Examples:

Garner student feedback

One way that I solicit students' direct input about the course and their progress through it while eliminating the fear of doing so is to provide anonymous surveys at the end of each week's module. I sometimes vary the prompt from "What was the most difficult part of this past week?" to "How are you doing in the course so far?" or "What would you like to improve?" I may use a Canvas survey, Google form, or a Padlet wall as the platform.

As a result of garnering such information, I've been able to address issues early on by responding with additional resources, a clarification, or additional coursework as needed, which means the coursework is adapted as needed to address students' needs. I learn from these adaptations and take needed revisions forward to improve the next course.

Here's an example of a Padlet I used entitled "Rosebuds & Thorns" to elicit student input on what they felt worked well and what could be improved at the end of a module. I learned the term "Rosebuds & Thorns" and about the Padlet platform from my @ONE course Humanizing Online Learning, and I put it to use immediately in a subsequent class. It integrated nicely with Canvas and worked well to get anonymous student feedback. Prior to taking the Humanizing course, I had difficulty finding ways to get anonymous student comments. I contributed to a request on the Canvas Community site for the Canvas developers to add an option for anonymous responses to the discussion feature. Meanwhile, I was using Piazza as a platform for anonymous feedback. However, I've found the Padlet platform a lot easier for students to use, so that's the one I've been using since.

This particular feedback, for instance, confirmed that the discussions and feedback were working well, but one student expressed confusion about the assignment, which led to my review of the assignment instructions to clarify them as needed.

Check students' understanding using low-stakes assessments

Another way to gain feedback--one form of which is necessary in order to provide "just in time" instruction--is through short quizzes following a specific learning goal or when the concept being learned is challenging.

In the example below, students are completing a "writing workshop" module which contains a unit on thesis statements. I provided a short quiz after the unit for students to test their knowledge of thesis statements before moving onto the next part of the module. This afforded me the opportunity to assess how well students could apply what they learned before they got too far into the module, so I could address any issues that might arise about this important concept early. Nailing this concept is key to doing well in the subsequent activities, so assessing their skills "just in time" saves my students confusion and frustration later on.

Guide and provide regular feedback

Besides quizzes, discussions, and surveys, feedback can occur through assignment submissions, such as essays. During the writing process, I like to design the drafting stage as an interactive step toward improving student writing that involves not just me but the student's peers, too. I usually provide one or two criteria for students to look out for when providing peer feedback, but many students go above and beyond this to provide even more helpful feedback to each other.

Providing both peer and instructor feedback helps to build that all-important learning community where students are learning from and supporting each other. Because the feedback is provided early in the writing process, it functions as constructive, just-in-time input that the student needs in order to improve her essay before she submits the final version. In this sense, the feedback also functions as formative assessment.

Here are two examples of such feedback on a draft essay assignment. On the left is an example of feedback that came from a peer, in which it's clear he has exceeded expectations regarding providing feedback; on the right is partial feedback I gave to a student on her draft. My approach to feedback is to provide a statement about what's working followed by a statement about what can be improved. I limit the latter to one or two key concepts.

In order to continue to improve my courses in response to student feedback and assessments, I continue to refine my course content, adding new resources, creating more dynamic content, and in general working to make my courses more responsive to students' needs. My completion of the @ONE courses has helped me tremendously in this effort. They have increased my knowledge of how to leverage the Canvas platform to make my courses more engaging and participatory.