informal requests for constructive criticism

how well students are learning the material

the effectiveness of your teaching strategies

focus on what can be changed during the semester--for example, the pace of the course, turnaround time on exams and assignments, or the level of difficulty of the material

three or four weeks after the semester begins

teaching a course for the first time or have significantly revised a course you have taught previously, you may want to canvass students as early as three or four weeks after the semester begins

Distribute blank index cards during the last five or ten minutes of class

Ask students to complete a brief informal questionnaire

four to six short-answer or multiple-choice questions

issues posed should be ones you can respond to during the term; otherwise your students may develop false expectations about the remainder of the course

Consider asking students to list the one or two specific behaviors or incidents that weighed most heavily in their ratings

Arrange for your students to be interviewed

Select a spokesperson who will also write down the groups' comments. Name something in the course that they find helpful or worthwhile or that has helped their learning. Name something that has hindered their learning and that they would like to see changed. Suggest how the course could be improved

groups of five or six

Respond quickly to students' comments

Consider carefully what students say

Let students know what, if anything, will change as a result of their feedback

Thank your students for their comments

Ask students to write a "minute paper."

"What question is uppermost in your mind at the end of today's class?"

Ask students to list key concepts or ideas

Ask students whether they are understanding you or not

avoid the generic "Any questions

refrain from posing general questions that might put students on the spot: "Who is lost?"

Have students briefly paraphrase a lecture or a reading assignment

Ask students to provide a closing summary

Encourage students to form study groups.

Have students turn in class notes as an assignment

Encourage graduate student instructors to give you comments about the course

Feedback should be specific

Feedback should concentrate on observable behaviour

Feedback should not be personalised or use emotional wording

Feedback should describe the effect the behaviour has so the teacher can experience it from a different perspective.

Feedback should offer alternatives to the behaviour being criticised

Feedback should point out the good and the bad.

Give students adequate notice of the evaluation

Provide students with adequate instructions.

Provide the students with adequate time to give their feedback

With randomly generated homework problems, immediate feedback, and the opportunity to try again, students view the homework almost like a game with the challenge of getting all the problems correct. As a result, they seem to spend more time than with paper and pencil homework.

availability of many research materials on-line and through electronic databases to which libraries subscribe should enable students to access what they need from their homes or their dorms at time which are convenient to them

“capturing students’ beer time

streaming video versions of all lectures

our approach to students is to encourage students to do what works for them (but to be sure to do it!)

Access to the Internet has changed research possibilities. Students have access to much more information faster than in the past.

Hot links to articles and other readings

E-mail messages are quickly replacing the live visit to professors and probably encouraging more students to talk to professors since it is less scary to them to write rather than face professors face to face.

Searching for journal articles using electronic bibliographic databases has been a major time saver for students

electronic reserves at the library

Use of the Calendar in WebCT to promote planning by students. Can also use the Calendar to highlight particular content or web resources to be ready for in-class discussion. Remind students in different media such as in-class and on-line about the expected completion dates for projects. (Virginia Arp, Gannon University)

"2 hours outside to 1 hour in class

Some may be spending more time because they’re unfamiliar with the medium. Some may be spending more time because instructions for assignments are not well-written for online use Some may be spending more time because they want to: the assignments are more interesting. And so on. Depending on the reasons, “spending more time” may be a) a triumph, b) a problem to be fixed, c) a temporary situation to be endured.

Going 'paperless" has saved me much time on task

publisher of one of our texts provides a tutorial CD and website as well as online course support

E. Is simply requiring self-evaluation enough, or do students have to be taught how to evaluate their work accurately? Students harbor misconceptions about the self-evaluation process (e.g., the role that evidence plays). As a result, self-evaluation is unlikely to have a positive impact on achievement if these misconceptions are not addressed by teaching students how to evaluate their work. Simply requiring self-evaluation is unlikely to have an effect on achievement. Students have to be taught how to evaluate their work accurately and need time to develop the appropriate skills.

G. What is the greatest challenge for teachers incorporating self-evaluation into their assessment repertoires? One of the greatest challenges for teachers is the recalibration of power that occurs when assessment decisions are shared. Data collected in one of our projects (Ross et al., 1998a) suggested that teachers found it difficult to share control of evaluation decision-making, a responsibility at the core of the teacher's authority. Such difficulty may be due to the fact that teaching students to be self-evaluators involves the implementation of fundamental changes in the relationship between teachers and students in the classroom. Changing root beliefs, behaviors and relationships is difficult and takes time. Accordingly, another challenge is time. Teachers need considerable time to work out how to accommodate an innovation that involves sharing control of a core teacher function with their existing beliefs about teacher and learner roles. As well, students need time to understand what self-evaluation is and how it relates to their learning, in addition to learning how to do it.

STAGE 1- Involve students in defining the criteria that will be used to judge their performance

STAGE 1- Involve students in defining the criteria that will be used to judge their performance.

STAGE 1- Involve students in defining the criteria that will be used to judge their performance.

STAGE 2- Teach students how to apply the criteria to their own work.

constructivists believe in independent exploration by students that will lead to a deeper understanding of the content

cooperative/collaborative approach

socio-cultural model

cooperative or collaborative model of learning argues that learning occurs as an individual interacts with other individuals

socio-cultural model of learning argues that learning best occurs when the learning event is meaningful, more deeply or elaborately processed, situated in context, and rooted in the learner’s cultural background and personal knowledge

one goal is to create a meaningful environment that includes communication and collaboration

New technologies allow for construction of knowledge through what is actually deeper reflection by the learner

Through groups and other learning interactions with their online peers, students acquire deeper understanding because of the “opportunities for exposure to multiple perspectives and interpretations

Learning involves active cognitive processing

Learning is adaptive

  Learning is subjective, not objective

Learning involves both social/cultural and individual processes

socializing function by fostering a friendly environment

Organizing involves setting the objectives, procedural rules, and timetables

intellectual role, guide the students’ journey to understanding. This is accomplished by probing and questioning students about their responses, by summarizing main themes, and by linking these to assignments such as readings, written responses, and independent and group projects.

discussion board posts serve as learning artifacts as well as springboards for more learning and the development of community

social negotiation and mediation

authentic and real-world environments

Teachers serve primarily as guides and facilitators

prompting students to develop their own inquiry questions

allowing students to express their knowledge through multiple avenues

encouraging group projects and collaborative learning

If, on the other hand, we believe that learners actively construct knowledge in their attempts to make sense of their world, then learning will likely emphasize the development of meaning and understanding

use of discussion boards

provide forums that require students to research an area of interest and report back to the class in the forum

incorporates collaborative elements

instructor should build in as many collaborative opportunities for group work