ERIC Number: EJ1088117
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-8756-7555
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Using Online Journals and In-Class Note Cards for Reflective and Responsive Teaching and Learning
Slinger-Friedman, Vanessa; Patterson, Lynn M.
College Teaching, v64 n1 p38-39 2016
One concern about teaching online or in large, lecturestyle classes is the inability to see students' reactions to course material. These visual cues give instructors feedback on student comprehension, material clarity, and effective delivery modes. Instructors have to see the results of student assignments and exams or end-of-semester evaluations to gauge the effectiveness of their teaching. This delayed feedback assists in future iterations of the course but doesn't help current students with questions or concerns over course material. Some professors use reflective writing and journals to see if engaging in writing improves students' understanding and exam performance (Cisero 2006; Rabin and Nutter-Upham 2010). Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) literature lacks articles that demonstrate how instructors "close the loop" on these informal assessments by using this feedback to directly address areas of student confusion. This brief article tries to address this issue by illustrating an example of a "closed loop" between receiving student feedback through writing assessments and giving relevant feedback to students in a timely, non-threatening manner. Herein the authors describe how they used online journaling and in-class notecards as tools to obtain student feedback on comprehension and clarity of the material covered in a module.
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Electronic Journals, Feedback (Response), Reflective Teaching, Notetaking, Student Reaction, Cues, Teacher Effectiveness, Instructional Materials, Writing Across the Curriculum, Comprehension, Journal Writing, Online Courses, Electronic Learning, Learner Engagement
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A