Semester Conversion: The Practical, University of Cincinnati

CETL

Semester Conversion: The Practical

Most problems that occur during Fall 2012 will be blamed on semester conversion. Student stress will be extremely high, and we need to be particularly mindful of how we respond to student concerns.

More or less time for teaching? It seems counterintuitive, but many of our colleagues report that they actually have less time than they imagined under semesters, partly owing to more content coverage, especially in sequenced or truncated courses, and partly owing to larger student enrollments, which add to assessment and planning time.

The pacing or rhythm of teaching on semesters differs in terms of sustaining student (and faculty) engagement. We'll need to rethink how we conduct our courses (i.e. number of assignments, timeliness of student feedback and finding alternatives to just lecturing).

Fall semester will be a bumpy transition---but by the end of Spring Semester, the change will have been positive.

There's going to be change, no matter how you look at it: faculty will be teaching new courses, encountering higher enrollment (more grading), learning and rethinking pedagogical strategies, and making course/curricular adjustments.

Owing to the above, semester course syllabi need to be created well in advance of the first semester term. If the course is taught by multiple faculty, communication and collaboration needs to continue in order to ensure that everyone remains on the same page.

We need to consider practical, as well as loftier, changes. What happens to your attendance policy, for instance, when there are more opportunities for students to miss class?

Faculty will want to make immediate changes to their courses and curriculum, but we should be careful to make meaningful, well-considered changes, taking into account proper assessment of what's working, and how we need to go about addressing change.

How can you harness student feedback to make improvements in your courses? Consider getting early semester feedback to assess your students' learning.

10 Key Points for Rethinking Your Semester Course
Assessment shows that most students need feedback within the first three weeks of a course
Rethink numbers of exams, assignments, etc. Traditional midterm and final may not be the best for student learning (Students would have to retain 8 weeks rather than 5 weeks of material for midterm and final)

Mid-Term Teaching Evaluations' from The Chronicle of Higher Education
Course Evaluations: The more, the merrier from The Chronicleof Higher Education

Strategize course improvements (and save time, ultimately with improved student performance)
Promotes student engagement
Addresses students questions and concerns
Leaves time to make adjustments/revisions for next term

Don't throw the baby out: lecturing can be effective
Consider retooling lectures for the new pace of semesters
Work to identify circumstances under which lecturing stops being effective
Find and develop alternative strategies that make use of content you've already developed
Consider your uses, and types, of student assessment such as Classroom Assessment Techniques (an intro to CATs via the Schreyer Institute). Are there more informal, low stakes opportunities for you to assess and improve your students' learning (see here)?

Dee Fink's A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning: A step-by-step guide to integrated course design, which will help you create effective and achievable learning experiences for your students.
Metacognition and Student Learning: This Chronicle of Higher Education article illustrates the importance of early and on-going formative assessments feedback for students and how it helps students improve their understanding and perform better on exams and other high-stakes assignments.

Standing Up for Teaching: Read how faculty in the STEM disciplines at Johns Hopkins are integrating active-learning approaches in their courses to improve (already terrific) retention and graduate rates.