College in
Utah], I teach web design during May Term. My May Term
web site has all of the information the students need to
learn how to design basic web sites. I do give
mini-lectures (15-20 minutes) on the major points, but
the web site also gives that information. When the
students have questions, they first go to the web site
and read the appropriate page. If they still have
questions or are having problems getting their pages to
be what they want, they raise their hand and I spend 1:1
time with them. In fact, I spend most of the class room
time in 1:1 with the students. The web site is
http://people.westminstercollege.edu/faculty/aleigh/learnwebdesign/
-
Students in my class create learning
contracts individually and as groups, which are followed
by a grading contract and discussion rating form. The
learning contract is a great way for students to
identify their own learning direction, set dates for
objective completion, specify resources and strategies
that they will be employing (as a group and
individually) to learn the identified objective, the
evidence that will be provided to show mastery of the
stated objective (final product) and a space for
authentication (verification of quality of project).
Authentication provides a means for greater relevancy
and impact in authentic settings. Students can have
their final evidence verified by their administrators,
other field experts, or the instructor. Student feedback
and continual personal meta-cognition (thinking about
learning) are encouraged by specific questions to prompt
students to assess the current learning situation and
group progress. Students then give feedback and updates
to the instructor and "meta-cognitive" coach, so that
other materials, experiences and improvements can
constantly be made to the course.
-
I encourage students to become involved
in the feedback process by specifying how they want
feedback and who they want feedback from on their
learning contract
-
Editor’s Note: See a definition
of rubrics, examples, and some background materials, in
the discussion of
Principle 6:
Higher Expectations. Rubrics don’t necessarily speed
feedback but they can make feedback clearer and help
raise expectations for student performance.
-
Editors Note: An online
portfolio allows the student to store selected papers
and projects and allows faculty and sometimes others to
attach comments to those projects. Portfolios also
sometimes have other capabilities, e.g., state
educational goals or skills and then post the projects
as illustrations of mastery or, or progress toward,
those goals. For example, some portfolio systems allow
the faculty to create goals for a course or a degree
program and levels of achievement of that skill. The
student can then post student work that is intended to
illustrate achievement of the next step toward the goal.
The faculty can attach comments about whether
they agree that the work does illustrate that level of
achievement. Some systems allow
students to continue to develop portfolios as they move
from course to course, toward graduation. Some systems
allow the graduate permanent access to the portfolio,
adding new work and using it to seek employment.
-
We have also used Blackboard for all of
our majors as a tool to deliver the e-Portfolio all
candidates are required to complete prior to their
student teaching semester and during their student
teaching semester. This has allowed the presentation of
"consistent" and "constant" communication.
-
I use e-mail to keep in touch with
students. It is particularly useful when they have
questions and can put them into a message right away
rather than having to seek me out or try to reach me by
phone. E-mail allows me to make more thoughtful
responses to their questions also. I'm not sure that
e-mail provides more student-faculty contact for the
residential students -- I think they often use e-mail
instead of coming to see me personally! But for
nontraditional students, e-mail definitely provides more
contact. Also, using Blackboard, even with my
traditional classes that meet 3 times a week, allows me
to post announcements and give feedback even on "off"
days, which does seem like increased contact. Bb saves
time in class for more interaction also, since a lot of
the course's "housekeeping" can be done on it.
-
I give the largest feedback in written
form, on drafts and in response to written or oral
presentations. I do, however, give feedback on drafts
and brainstorms via email when students request it.
-
To encourage students to read ahead of
class, I started using "reading quizzes" at the start of
class. These are easily answered, as long as the book
has been opened. This took time away from class
participation, so they were moved to be offered online.
This also allows for more probing questions.
-
Each day I give an online quiz. This
consists of four questions, based on the reading
assignments for that day. We haven't discussed the
material on the quizzes, but they were assigned to read
about them.
-
I offer self-tests each week. However
many students are very instrumental. They want to know
what's going to be on the exam and what a self-test
counts for. If it doesn't count, many won't do it...
-
...the ability to create self-graded
practice quizzes that give immediate individual feedback
based on the student's answers.
-
Class members can also click on a link to
see how their grade compares with the grade distribution
for the class.
-
I have begun using the online gradebook
in Blackboard to post scores on tests and homework
assignments and provide a running overall grade for the
class.
-
In my classes, we take several tests
throughout the semester. As the students’ tests are
graded, the scores are posted on a web record keeping
program that allows them to view their score, along with
all other scores. Then, using an online grade calculator
that I post for them to download, they input their score
to stay constantly updated on their grade in class.
-
Like other faculty, each part of the
course -- quizzes, homework, project, and final exam --
have a different weight, for example classroom
participation could be responsible for 20%of the final
grade. In my courses, students can
see the spreadsheet representing their grades and they
can set the weight for each section. If they'd like the
quality of their classroom participation to be
responsible for 30% of their final grade, they can set
it to 30%. I rate the participation
(and everything else) but they have decided what the
importance of that part of their work will be.
-
The Catalyst tools at the University of
Washington allow rapid surveys of class, helping faculty
adapt their material to student interests and needs.
-
We are in the process of placing more
feedback opportunities on-line for students via eListen
survey instruments much like this one.
Editor’s Note: The surveys that gathered
data for this library were created with
Flashlight Online. Many faculty
use Flashlight Online to gather feedback during a
course.
-
From an advising stance there are times
when a student clearly has a quick question that does
not require an appointment. In these situations a
student is able to send and e-mail message with the
question. The college has done a great job of creating
secure sites for accessing student information (e.g.,
student schedules, academic records) that facilitate the
ability to respond quickly to advisee issues.
-
Student assignments are all posted on
line or sent to me as e-mail attachments. I always
respond within 3 days--either personally, if there is
criticism--or by posting for all to see if the work is
outstanding and others will benefit from knowing why. I
do not TELL students that a personal response means
correction needed and a public one means outstanding. I
don't think anyone has made that connection so the
practice is not apparently singling out anyone.
-
Email and web-based courses obviously
provide the ability to give prompt feedback about
student work. The trick is for the faculty to realize
the importance of feedback in the learning process and
find the time to provide a rapid return time on papers,
tests, etc.
-
Rather than taking class time to review
the correct answers to exam questions, I have posted the
exam with explanations on my web site. Although I feel
the practice provides the student good feedback on what
the expectations were for each question, the time
involved in typing and posting this information makes it
difficult.
-
Editor’s Note:
Most faculty would spend many more hours teaching
a course than they currently do, if they had the time.
So it’s a matter of deciding which faculty activities
have the best payoff for learning. Students face the
same question.
Please send your suggestions, especially your TLT ideas,
to Steve Ehrmann (ehrmann @ tltgroup.org).
Return to Table
of Contents for "Seven Principles Collection of TLT Ideas
for Improving Teaching and Learning"
|
|
