{"id":2660,"date":"2021-04-30T13:46:24","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T17:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?p=2660"},"modified":"2021-04-30T16:12:02","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T20:12:02","slug":"what-teaching-modifications-should-we-keep-after-the-pandemic-ask-your-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/2021\/04\/30\/what-teaching-modifications-should-we-keep-after-the-pandemic-ask-your-students\/","title":{"rendered":"What Teaching Modifications Should We Keep After the Pandemic? Ask Your Students!<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"
Contributed by Allison Anacker
\nPsychological Science, CTL Faculty Associate<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n

As we near the end of this unprecedented academic year, with the promise of something resembling “normal” in the fall, it’s a good time for reflection. We\u2019ve made monumental changes in our approaches to teaching, and we need to decide if we want to continue some of these new practices in the future. There’s no better time than now to reflect on this, while everything is fresh in our minds and while we still have direct interactions with students.<\/p>\n

In the higher-ed blogosphere, some writers have made recommendations (see post on The Conversation<\/em><\/a>) about which teaching practices are worth keeping, such as recording lectures (see Chronicle<\/em><\/a> article), and also which pre-pandemic teaching strategies we should leave behind.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to apply these questions to my own specific course changes. In one course this past year, my co-instructors and I made a huge shift away from traditional tests to a series of homework assignments and low-stakes quizzes. The changes worked well, overall, for our current conditions, but I wasn\u2019t convinced that they improved learning<\/em> compared to the traditional route. I wasn\u2019t sure how to approach next year… that is, until I talked to my students.<\/em><\/p>\n

For this relatively large class, I was lucky to have six undergraduate TAs, four of whom had taken the course in the \u201cbefore times\u201d with traditional tests and two who took the homework-focused course last fall. This spring, I asked them to consider the current course (in which they are TAs) in comparison to previous experiences in either this course or other courses, and tell me what parts they thought worked best, focusing on learning as well as overall well-being.<\/p>\n

Their responses were clear and unanimous: the traditional testing model was not optimal for learning because it encouraged cramming and purging. They felt that the assignment-heavier format engaged students more than the exam-heavier format did. It should be noted that these TAs are high-achieving, independent, and motivated students who excelled in the course themselves, so their responses are unlikely to simply reflect a desire for easier work. That said, the method they prefer is not, in fact, easier, because students likely spent much more time on the homework assignments than they would have on studying for and taking exams! <\/p>\n

I now feel confident that my approach of engaging students through homework assignments, rather than studying for exams, is worth continuing.<\/p>\n

The point is not to advocate for the same changes in your<\/em> course design, but rather to encourage you to talk to your students about what\u2019s working now that could continue to be helpful for students who take the course in the future.<\/p>\n

Here are some suggestions for how to go about that:<\/p>\n