As the semester draws to a close, university course instructors often find themselves reflecting on the journey they’ve shared with their students. At the Center for Integrated Professional Development (CIPD), we support instructors in enhancing their teaching practices and encouraging student success. Our resources and workshops are designed to help you implement effective strategies and create impactful learning experiences for your students.
While the first day of class is crucial for setting expectations and building relationships, the end of the semester is equally important for guiding students in reflecting on their learning experiences. In her book, Creating Self-Regulated Learners, Linda Nilson states the importance of follow-up activities that build on initial course assignments. These activities direct students’ attention to the critical content and skills you want them to take away from the course. Such practices help students develop skills of lifelong learners and consider how the material will be relevant in their careers, civic participation, and personal lives (Nilson, 2013, p. 88). The book provides strategies to strengthen students’ self-awareness and learning skills, emphasizing the development of lifelong learners who can independently acquire, retain, and apply new knowledge (Nilson, 2013).
Here are some engaging activities to incorporate into the last week of class:
- Reflective Prompts: Encourage students to write exit slips addressing:
- Their proudest achievement in the course.
- The reasoning behind their response.
- An invigorating or useful idea/concept from the course and why.
- A concept they struggled with and how they resolved it.
- A “lesson for life” learned from the course and how they arrived at this conclusion.
- What? So What? Now What?: Guide students through a reflection on:
- What did I learn?
- So what does it mean for me?
- How does it relate to other learning?
- Now what will I do with this knowledge?
- Letters to Future Students: Have students write letters about the course, including tips for success, project suggestions, useful resources, and interesting topics. Obtain permission to share these letters with future students.
- Gallery Walk: Place posters with Course Learning Outcomes around the room. Students rotate in small groups, noting their learnings on each poster.
- End-of-the-Year Survey: Have students revisit the initial course survey or pre-assessment to reflect on their growth and changes since the start of the course. Ask them to consider, “What is the most significant change in your understanding or skills since the beginning of the course?”
For more ideas and resources, check out the references below.
References
Dewey, J. (1933) How We Think, New York: D. C. Heath.
Hara, B. (2010, January 28). Reflexive pedagogy. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/reflexive-pedagogy/22939
Lang, J. (2016, Mar 7). Small changes in teaching: The last 5 minutes of class. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from chronicle.com/article/Small-Changes-in-Teaching-The/235583
Nilson, L. B. (2013). Creating self-regulated learners: Strategies to strengthen students’ self-awareness and learning skills. Stylus Publishing, LLC.
At CIPD, we also emphasize the Framework for Inclusive Teaching Excellence (FITE), which supports the creation of high-quality, evidence-informed learning experiences that are accessible and inclusive of all students. This framework includes dimensions such as the science of learning, impact of course design, evidence-based pedagogy, and classroom climate and culture. By integrating these principles, instructors can enhance their teaching practices and contribute to student success.
Let’s make the end of the semester a time for meaningful reflection and growth!
