Ending Courses With A Bang!

Better Endings:
What to Do in the Last Day of Class

Most Courses end for students with the final exam. (We leave it to you to determine if that is, for your students, a high note or a low one). However, an ending is not the same as closure, and teachers and students often leave courses with unanswered questions and unchecked emotions. Most of us have seen a number of tips on what to do on the first day of class, but we don't think about the importance of the last day as an opportunity for students to reflect on and fully synthesize their learning.

Here are some suggestions that might make the closing of your course as memorable as the opening:

* Use the syllabus as a tool for course review.

* Ask students to create a flow chart to graph relationships between/among concepts learned.

* Ask students to revisit the goals they set for themselves at he start of the course. This works best if, at the beginning of the semester, you have students write goals on a note card or send you a memo describing their goals.. Return the card/memo on t he last day and ask students to assess how ell they accomplished their goals, what means they used to do so, and the apparent outcome. They can discuss their accomplishments in small groups or an write their observations in a memo to you. Reflect aloud on what students may not have fully understood-explain the benefits and costs of NOT understanding something.

* Describe what YOU learned about teaching and about the subject of the course.

* Ask students to write you a letter three months hence, telling you one thing they learned that they have actually used.

* Ask students to write a letter to someone who will take the course next semester, providing a general introduction to the course, describing strategies that were worthwhile and those that caused problems, and offering advice for succeeding in the course. Seal the letters and deliver them randomly to students at the start of the next semester.

* Use a team game format (Family Feud, College Bowl, Jeopardy) as an exam review tool. Give prizes (like candy).

* Ask students to work in groups to construct a crossword puzzle using key concepts from the course. Exchange puzzles among groups for solving.

* Ask students to bring on the last day of class several magazines (that they are willing to cut up), scissors and glue. Instruct them to work in groups to create collages of pictures that summarize the ideas presented during the preceding weeks of the cou rse. Display the collages and ask each group of students to explain the one they created.

* Require the students to come to the last class prepared to present (either graphically or verbally) a metaphor for the subject of the course.

* Ask students to work in pairs or trios to write a concise and complete response to the question: What is (the name of your discipline)?

Compiled from suggestions found in:

Maier, Mark H., and Ted Panitz. 1996. "End on a High Note: Better Endings for Classes and Courses." College Teaching, Vol. 44, No. 4.

"How to End Courses With a Bang." 1995. The Teaching Professor, Vol. 9, No. 5. Source: Teaching at UNL, Vol. 19, No. 3, November 1997.

Instructional Style

Your instructional style

It is important to remember that everyone tends to teach in the style in which they learn best. An instructor who has studied with a great lecturer may feel lecturing is the only way to teach. However, this might not be the best instructional style for all of your students. Be aware that individuals vary greatly in their learning styles, and your goal is to take them from wherever they are to the next level of development. Learn to teach the students you have rather than the students you want to have. All students can succeed when their learning needs are addressed. The following differences represent a continua along which different people have learning preferences. Some people:

*think symbolically, in words and numbers, while others are spatial, thinking in pictures and images

*are analytic, preferring to focus on details, while others are synthetic, preferring the “big picture”

*are intra-personal, preferring to work alone while others are interpersonal, preferring to collaborate

*are reflective, preferring to think about new information, while others are active, preferring to do something

There is no one “best way” to learn, no one right or wrong preference on the continua. Try to include activities that allow students to learn in a variety of modes. The more active involvement students have in the learning process (through discussions, question and answer sessions, group projects, problem sets, presentations, etc.), the more information they will retain and the more enjoyable they will find their learning experience in your course. Using an interactive teaching style may result in the following benefits for students:

-students become active rather than passive participants in the learning process

-students retain information longer

-interactive techniques are democratic processes and thereby give students experience in collaborating and cooperating with others

-problem-solving and critical-thinking skills are enhanced in discussion settings

-some students may learn better in a group situation

-self-esteem is enhanced by class participation

-students are given the opportunity to clarify their beliefs and values

-student motivation for future learning is increased

In general, considerable evidence indicates that teaching techniques that maximize interaction between students and teachers (and among students themselves) tend to emphasize cognitive tasks at the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives. In selecting an instructional style for your lecture, discussion, lab, or course, keep in mind what it is you think is most important for your students to learn. The ways in which your objectives are carried out will either facilitate or hinder what you are trying to accomplish with students. This is why it is important to “fit” your teaching style to both your course objectives and to your students’ varied learning styles.

The following are some interactive teaching techniques to help do this:

-have students write a question on a 3 X 5 card (or send an email) and turn it in for you to answer in a “press conference” format

-put students into pairs to quiz each other about the subject matter

-have students apply subject matter by solving real problems together in class as well as doing homework

-give students red, yellow, and green cards (made of poster board) and periodically call for a vote on an issue by asking for a simultaneous showing of cards. With larger classes consider using a personal response system (Contact Media Services for more info on this (6-3091)

-roam the aisles of large classrooms and carry on running conversations with students as they work on problems (a portable microphone helps in a large hall)

-ask a question directed to one student and wait for an answer (at least 7 seconds or more)

-do oral, show-of-hands, multiple-choice tests for summary, review, and instant feedback

-grade quizzes and exercises in class as a learning tool

-give students plenty of opportunity for practice before a major test

-give a quiz or test early in the semester, grade it, and return it at the next class meeting. Students need to clearly understand your assessment format and the level of knowledge you expect in their responses.

-have students write questions, collect them, and answer them at the beginning of the next class period or via e-mail

-allow students to work collaborative to understand new material

-assign written paraphrases and summaries of difficult reading

-have students write something

-have students keep three-week, three-times-a-week journals in which they comment, ask questions about or respond to course topics

-invite students to critique each other’s essays or short answers on tests for readability and content

-give students a take-home problem relating to the day’s lecture

- From the University of Oregon’s Teaching Effectiveness Program