I went back to requiring weekly responses to readings and lectures after two semesters without the requirement. I know students always complained about weekly responses and I found that the grades in a course would not change with or without the responses. But, something told me that the online conversations were valuable.<\/p>\n
There are already 138 posts to the forums on Moodle this semester. The students are using the forums actively, along with the group wiki pages I set up on Moodle for students. The posts reflect a much deeper attention to detail than I think the students exhibited in the courses without weekly responses.<\/p>\n
While the grades might not be different without the responses, I’m convinced the overall quality of work and reflection is higher. I realize that if the grading were more objective this would not be an issue — in a writing course we always “curve” the grades somewhat based on the work in that class.<\/p>\n
Also, I think the students rise to what they perceive as teacher expectations<\/strong>. The weekly responses convey that I care about the content. The fact I respond to their weekly online thoughts seems to encourage additional writing. I’m not marking grammar, spelling, or other mechanical issues. I want the students to write and reflect throughout the semester.<\/p>\n There is also a noticeable elevation of class discussions. Students come having read the assignments, which helps move discussions along so we can focus on problem areas.<\/p>\n I am glad that I went back to the weekly response model and will likely continue such work in the future, regardless of what the subject of the course might be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I went back to requiring weekly responses to readings and lectures after two semesters without the requirement. I know students always complained about weekly responses…<\/p>\n