Reflection as a Critical Part of Learning

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Moderator: Thomas Kling, Bridgewater State University

Engaging Students with Short In-Class Writing

Maureen A. Morrow, SUNY New Paltz

To encourage students to reflect on course content and be actively engaged in learning, I use the “Index Card” assignment in classes of up to 40 biology students. This low-stakes, informal, “exit ticket” type of writing assignment, done at the end of class meetings, provides feedback and encourages creativity. Pre-requisite courses may not have provided the same foundational knowledge during remote learning as compared to pre-pandemic in-person learning. Teaching faculty need regular feedback to adjust to learning gaps. Students are increasingly showing less engagement in classes, as evidenced by distracted behavior and frequent absences. Writing across the curriculum activities promote learning, but can be challenging to fit into content heavy courses. The Index Card assignment asks students to reflect on the course material immediately at the end of class. In addition to stating a question about the material, students are asked to communicate a conceptual understanding of the material using a style of their choice. Suggested styles include stating a theme, drawing a diagram or comic, and writing a haiku. An informal survey of students indicates that they find this assignment to integrate different learning modalities, celebrate different perspectives and approaches, and appreciate students as individuals. I find that this assignment provides important feedback regarding gaps in student learning and enables me to regularly celebrate student creativity.

Supporting Students with Empathy and Connection: Using Weekly Interactive Overviews to Support Compassionate Self-Regulation Between Faculty and Students

Jacquelyn Kelly, University of Phoenix

Tomáš Oberding, University of Phoenix

Dianna Gielstra, University of Phoenix

The University of Phoenix serves non-traditional adult learners. Our Annual Academic Report for 2021 highlights our student population: 59.5% are first generation college students, 80.9% are employed, 63.6% have dependents, 70.1% identify as female, and 56.8% report as an ethnic minority. Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent events have contributed to challenges in education for students and faculty. These impacts have been disproportionality realized by populations like those of our students. In an online undergraduate environmental science program, weekly interactive overviews were added to each course. The overview provided a to-do list for students for the week, allowing them to prioritize their tasks for the week. Following the list, students were provided an open-ended comment box to respond about their level of confidence going into the week. Faculty were able to communicate with students, providing feedback about their comments, concerns, and excitements for the week. Through use of the overviews, students began sharing life barriers and struggles that they were concerned might interfere with their academic success. In response, faculty could direct students to university support resources, and provide targeted, compassionate feedback. These affective interactions supported students with building their self-regulatory skills to navigate disruptions and uncertainties. Interactive Overviews were implemented in 22 undergraduate courses, serving over 12,000 students annually, within the environmental science program. Interactive Overview examples, faculty testimonials, and student quotes will be shared.

If You Don't Use It, You Lose It! A Way to Encourage Students to Review Course Material Over Academic Breaks

Carla van de Sande, Arizona State University

If you don’t use it, you lose it! This is the sad reality of what happens to physical skills if they are not practiced over long periods of time. But it is true for cognitive skills and abilities as well. They grow rusty – or are even forgotten – over academic breaks when school is not in session. This stagnation or, even worse, loss of learning, over school breaks negatively impacts students of all ages and across all subject areas, especially mathematics. But how can we stay connected with students over academic breaks and encourage them to regularly rehearse what they have learned? The Keep in School Shape (KiSS) Program was developed as an engaging, easily accessible, and empathic way to help students review material daily over academic breaks so that they better retain what they have learned in preparation for future coursework while also gaining confidence in the belief that they can improve with effort. Through the KiSS Program, students receive links to daily review activities via text message or email. Each daily activity consists of multiple-choice problems that are supported by hints, solutions, encouraging feedback messages, and challenges so that mistakes can be viewed as opportunities for learning and challenges can be viewed as opportunities for growth. The KiSS Program is currently being offered over winter and summer breaks at a large southwestern university to bridge two sequential introductory mathematics courses, and hundreds of students have voluntarily participated in this easy to access, engaging, and encouraging program over recent years. This presentation takes the audience on an interactive tour of the KiSS Program, shares results from its implementation, and describes how the KiSS Program can be adapted to help more of our students review course material regularly over academic breaks and gain confidence in their ability to improve with effort.