As we head into the final weeks of the semester and focus on making it through the end of the syllabus, with all of the class prep, assignment organizing, and grading that entails, remember that your students are also facing the pre- and post-Thanksgiving deluge of work and stress. It’s never too late to try a new way to check in with them and help them think through their own learning process, especially at a time of the semester when they may be focusing only on deadlines.
This article describes one professor’s approach to using a post-exam reflection or “exam wrapper” to prompt students to think intentionally about their own study habits and learning processes. The article reports that “Past research on exam wrappers has found that implementing the strategy can improve course and exam grades, as well as students’ level of metacognition and changes to study habits.”