TILT Master Teacher Initiative
The Master Teacher Initiative (MTI) is a university-wide program to enhance the quality of teaching within CSU’s colleges and libraries.
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November 4, 2024
Wow, we are in week 12, three-quarters of the way through the semester! This week I head off to Chicago for the AAAS/NSF S-STEM Rec annual conference. The teaching tips this week are provided by Tanya Buchan, Senior Faculty Developer and Program Manager for the Teaching Effectiveness Initiative Program at CSU TILT.
Maintaining momentum: Checking in with Students to Finish the Semester Strong
By Anastasia Williams, Director of Teaching Excellence, TILT
End-of-semester fatigue affects both instructors and students. A proactive approach using strategic check-ins can help maintain engagement and support student success during these crucial final weeks.
Checking in now to identify what’s working well and what needs adjustment can address challenges before they impact final outcomes (e.g., exam grades, overall course experience), demonstrate your support and commitment to student success, and create opportunities for timely interventions on equity and inclusivity. Some key formats to gather this feedback are anonymous surveys, classroom assessment techniques (e.g., muddiest point), group discussions (see rose-thorn-bud described below), and classroom polls.
If you choose to use an anonymous survey (e.g., Google Forms, Qualtrics), you might conduct it during class time for better participation, and then analyze the data to identify 3-5 patterns. Share a summary of student responses and outline the specific changes you intend to make based on their feedback. Be transparent and ensure you follow up on the promised adjustments and discuss them with your students. It is okay to act upon only selected aspects!
10 Ideas for Open-ended Survey Questions
Select 3-4 that make sense for you, depending on your teaching goals, or adapt them to your context:
· When do you find yourself most engaged in our class discussions? What makes those moments particularly effective for your learning?
· What specific activities or assignments have helped you understand the course material best? Why?
· When you get stuck on a concept or assignment, what’s your go-to resource or strategy? How effective is it?
· Have there been moments in class when you had a question but didn’t ask it? What held you back?
· Have you considered coming to office hours but decided not to? What influenced your decision?
· Which type of support (peer groups, extra practice, one-on-one help) would be most beneficial right now?
· How are you balancing this course’s workload with your other responsibilities?
· When you think about [specific major assessment], which topics from [specific recent units/chapters] make you feel least confident? What about them is unclear?
· If you could design the perfect review session for [specific upcoming assessment], what would it include? Consider format (group work, lecture, hands-on practice) and content.
· As we approach the final weeks, what specific changes to our current class structure would help you feel more prepared for the final assessment?
Teach a Large Course?
For large courses, these open-ended questions can be rewritten as multiple-choice questions. For example:
“Which type of support (peer groups, extra practice, one-on-one help) would be most beneficial right now?” can be written as “Which type of support (peer groups, extra practice, one-on-one help) would be most beneficial right now?” Select all that apply.
- Peer study groups
- Additional practice problems/exercises
- One-on-one session with instructor/TA
- Review sessions before the exam
- Written study guides or summary materials
- Video tutorials
- Small group tutorials (3-4 students)
- Practice quizzes with immediate feedback
- Other (please specify): _________________
Collecting Feedback Through In-class Activities
Some instructors prefer to gather student feedback through in-class activities such as icebreakers (for example, asking one question every other week), exit tickets, polls, or discussions. One such structured feedback option is called rose-thorn-bud. During this think-pair-share activity, students take a moment to reflect on their learning journey and course experience so far using these three elements:
· Rose – Share a success or achievement you’re proud of in your learning—a moment when things “clicked”, or you saw real progress.
· Thorn – Identify a challenge you’re facing, a concept you’re struggling with, or something you’d like to improve in the upcoming weeks.
· Bud – Describe an upcoming opportunity or topic that interests you—something you’re eager to explore or develop further.
After individual reflection, students discuss their thoughts in small groups and then share key insights with the whole class.
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November at TILT
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This tip is a good follow up from last week’s tip. I use very short weekly surveys on my Canvas course to encourage students to reflect on what concepts have been covered and provide feedback on what made sense and what was unclear (muddiest point). I hope you find these posts helpful for your teaching. As always, I appreciate your questions, comments and feedback on this and other teaching related topics.
Cheers, Paul
