Color coding assessments may help students connect

No matter how much of an effort an instructor makes to deliver a quality assessment to a student, the feedback is of no use if the student does not read it. This is one of the more problematic issues in the feedback process to students, actually bringing learning to a complete stop for the individual because of a poor study habit. To address the issue, instructors can go one-to-one with students, but this can be time-consuming and exhaust resources. More to the point, the student may never make any progress simply because he or she has not taken the time to review the feedback the instructor has presented.

In teaching writing to students I have sometimes seen them toss evaluations into the trash rather than read them. Although not often has it happened, thank goodness, I have at times seen the essays and the accompanying feedback in the trash can nearest to my office, delivered just a few minutes back to the student in a conference. Once, a frustrated student threw a tantrum in front of me and then threw the essay into my own office trash can. Obviously, we did not see much improvement in the next essay assignment. I do what I can to help students not lose face, but sometimes a moment can be too overwhelming for them. By the way, if I see the assessment in the trash, I will pull it out, hoping the student will return for it once the moment fades.

While we can always improve our people skills with our students, I want here to offer one possible way to avoid the temper tantrums and perhaps even help those students who fail to read the assessments take the time to study the teacher’s comments. Perhaps too the students will realize the teacher is trying to help, not hinder, them. What can be useful, I think, is a pre-conference set of notes to the student. That is, signaling to the student that it is a good idea to make an appointment with the instructor over issues listed in the evaluation ahead of the actual conference seems a good idea.

A few years ago I saw a story where Purdue University had created what I call a “Stoplight Project” with color-coded messages to help lead students to success. The Purdue Signals Project mines data and includes color within the messages, using the metaphor of the stoplight – green to go, yellow for caution, and red to stop. The red stop sign also signals to students they need to schedule an appointment with the instructor. One of the elements I like very much about this system is that onus is placed upon the student to make the appointment, to take action. In addition, the student is already coming to the instructor for help with clarity about what will be discussed, and the “shock” of realizing an assignment or test is not up to standards is not delivered for the first time in the teacher-student conference.

Although the algorithms that Purdue University uses is not readily available to all educators, we non-Boilermaker faculty do have a few options. Taking my cues from the Signals Project (pun intended), I have included a variation upon the theme. Having seen value in the Purdue system, I have downloaded free clip art from the Microsoft collection. I actually discovered a green go sign and now include this in the assessment report to students for those essays I have evaluated as an A- or better. I also have downloaded a red stop sign  and a yellow caution sign. Red is reserved for grades of D and F while yellow signals a grade of a B or C. If a student receives a red stop sign, a note to immediately make an appointment with the instructor is included, along with the reason for the conference request.

Other options are available at the free clip art service through Microsoft, as well as other online websites. The examples provided are what I use and are presented for consideration. In addition, I recommend not printing each color-coded assessment as this can become expensive. This should not be a problem, though, if delivered online to students.

While the color-coded system started as a way to signal to those students who need help, I also soon realized it was also helpful in moving students who do not need the help more quickly through the courses. I now allow the advanced students more options to work at their own pace. Some students have thus finished the course earlier than the final deadline, allowing me as an instructor more time to work with those students who need additional help.

In addition to delivering to students issues that need to be addressed, the color-coded signals also have helped me to improve my courses. For example, I recently have created a review unit that is not scored. This review unit highlights aspects of the essay where some of my writing students need more than others. It is focused mainly on the structure of the essay, including such topics as the introduction, thesis, conclusion, main body paragraph development, transition placement, and so on. The course discusses these elements as the units move forward. Now what I realized was missing in the past was one place where all of the basic elements of the essay could be housed. Thus, I can now send students to one unit where all of the basic issues of the essay are addressed. For example, many of the students have problems writing paragraphs. Now it is much easier to instruct them about the paragraph and also offer how this element fits into the essay as a part of the whole.

Given the success of the color-coded signals, I also have begun to include the colors on the rubrics I use to evaluate student work. For the essay rubrics, I start with green already highlighted as part of the scoring to save a few keyboard clicks. Yes, I am also an optimist. When necessary I then remove the green and use the corresponding yellow or red colors. I have only just started using the color codes on the rubrics, so I do not have much data to review in order to relate the effectiveness of the practice. I am here assuming that bringing into alignment the rubrics with the colors of the traffic signs sets up a mental reminder, nudging students to read the assessment more in-depth, keeping them out of the trash can, including the digital ones. In addition, the colors may perhaps at least flash before the students’ eyes even if they are in the process of tossing the evaluations, or in the case of online students merely only opening the assessment for a moment. I am doing what I can to grab the attention of the student who will only give moments to the feedback effort. Perhaps using color will help students to make better connections for improvement.

Will certificates signal quality online learning?

While watching college football one Saturday, I took note of the teams that recognize players’ game accomplishments with stickers on their helmets. Some of the players really have quite a collection proudly displayed on their helmets. By the way, if I were an opposing quarterback I think I would want to stay away from the most highly decorated players. It just seems a warning to me that a play I want to execute would have more chance of working if it went toward a less decorated player.

As I was watching the football games, I began to think about how to recognize the accomplishments of my students beyond the points for grades factor. I was already in this frame of mind as my online education class recently had discussed the merits of providing stickers, or more recess time, or certificates to students they will be teaching in the future. Many of the students in my education classes already have classroom experience and they observe that recognizing the students in such ways helps to optimize performance.  My students added that recognizing their own students in similar ways helps to motivate them, leads to better academic performance, improves discipline, and develops pride.

I will share that I too like having certificates sent to me. Whenever I attend an online webinar, such as those offered through the Softchalk Innovator’s series, I always say yes to the offer to send a certificate of attendance as an email attachment. Beyond the positive feeling of printing out a sheet of paper with my name on it that I receive, I also do have a practical reason for holding the certificates. They can be shared as tangible proof when administrators ask me to demonstrate that I am actively updating my skills.

Extending this to my online students, following the discussion assignment focused on the merits of awards, I attached a certificate of achievement to the comments I gave them. Several of the students wrote to thank me for taking the time to do so. I thought that nice, but it also showed me students also enjoyed the recognition. I had made my point. Now I plan to award them all a certificate following the completion of the course. I will also expand this to other courses I teach.

Will the concept of including certificates of achievement become more common in the future? I think it is quite possible, as a way to signal quality of coursework.

With the ever-expanding world of online learning, I think a signal of quality of coursework will become a factor. I submit that certificates could become more and more important as indicators of achievement. For example, perhaps a group of instructors working independently or through an institution will more and more offer certificates to students who complete their courses. A group of instructors will need to discuss the standards that the students will achieve, and together they will be designing courses that meet those qualities. In so doing, the certificates awarded will gain more and more value over time as the merits of the courses become better known. As an instructor, I would like to see certificates and other indicators of success in a student’s portfolio. The more I know about the student’s path to my courses the more I know about what to do to help the student.

I have already mentioned Softchalk and this is a good source for implementation of certificates into a lesson. Certificates can be automatically delivered to students upon completion of a lesson and the inclusion of a percentage earned on a test can be included. In addition, Microsoft offers free template downloads for certificates. All that is needed is for a teacher to add his or her own creativity.

With that being said, I must end now and find that old shoebox full of old track medals and school awards I have buried somewhere in a closet.

Parents teach themselves to become better students

How likely is it being a parent helps you to become a self-reliant student?

Chances are very good, I think, that organizing children does indeed help anyone to become more self-reliant as a student. I submit as we organize others we ourselves become better organized. If we have any success at all in helping others to succeed, we ourselves must succeed. That is, to teach a lesson one has to first learn the content. To learn how to help children succeed, I think, especially adds to the challenge.

In my Composition I class, college students are now submitting their third essays. Quite often the topic choice to compare life before becoming a parent with life after becoming one is chosen. It is a favorite, for sure, and certainly draws upon personal experiences. Students who are parents often write that they are motivated in college because they find themselves more determined to be a good role model for their children, see the need to acquire more skills for career advancement, and are driven by a new-found sense of responsibility. Each of these is admirable, of course.

Most recently one young mother presented a unique twist to the thesis when she wrote that the self-discipline she demands of her children to succeed in their education she now applies to herself in her own college studies and, therefore, she is a better student for doing so. It is a practice what one preaches as an approach to being a student. It also warms the heart of instructors as we desire to see self-reliance in our students.
To explain, the student wrote that she sees value in limiting the number of hours her children are allowed to watch television. Rather she is determined that her children show her how much homework they have to do, discuss with her the day’s school lessons, and show her their progress. The children are now old enough and have study habits engrained enough that she says she herself has time to go back to school. With that, she admits she too has to limit her own TV viewing, work her own study habits, and even take time to discuss with the children what she is learning in college. In this day of electronic equipment screaming for our attention, these study habits are to be applauded.

Also, my student tells her children that their friends must go home at a certain time so that adequate hours for studying can be applied. Furthermore, the friends may not call for social visits either via phone or computer. I myself think this is very difficult as emails, phones, and text messages constantly ask us for attention. Of course, there are some family members and some friends who will always be immediately answered, but to have the discipline to not be distracted with every message alert is in my view another reason for applause. I wonder if the student also has the inner strength to pass on ice cream and chocolate cake. You know, we are only human. It just seems to be this type of discipline we want to be able to call upon, that when something tempting one loves is in front of him or her the power to resist comes into play.

Finally, my student noted that she has learned better reading habits too because of all the reading she did with her children. Of course, her reading these days are at a more advanced level. However, she learned to be patient with her children’s question, and now with her own. She also learned to answer their questions in depth for herself. She learned that children often bring to the same books new insights, and that repetition is valued, as well as, for her, note-taking. She reads through content at least twice for better comprehension.

So, it seems, my student has not only taught her children quality study habits, but surprised herself that in so doing was actually teaching herself to become a self-reliant student. How wonderful that my student gave me as a teacher insight into this family secret.

MOOC - engaging but falls short for learners

I am currently enrolled in a MOOC, short for Massive Open Online Course. The instructor, Scott E. Page, recently asked students in an open discussion forum to ponder whether or not universities will be around in 100 years, or if online learning will bring about the end to the lecture model. Predicting trends even five years out is a fool’s errand, but the question does point to the changes in progress for education.

For background, the free course is Models of Thinking and 92,000 people from around the world are enrolled. It is offered through Coursera. Professor Page is an engaging instructor, even despite the limitations of video, and embraces alternative delivery systems. I have earlier seen Professor Page through another course I actually purchased that was offered through The Great Courses, which sells courses that are delivered as audios, DVDs, and Internet downloads.

When pondering, Professor Page’s question, I find the Coursera model limiting in terms of effectively delivering instruction. Having said this, let me be clear that I have discovered a number of new concepts and am very pleased that instructors of Prof. Page’s quality are delivering content that I otherwise would never have access to as a learner. I am also already enrolled in other Coursera courses.

Still, when one thinks about it, the Coursera model is nothing more than an extended delivery system of the lecture model that universities have not otherwise enhanced in hundreds of years. When I was an undergraduate at The University of Iowa I remember sitting in lecture halls with at least 500 other students as we listened to various professors lecture. We took notes. We attended weekly meetings with Teaching Assistants. We took tests. What Coursera does is to present almost the same model, only with a recorded video rather than an instructor who is live and present within the moment. The lecture hall now is the computer screen and speaker, and I sit with 92,000 classmates viewing a video in our home offices and convenient coffee shops that have Wi-Fi access. Plus, there are no Teaching Assistants, no way to clarify concepts with an instructor or tutor.

Having taught community college students for 30 years, it is very easy to see what the Coursera model is not contributing to the educational process, which may be the better question. How is it assuring the individual student is learning? At the community college we offer tutors, campus activities, face-to-face interaction with instructors, career connections, and remedial development. That is just to name a few of the major differences. Each of these advantages is also part of the online instructional design I and my colleagues have included into online courses over the past decade.

What I think is the biggest difference is that my community college students receive strong assessments and individualized learning plans. How can Coursera ever match these advantages, with 92,000 people enrolled? It is not possible, especially since the courses are delivered free of charge. Coursera would have to start charging or tweak its funding model in to match what the community college instructors are doing now for students. To extend the point, I and my 92,000 Coursera classmates have a wonderful set of lectures to view, but the assessments fall short of the mark.

I also find myself wanting to be able to consult a resource. No textbook is required for the course, although there are readings provided. Many can be downloaded. I also find no bibliography, which I think is a must to help me make connections not only to the course topics but also for applying concepts in my own world. Ironically, despite having 92,000 classmates I am still alone in my individual learning process. I am not connected to this community, and one thing I know about online learners is that we want to feel connected. Even in answering this question online I am not able to cope with the possibility that 92,000 students could respond. In comparison, the courses I teach have online discussion groups that are designed so that no more than eight or nine students are in one group. As a teacher, it is so much easier to guide learners when the focus is more on quality than quantity.

Finally, it is possible to receive college credit through these MOOCs. Certificates can be earned and turned into college credits that can be transferred to home colleges. I am not so interested in the certificates myself and not pursuing them. Thus, I am skipping the quizzes and tests. I do see the certificate option as a challenge, though, to the college campus model and the value of the degree awarded. I also wonder how different colleges will address this. Will they accept the certificates as proof of course credit that should be counted toward a degree?

To conclude, I am thankful to have the MOOC option as I am finding through Coursera a diversity of ideas to learn. I see value. However, I think that the MOOCs have limitations when it comes to assessing learning. As an educator, and student, I want a stronger guarantee that the certificate earned has merit, when applied to a degree.

Working together students see the light

Each summer, the Smoky Mountain Synchronous Fireflies create a spectacle of light, so much so that people come from miles around to view the show in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While other fireflies in other parts of the world sparkle individually, for some reason Smoky Mountain Synchronous Fireflies are in sync with each other. This creates flashes of light as the fireflies work in unison. Oohs and Ahs follow, of course.

How does this apply to the classroom? Well, think about what can happen if all of the students experience a “flash of light” together as they move through the lessons. Rather than blinking separately, one at a time, they work together for that brilliant flash of light to shine. For the classroom student, of course, the brilliant flash is the idea being taught.

How can this happen? Consider how the instructor can set up the classroom experience so that the students are pulling together. Before moving along any further, I am indebted to Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like A Champion, for his many basic approaches worth applying to the classroom.

One of Lemov’s ideas is to tell students the teacher has a 100 percent rule. That is, everyone in the class is included in the learning process, 100 percent. Everyone is expected to learn, 100 percent, and we learn together, 100 percent. Thus, in any classroom everyone is expected to participate, no exceptions. We are all in this together. If someone fails to learn, then we as a class have not succeeded in our goal.

With my 100 percent rule expectation established, I then move on to two important elements in making the rule a reality. First, if teaching an online class, I establish an agenda for the unit. If am in the classroom, an agenda is written on the board. Second, I also prepare my worksheets and have them ready when students enter the classroom. They are on a desk at the front of the room, and students are expected to pick them up the moment they arrive. I do not hand the worksheets to the students. This is a little more difficult with the online student. I can easily supply the worksheets. Working with the Softchalk design tool, I place the worksheets in the sidebars, but it is more difficult to know for sure that the students are reviewing them.

Since I put the 100 percent rule in place, I also have found that I had to be better organized. For the classroom student, this means that I arrive ten minutes ahead of the class starting time to not only write my agenda on the board but also place the day’s worksheet on a table in the front of the room.

What then happens is wonderful. Students also arrive early for the class and complete the worksheets early, as I had directed. Thus, when class was actually to start, students were ready. I also see fewer students straggle into the room late. I now am able to start the class right on the dot. In fact, I tell students that I will start on time and they are not to be late. If they are late, I ask them why, privately, and remind them of the 100 percent rule.

Interestingly, should an instructor ahead of me go long, and it happens, my students become annoyed, because they want my worksheets in their hands. Quite often the moment the previous class ends I see my students hustle into the room and grab for their worksheets. This is one reason the earliest morning classes recently became more successful as I did not have to wait upon another instructor to relinquish the room. Even more the reason, though, is that students know what I expect, and they know I am serious about applying the 100 percent rule. They know they will be called upon in the classroom, and they know that they are expected to contribute.

The worksheets include concepts to be reviewed as well as new ones to be discussed. When discussions are on the agenda, the questions I want answered are included on the worksheets. This means students who come early then have more time to reflect upon their answers. With that said, students who had before been quiet, now have time to think through the questions and are able to contribute when called upon to do so. And call upon them I do. If nothing else, I can ask the student to read what he or she had written to answer the worksheet question. By the way, I walk the room to be sure students answer the worksheet questions, and I also collect the worksheets at the end of the hour.

To set up the discussions, I also provide weekly progress reports to the students, which, by the way, are also easy to do for an online classroom. The successes and challenges are noted. I always give students the major concerns of the moment to address, both individually and as a group. For the online students, I also provide tips on how to address discussion questions within the lecture. These tips direct them to areas of the course where the ideas to be discussed previously have been presented.

Thus, all the students are “blinking” together and in this way they learn, review, discuss, apply concepts, and solve problems. I believe focusing upon one or two ideas at a time helps us all to see the brilliant flashes of light – together.

Start Here - Small things help organize students

“Start here” …

When designing course content, we must remember to help students find their way. That is, we need to help them to logically move through our lessons. Often, it is something very simple we can do to help the student.

Those two simple words – “Start Here” – are now included on every lecture link in any course I design to help organize online students through their learning efforts. I use Softchalk (http://www.Softchalk.com ) as a design tool and feature those words not only on the link to the lecture but also on the first page of the lecture menu. I started using “Start Here” after completing a Quality Matters (http://www.qmprogram.org) course a few summers ago. That was one of the many organizational tips the Quality Matters course suggested.

The advice of using “Start Here” also seems so simple and so logical. Having said this, I do not think I will always keep student eyes from wandering or their fingers from clicking in every direction, but using “Start Here” at the beginning of the lecture sure gives them a clue as to where to begin.

I have also begun to place other organizational cues for students in other places with the courses I design. Most recently in my Composition I class I added the words “How to Improve Your Next Essay Score” on my rubric sheets. For so many years only the word “Rubric” flew across the top of the page, which was highlighted with scores from 1 to 4, depending upon the student’s degree of proficiency for an evaluated area of the essay. That word “Rubric” means more to me than it does to the student. For them, I want to see improvement, so now I more clearly shape the message toward that end. I also added a note about studying the rubric for strengths and challenges, and I summarize the challenges into a list of bullet points.

My overall challenge to students is to focus on only a few items at a time and to earn a few more points for the next essay. In addition, within the rubric, I have added hyperlinks that provide the student with explanations of terms. For example, the thesis section on a rubric has a hyperlink out to a website that provides an explanation for writing an acceptable thesis. It is another little thing that can be done to help students right at the moment of learning. In my course, I also make use of Smarthinking’s online tutors to support student writing through the rough draft phase. Here clicking on the hyperlink thesis will take the reader of this blog to an explanation of the concept, as an example.

Also, at the start of each lecture, I list all activities that need to be accomplished in the unit, thus giving the students one place for organizing themselves. Otherwise, I find many students scanning rather than reading a lecture. I also guide the eye with sub-heads over sections that are chunked around one topic so that the scanners can at least gain the gist of the lecture’s content. However, I do state my expectations as to what needs to be accomplished and estimate how much time is needed in the unit. I hold students accountable through quizzes and again on the rubric assessment when the ideas I introduced to them in the lectures do not show up within the essays.

Another nice tool within Softchalk’s gallery is one that allows me to send students forward or backward within the lecture. That is, there is a way to link the students to an area previously discussed within the lecture. This helps the student if he or she finds a need for a review, after reading deeper into the lecture. I also think it useful, as well, to then link the student back to where he or she was previously. It is just another “little thing” to do to organize student learning.

To end the lecture, I offer a summary, a review activity (of which Softchalk has several types from which to choose), and a friendly wish for success. As I now close this blog, I am reminded of the need for a way to signal to the blog reader that the conclusion has been reached. With that being said, when I was a newspaper sports writer I was trained to end all of my articles for the typesetter with the number 30. Newspaper type was set in lead when I started as a reporter. The use of number 30 goes back to the Civil War when reporters ended telegraph communications with the number to signal they were done sending. So, we have seen the need to organize the reader for decades. We just sometimes forget to do so.

                                 - 30 -

Would you want you as a student in your course?

Would you do well as a student in the online course you are teaching? I have decided I could well be a poor online student and a teacher’s nightmare, even though I enjoy teaching online and am very familiar with the tools of courses I design.


This week I started a course featuring online learning techniques. Because the course is taught using ANGEL as a platform I decided to enroll in order to gain experience with a delivery system different than the one I have taught with for 10 years – eCollege. I was invited to participate free of charge because I was told my experience as a online teacher would be seen as helpful for those new to online teaching. I also like tossing myself into new learning experiences, just to gain a fresh perspective – this time as a student with no experience working with a new delivery system.

Wow, I found that ANGEL was more new to me than I expected. I began to ask some of the same basic questions my own students ask of me. I had seen the questions before, but this time I was the one asking them. First, I really did not understand how to access the course, and the password I was sent did not work for me. Frustration! Second, I could not understand the Help Directory directions as to what to do next. Frustration intensified! Third, I wrote the administrator and the instructor and was sent a new password that never arrived. I had no idea at the time, but my own server was having problems with attacks and nothing was coming through to my computers as email. Frustrated and confused and then some! Finally, I called for help. and a patient administrator took me step by step through the process of signing into the course after even another new password was provided. Then I had access. Great! Oh, but then I read that the password was only temporary , and I would need to change it, which led me to even more confusion, and more frustration.

Administrators and the instructor all were always very nice, which is what one wants, but I was so very lost. The experience sure has given me a new perspective as to what students go through in trying to access a course.

Once in the course I will say that the newness to me of ANGEL continued to confuse me. I find some of the tools similar to what I currently know through eCollege, but many are not and it has taken me several hours to understand how to use them. I am thankful that there were useful tutorials available.

All in all, my objective to totally confuse myself has been a success. I will also add that I now see the value of a very good orientation. I also see the value of letting students test drive the course, using the same tools they will use in the course and offering the orientation weeks ahead of the course start. I am glad also that I am the teacher and not my own student.

Six tips to improve online discussions

When working with online students in discussion groups I find that the following six techniques to be helpful.


First, I refrain from placing more than eight or nine students in one group. Just as I would not place all students in a classroom in one group, I also divide enrolled online students into smaller groups. I suggest eight or nine as a maximum number as this is more manageable than working with a larger group. For example, my online classes, as a rule, have 28 students enrolled in each class. Tracking the threads of a discussion group with 28 students is not possible. My classroom discussion groups have four or five students, but as a rule a few online students will not participate and so it is not much of a discussion if the number start to fall for any one group. That is why I recommend eight or nine, to give a cushion, so to speak, to the numbers and to keep the discussion lively.

Second, I place students alphabetically in a group. I do not think it matters much to be more random than this. However, I do place students with the same last names in separate groups. I do not want a husband-wife to be in the same group. I just want to be sure they have different experiences.

Third, I find it useful to enter the groups as the instructor and post remarks right along with the students. This allows me to nudge conversations forward. I point out where students need more complete answers or when they are not actually answering the questions that were asked.

Fourth, I ask that an original posting from the students be made at least two days ahead of the final deadline. I always ask for at least two more responses to classmates, for a total of three postings. I never allow all three postings to be made on the same day. This keeps students from merely trying to gain the points and also encourages them to participate in a true discussion.

Fifth, I include a rubric that shows the students how they will be evaluated. This helps to standardize my grading and more importantly improves the dialogue.

Finally, I often will create two or even three different topics for discussion. This helps me as an instructor to see variety in the thinking of the students and also assures that students in different groups are not copying each other’s work.

Silencing those canaries Get, A Lot, and You

Ever since the day my seventh grade English teacher screamed at us not to ever use the word get in an essay I have very carefully tried to avoid doing so, along with got, getting, and gotten, of course. Now as an English Composition instructor myself I actually deduct points when my students use the words. With care I tell students that get is a weak verb and to use action verbs to move their readers.


My seventh grade teacher explained that to us many times and as I recall was doing so again before she erupted in anger at the end of the classroom period that day. I want to affirm that we seventh graders all really liked our teacher and to watch her grow angry at her desk over the use of get shocked us. She had never before been so angry with us. I also recall feeling very sorry for having committed the sin, and I think most of my fellow students in the class did as well.

To be sure, we were all relieved when the bell rang, signaling the end of the tirade and our chance to escape. Then, compounding the moment, our teacher shouted at us to, “Get out” of the room. Well, we were even more dumbfounded to hear the teacher use get in a sentence herself, and then a classmate pointed out to her, with the greatest respect, that she had just used the cursed word herself. This resulted with the teacher bowing her head down on her desk. Then the entire class jumped up and surrounded her desk. We cared about for our teacher. We all apologized to her and asked if she was okay. All I remember is that a hand weakly waved at us to signal that she was fine, as if she were surrendering, the hand moving back and forth like a white flag waving, and then we left.

The next class things seem to be back to normal, but I know for sure that I would try to avoid using that word. The drama of the day prior had left an impression on me.

As I said, now, as an English teacher myself, I take off points for the use of get in essays. I too have grown weary of seeing this word and its cousins. I also take off for using a lot and the second person. I do not go on rants. I do, though, see value in deducting points. Today I think of these words as my “canaries in the mine” and they help me to help students. Just as miners once listened for bird songs to know that dangerous gas was not building up in the mines they worked, my canaries sing to me when students use get as a weak verb, a lot when they need to present more detail, and the second person you when the essay’s tone is shifting. When I see the problems today, I also sense that students just were not listening to me yesterday. It amazes me with how quickly the problems disappear in the following essays assignments when students lose points in a previous one. My canaries are then silenced, honoring my seventh grade teacher as well.

"Bread crumbs" lead students to better study habits

Depending upon your outlook, when students tell us they would like more study tips, we either see that as a good thing or a bad thing.


I have written before about how my courses use the Noel Levitz retention tool, the Noel Levitz College Student Inventory ™, to leverage what students tell us their needs are with content useful to them in the course. The majority of the students in my current Comp I online course say they would like help in finding good study tips. They told me this through the CSI, which was presented prior to the start of the semester.

Of course, we teachers pride ourselves on building study tips into our courses, and so it is easy at first to say the students just are not paying attention. I can easily take this attitude as the course is marked with what I call bread crumbs. That is, worksheets, practice quizzes, diagnostics, referrals to counselors, links to tutors, and so much more are clearly labeled. I even have the words “start here” to indicate that students should start with the lectures. How can the students possibly miss all of this? Well, some do. Plus, remember that the survey was done prior to the semester when students had not seen any of the study elements.

With that, I continue to build into the online courses I teach more bread crumbs to provide the help they crave. My latest effort was to create short study tips as announcements. I have created 10, focusing on tips for essays and critical thinking. I have cued the computer to release a new one every 10 days. In addition, I plan to provide a hyperlink within each study tip announcement that tells students where they can find more on the topic.

One of my key concerns is whether or not I am giving the students the exact study tip they seek. However, I also view these tips as entry points, so to speak, to a broader resource they can find, which is why I add the hyperlinks for more help. For example, I am moving them toward the tutors, the handbook, worksheets, and myself, following a study tip in the announcements.

I am including my list of 10 resources in this blog. Readers may use any of these, if they are so inclined. If you have good ones of your own, please share. I am grateful to others who have shared many of these ideas. Here are the tips I am now placing in the announcements:

Study Tip 1: SQ3R clarifies the reading

One approach to reading an assignment, even to review your own writing, is the SQ3R approach. This stands for Survey, Question, Read, Review, and Reflect. To expand, first Survey the essay. That is, scan it. Pay attention to sub-heads, if present, and look quickly for the main ideas in paragraphs. Then think of the Questions you have after scanning the essay. This will engage your mind to look for the answers. Then Read through the essay. Next, take time to Review what you have learned and whether or not your questions were answered. Finally, Reflect upon the meaning of the content. Then repeat the process. Sometimes the essay is better with the second read.

Study Tip 2: Include three things when writing a thesis

When writing a thesis, be sure you do three things: 1. make a claim, 2. explain why it true, and 3. show why it matters. Example: Children should not stay up late at night watching television (claim) because they need eight hours of sleep each night (why it is true), so that they will not be inattentive the next day in school (why it matters).

Study Tip 3: Organize thoughts before you start to write

One element that marks the difference between the novice writer and the experienced one is taking time to organize your thoughts. Just as a home builder would not construct a house without a blueprint, the writer needs to plan thoughts. Planning an essay can be in the form of an outline, a brainstorm, a list of ideas that need to be included, and so on. The point for the writer is to consider the ideas to be included within the essay prior to starting.

Study Tip 4: Essay structure key to success

Presenting ideas in a structure that helps the reader to comprehend the ideas is important for successful communication. One essay format, the five-paragraph structure, offers the reader a format for comprehending the writer’s ideas. The five-paragraph structure calls for, in this order, an introduction, a thesis within the first paragraph, at least three main body paragraphs that each has a main idea with supporting examples and explanations, and a conclusion that summarizes the lessons learned and/or makes a prediction about the future.

Study Tip 5: Conclusions summarize lessons learned make future predictions

A conclusion should add to the points the main body has made as the writer wraps up the essay. A good way to do so is to make a prediction about the future, given the points made in the main body. A writer may also comment upon the lessons learned, for example, how the case that was just made has changed him or her as a person. A conclusion must not present ideas that were not developed in the main body. In addition, the conclusion must connect to the thesis.

Study Tip 6: Avoid distractions when studying

Many students think they are good at multi-tasking and so they study with the television or music on in the background. The cell phone and text-messaging are also close at hand. Studies show that human beings really are not good at multi-tasking, that the examples presented really should be called what they are, distractions. Study in a quiet environment and your mind will be better able to focus on the material.

Study Tip 7: Make use of Online Tutors

The course offers opportunities for connecting with online tutors for questions involving math and English. Students are encouraged to make use of the tutors. Each student has 15 hours of time scheduled with tutors per year and very few students make use of this time. Having a person who is trained as a consultant is valuable. However, do not expect the tutor to do the work. The tutor’s role is to guide the student to individual success.

Study Tip 8: Paragraphs require explanation and example

When writing a paragraph, remember that your objective is to communicate your ideas that support the thesis to the reader. Because the reader cannot “read” your mind, but is limited to only the words on the page, you need to provide details beyond the main idea of the paragraph. It is important to support the main idea with examples and explanations. Therefore, a writer must be aware of what the reader needs to know to fully understand the message being delivered.

Study Tip 9: Critical thinking valued in communication

Instructors value the concept of critical thinking, but at the same time this can be very confusing as to what is wanted because it is seldom defined. To demonstrate you are thinking critically begin with any one of three processes: one, review the evidence and conclude what is truthful; two, consider a concept and apply it to a situation; or, three, show how you would solve a problem. Note that each of these approaches must be appropriately applied to the question being asked.

Study Tip 10: Creative thinking brings out the inventor

One creative thinking approach is to combine two ideas and make something new. For example, someone in the plastics industry once looked at the spoon and fork and made a new eating utensil, the spork, combining the spoon and fork into one utensil. To apply the creative thinking concept to your studies, consider how, for example, big ideas have changed history. In addition, consider how big ideas of today are changing the world. Finally, consider how the big ideas you have learned in one course can be applied to another.

A Tutor for Every Student

In any class of students, teachers know that not all are in the same place in terms of skill development. Thus, instructors often put up the Help Wanted sign and assign students to seek out tutors. However, I suggest thinking of tutors as working under a Help Offered and Accepted banner. That is, I make it a requirement for all students to work with tutors, not just for those who have identifiable problems. Since the help is offered, I require every student to take advantage of it.


Although students may grumble at first, the advantages far out-weigh the disadvantages, and eventually all students will see the wisdom of this requirement. I have made the requirement for the rough draft stage of any essay assignment in my college English composition classes for years. Because I do, I see stronger final essay drafts.

Another advantage is that someone other than the teacher is commenting upon the student work in the rough draft stage. Although we can focus on different things, direction on my part to the tutors helps. In addition, students also must start writing a few days ahead of the final deadline in order to interact with tutors, meaning procrastination is not an issue.

In addition, students gain confidence when someone who is trained to comment upon their essays does so. I also see fewer hand-offs of the rough drafts to family and friends. Too often the family member of friend, going too far in being helpful, writes all or a portion of the final draft, and this leads to complications for a student, such as failing the assignment and maybe even the course.

Here’s a word to the wise - be sure the students also submit what the tutors recommends to them to you. Also require the students to provide answers to questions that demonstrate the changes they have made in line with what the tutor has suggested. This feedback is very useful in engaging with the students. I add questions that demonstrate students have reflected upon the essay’s focus and have addressed technical and structural concerns as well. I also direct students to ask me to clarify issues that may still confuse them.

If you are in the classroom or a blended learning environment, perhaps your college offers tutorial help in a learning center. If so, invite tutors into the classroom to engage students while working through rough drafts. This helps students to advance as you observe. It also assures that the students interact with tutors.

To sum up, tutors are a great help but work for coordination with them and the students. In so doing, students receive excellent feedback, and learning outcomes improve.

Online Learners Want to Participate

A funny thing happened on the way to learning about my online students this fall. Through the application of the Noel Levitz College Student Inventory ™, I discovered that about half the class would like more opportunity to meet their fellow classmates. Plus, it is just not through discussions that they would like to meet each other but rather in-person, especially through student activities. I say “funny thing” because I had not suspected that so many online students would also want to meet classmates in person.


When students tell me themselves they would like to have opportunities to meet each other, then as an educator I need to respond. In addition, I think it is my responsibility to help the online learner embrace this part of the college experience, if for no other reason than the fact that most online learners are already paying student activity fees as part of their tuition that support the clubs’ very existence. This is also good for retention.

As I said, it seems ironical that an online college student would make such a request. After all, meeting people in person is less likely to happen when students are learning at home, isolated away from the college campus. However, they do. The reasons for learning at home, by the way, are many, and not all online students feel the same way, but invitations to participate in activities need to go out to those who do show an interest.

Acting upon this information, I had a conversation recently with a college student government adviser, encouraging him to make a special effort to engage the online learner. That’s because many of the online students who want an opportunity to participate in campus activities also ask how to become student government leaders, an activity that requires a high level of commitment. So, after talking with the adviser, I put that student request in the accomplished column. Now I am posting activity announcements for online learners. In addition, one of the transition to college counselors has collected calendars from the three colleges in the Eastern Iowa Community College District where students are served and these are now posted in the course.

At this time I see many online education communities moving toward building social communities. More and more, when students first sign on to their classes, they first see campus announcements. I also see private windows open where students can quickly see how they are doing in their classes. Thus, we educators not only can fulfill the students’ need to socialize but also leverage the requests into focusing the students upon their courses.

In conclusion, I think a few simple steps can be enough – a calendar, announcements, invitations, a list of campus clubs. That is, as online instructors we cannot sponsor our own bowling night, but we can connect the online learner to campus activities when events are scheduled. Maybe we will even want to join them ourselves.

Formative v Summative Assessments for Online Learners

One of major differences in how quickly instructors can adapt learning for students is at the heart of the classroom vs. online learning debate.


In the classroom, instructors are able to respond more quickly, adapting lessons in progress. Of course, adapting lessons while the learning is in place is otherwise known as Formative Assessment. Score one for the classroom.

To compensate for Online Learners, the lesson plan must be effectively updated between semesters, or after lessons are completed. This, of course, is known as Summative Assessment. However, updating lessons plans between semesters helps the classroom learner as well, given the advantage of in-time lesson adaptation. Score another point for the classroom.

Even so, we can always improve the course for the online learner, as well as the classroom learner. For example, most recently I have seen too many students come into the live college classroom with little understanding of how to write a paragraph, one that meets academic standards. Without this knowledge not only are clarity and unity lost within the paragraph but also the entire essay structure falters. It is not unusual that up to one-third of the students – no matter what the learning environment – do not have college level writing skills for the paragraph and more. Score zero for all education.

In addressing this issue and others in the classroom, I have brought in tutors, have presented one-to-one and group activities, have focused on the issues in the students’ rough drafts, and have provided examples of paragraphs that do meet academic standards. Success varies.

With that being said, classroom students may also connect with online course material free of charge. This advantage is offered within the eCollege LMS system our college subscribes to, which is known as eCompanion. Score a point for all learners.

Nevertheless, online learners will generally make as much progress as the classroom student by the time the course ends. However, the advancement may be slower. How is this possible? The online student is required to send rough drafts to an online tutor and then interact with the instructor regarding questions that arise. Score a point for all learners as everyone is required to send drafts to online tutors. The online learner, though, must make more effort here with the tutor as the instructor is not as available.

In addition, my online English composition course now also provides a unit devoted to the structure of the essay (including paragraphing) and includes within the lectures commentary on how to build paragraphs specific to the essay assignments. This was built after so many students showed the need for a unit where the basics could be reviewed at anytime. Score another point for all students.

In conclusion, when a problem is seen, it is important to use a combined Formative and Summative Assessment approach, adjusting it not only for the individual students but also for the limitations of the learning environment. This helps all learners to score well.

Starting Students Early

As summer concludes, I am putting the finishing touches on an early start program for my fall 2012 Composition I online class. Officially, the class starts Aug. 27, but I opened portions of the course June 16, extending the class by 10 weeks. The concept is to give students an opportunity to orientate early to the class and online learning, if necessary, as well as to have an opportunity to write their first essay long before the class actually started.

With the focus on orientation, not each unit in the course was opened. Students were asked to review the Orientation lecture, the Introduction to the Course unit, and an Essay Structure unit. In addition, the students were asked to complete the College Student Inventory ™, a product of Noel Levitz that asks students to provide their own academic needs for success. Once the students completed the survey they were awarded 10 points and an opportunity to start the first essay assignment, one featuring narration. Finally, each student was asked to introduce himself or herself in a discussion group. Each unit, by the way, was designed with the help of Softchalk.

In addition, the course schedule and syllabus were emailed to students, and they were provided their counselor’s names and contact information. Concerns the CSI identified were addressed by me.

The number of students enrolled in the course is 28 and, as of Aug. 11, 18 have taken the CSI and earned the 10 points. With over two weeks before the official start of the semester, two students have completed the narration assignment, and six others are reviewing content included in the supporting lecture. Nineteen students have entered the course, and 15 have on average 15 hours of time in the course recorded. Eleven students have not yet started or responded to four email invitations or a voice message.

To date, the results are encouraging. I have already helped students address software and textbook issues, have discussed online learning concerns, and observe that it is possible for students to complete their coursework early or to have extended time that they themselves have earned when problems occur. Thus, two-thirds of the class has already earned points and have started the class long before it officially opens. I see this not only as a useful approach for online students but also one that could help classroom students to organize.