Managing the End of Class

As the end of the semester draws closer, are you providing students with opportunities to connect ideas and build larger conceptual understandings? Here are some suggested end-of-class activities:

• Review – Revisit the class learning outcomes.
• Summarize – Ask students to summarize what they have learned. This might be done initially as a Think-Pair-Share or one-minute paper activity and then as a report back to the class.  See the image below for an example of Think-Pair-Share.

• Explore Confusion – Ask students where they may still have points of confusion. For example, an instructor can ask the students to write their “muddiest points,” or topics or concepts on which they are still confused, on a note card and collect them. These muddiest points can be discussed during a subsequent class.  
• Reflection Strategy – Retrieval practice is a creative reflection strategy that essentially says more powerful learning occurs when students channel their energies towards pulling information out after being exposed to it as opposed to re-reading or reviewing notes, which is more passive (Agarwal & Bain, 2019). Ask students to reflect on three questions:
  • “What is one concept you’ve learned really well?” This prompt reminds students to think of their achievements in the course, which can be especially beneficial if it’s been a course they’ve struggled with throughout the semester.
  •  “What is one concept that has been a challenge for you?” This prompt encourages metacognitive thinking and those parts of the course material where they can direct more of their cognitive energy and focus.
  • “What is one concept that has sparked new ideas?” This prompt connects to their creative side and prompts them to think about new ideas for end-of-term projects or for future courses that may build on or relate to the current course.
• Preview – Start preparing students for the next class by giving a preview and connecting what they learned during the present class with material to come.

Workshops, Guidance, Help and Resources

The Instructional Design team is here to help you create rubrics in your course. Please reach out to LearningDesign@bentley.edu or to a specific instructional designer for ideas and help.

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Referenced in Blog
Agarwal, P.K., & Bain, P.M. (2019). Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 352 pp.