One minute essay
I had never heard of the concept of a one minute essay that was presented in this class. This seems like a great thing to do after a live seminar, it would allow students to quickly reflect on what they have learned and what questions they have. Those students not able to attend live seminar would be able to watch the archive and complete one, this would have have the added benefit of showing they had indeed viewed the archive. Has anyone used these? Were they successful?
Albert,
It's great that you are using "warm up" for the class. They are also called sponge activities and bell ringers to get the students focused on the lesson for the day. Nice job.
I used the one minute essay in the traditional classroom as part of a warm up for class time.
The essay directs the student's attention to the topics in the lecture.
A also used two or three multiple choice questions as a warm up on other days.
I have two versions of the one minute essay: student write their essay, lecture occurs, discuss the essays at the end of the lecture time.
Student writes the essay; I collect them without names and re-distribute randomly back to the class. We read aloud as many of the essays and discuss them Student will discuss the essay in hand rather than openly discuss their own work.
I use warm up problems and essays to assess how much learning has been accomplished
I have not found an effective way to use the one minute essay effectively in my online course.
Suzanne,
You can have students do a one minute essay on a discussion board about any topic. Maybe the students were to read Chapter 2. Have them do a one minute essay on the most important points they learned from Chapter 2. OR As a test review, have students post a one minute essay about the key point they believe they will be tested on. This serves as a review for all students and you can post too if they missed certain topics. Hope this is helpful.
Hi All,
I think this is a great idea in a traditional classroom. After a lecture, the 1 minute essay can be used to assess what information was retained and what questions were raised by the lecture.
I wonder how a 1 minute essay can be used in an on-line course. My classes are asynchronous, so I am not sure how this would work. Can someone please explain it to me?
Thanks,
Suzanne
Sue,
Great. Glad you are trying something new. It is important that we continue to learn for each other.
Thanks.
I also had not heard of the one-minute essay until this course. I find it to be an intriguing idea, though.
I would imagine it's a great benefit, not only for the students but for the instructor too. It would allow the entire group to go over any material that the instructor feels is important but that the students may have overlooked.
Joye,
The one minute essay works for me and the students do pay attention when these are a part of the course. Thanks for your feedback.
I can see how this would be a great way to make sure that a student has been engaged in the presentation. If they do a one minute essay, they will be "forced" to pay close attention to the material. It is difficult sometimes to focus on presentations. If a student stays alert, and perhaps even takes notes, they will be able to give input, or as stated above, ask pertinent questions.
Paula,
It's not an essay as if you are grading their writing. It's just them getting their ideas down. You can call it one minute sentence or paragraph if you want. The one minute essay is a great way to see what the students have learned at the end of a class, discussion board, unit, etc. You ask one question and let them write the answer (can be totally anonymous) and then you know if they have learned it. It's a formative assessment. If they haven't learned it, you need to cover the material more.
I think this may be difficult for some students. Most students in my class have a hard time writing essays. They have a week to write about one topic and usually only provide one paragraph.
Not sure how to use the one-minute esaay.
Catherine,
I am thrilled this concept is one you can implement. It really does help. Let us know how it works out in your online course.
I love this concept. I used to use it in live classes a few times each session and I learned so much! Sometimes what I learned when I read the essay's was surprising to me. Sometimes it was just confirming and reassuring. I am going to try this online. :)
Earlene,
Great. Hope you get much great feedback through the One Minute Essay and other techniques. Isn't it great to learn from each other! ;-)
I am very excited to utilize the One minute essay as an assessment tool for my online courses. It will definitely help me.
Donald,
I don't have any examples as I typically read them, give them back to students, and then go over what they still do not understand. They can take notes on their own essay. Just try it and see what you get. Sometimes I get a lot of questions and other times, not many. But, it gives the students an outlet to ask questions anonymously when they do not understand.
I too have never hearde on a one-minute essay. I would like to see the results from a sample course. Do you know of any? Please advise.
Elivett,
It's worth a try. I'm so glad we can share in this forum and the discussions benefit many of you. Thanks!
Katherine,
Immediate feedback is appreciated by studnets. And, when the feedback is clear and timely, the students can respond to any edits that may need to be made in a timely manner as well. Thanks!
No I have not used this techniques befor but seems worth trying. Having a small paragraph written right after discussion seems like a good tool to processing the information and visualizing it for better retention.
