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| What are your course learning goals? You’ve likely outlined them in your syllabus. Now, as we reach the sixth week of the semester, ask yourself: Do your students really know and understand these goals?
“Critical thinking” frequently appears in learning goal lists for a liberal arts education. In my current sophomore-level math class, I estimate we engage in critical thinking about 97.3% of the time. Yet, when I recently asked one of my strongest students whether we met this goal in our class, they hesitated. Surprisingly, they were unsure if our activities counted as critical thinking! The following day, when I posed the question to the entire class, I received similarly non-committal responses. It turns out, what may seem clear and obvious to us as instructors doesn’t always translate the same way to our students. As you conduct midterm course evaluations, revisit your learning outcomes. Make sure your students are understanding and absorbing the content as you intend. Even if you’ve linked specific test questions or assignments to these learning goals, it might be enlightening to check if your students see these connections as clearly as you do. While you hope for the best, prepare to be surprised—I certainly was. |