I had not thought of that. I will use that idea.
I like the idea of using the punctuation letters, especially after breaks or later in the day. I tend to start to feel discouraged as the day wears on and I begin to see people drift... I had always, more or less, hurried through the rest of whatever I was teaching to get folks enthused about whatever was next or the end of class, now I have a tool to reengage and solicit involvement.
This is a good idea Claudia. It is also very good to read some of the emails in class (omitting the author's name) so that the question and your answer can benefit the whole class.
Another way to get feedback or questions from students is email. I encourage students to email me with questions. They then have time to consider the material and might find they have questions later. It is also the least threatening.
Pop quizzes that are short and verbal or a short power point slide at the end of a class session could be useful. We could correct these in class and go over difficult areas.
Having your classroom do this it gives you an insight at what leval your class is at which then allows you to be able modified your lesson plan. If the students came in knowing a little less than expected for this course you could than spend a little more time on lecture to bring them up to par. If the class knew a little more than the prior class than you could modified then course to be more indepth of the subject or move a little faster on the subject.
It's good to ask for peer suggestions as it leads to more class involvement.
I think that's a great idea Luis! It is pretty common to have one or two on a lab team doing all the work.
I have been giving "lab quizzes" after the class has fininshed each lab module. While they are generally ungraded, the class knows I use them, along with my lab observation notes, to help me assess individual participation in the labs. Much of the feedback on these quizzes is positive, because their purpose is really to make sure that everyone participates in the lab work. Since I began giving the quizzes I have seen significantly increased lab participation, more in-depth questions during labs, and a generally improved atmosphere during labs. Feedback to the students involves discussing the questions and what the students' challenges and accomplishments were in the labs.
I see if they know what we are about to do and then adjust the information as needed. I then have them show me at the end are they able to aply what we have covered and score the things for improvement. I at times have others look it over before I check what they have done to see if others can help them improve.
The minute paper is a great way to get immediate feedback. It allows the instuctor to formulate what material is mastered and what may need to be reviewed.
Iuse the test on the first day of class to find where all students stand as far as level of subject knowledge.This helps me to taylor my class with every new rotation.
You can be productive with the student when you know where you stand in the course...
What scares you in the class setting ??
I think that the results should be shared at times depending on the relevants of the test at the time the CAT's are taken.
I believe that giving a short ungraded prequiz to a lecture to find out just how much the student knows about the topic and then another short quiz at the end really lets the student see that they are learning as well as allowing me to see how effective my lecture was.
I agree. I am eager to use minute papers in my class. I am sure this will help. Thanks for the info, John
This allows the student to see and know exactly what the class content consists of and see progression throughout the course.
I use CATs when I lecture. I usually lecture on a topic and then ask students questions to ponder while listening or taking notes during the lecture. These questions are more geared toward items that I have left out of the lecture. These questions usually ask "why do you think" or "how so." Students tend to enjoy these questions because it makes them feel better about answering questions in class and finally during the quizzes since the information is the same! I like asking them because when they respond I feel that they have listened well enough to repeat it to me in front of their peers. Usually by this time it is somewhat ingrained in their heads.
Using a CAT is is just like a lesson review. In some cases (depending on the class) I will have the student write there own review question/s on points that they may need more clarification on, This DOES create discusion in the classroom and also they answer or explain it in different ways.
