Transfer of Learning

When we begin our courses, we often spend time and attention on getting started effectively by creating a chance for students to get to know each other, understand the expectations of the course, and learn about the course objectives. It is just as important to plan the ending of the course to maximize student learning.

As you approach the end of your course, consider the following:

• Summarize key takeaways. Revisit the key concepts and ideas that were covered in the course. This could be not only the course content, but also insights from discussions.
• Revisit the syllabus. Record a quick video where you revisit the syllabus and summarize the course for your students. Point out how this experience was designed with the intent to help them be more effective in learning something they value, as this is motivating for most adult learners. They want to learn something that is meaningful to their current lives or immediate futures.
• Restate the course learning outcomes (CLOs). Remind students of the course learning outcomes and highlight how those outcomes were achieved. Emphasize how these outcomes build on on their prior knowledge and support their personal and professional goals.
• Make connections to the big picture. Depending on the course, you can help students understand how what they have learned will be applied in the future. For example, you can offer specific examples of how professionals in the field use the same knowledge and skills they learned in the course.
• Celebrate! Take time to celebrate by highlighting the new skills students have learned.

What is "Transfer of Learning"?

In this video, you will learn about five strategies to support near and far transfer of learning. How can you use these strategies to help your students effectively and continually apply the knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes they learned in your course to other experiences they will have beyond your course?

Encourage Reflection

Reflective practice is just as important for students as it is for instructors. When we give students the space for reflection, we are honoring their experience and helping to build critical thinking skills. 

As you plan reflection activities, consider the Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching. How can you continue to develop positive attitudes, enhance meaning, and engender competence through self-reflection. For example, 

• How can you eliminate or minimize any negative conditions that initially surrounded the course content? Did students feel fear or anxiety about the content? Did they have prior conceptions that have changed? Have they developed greater self-efficacy (beliefs about one's capabilities to perform a specific task) toward the content?
• Has their experience in the this course sparked new or renewed interest in the subject matter? Have they discovered ways their learning has personal and/or professional implications? Have they come up with new questions or "wonderings" they look forward to pursuing after the course?
• How have your students developed confidence in their ability to apply new learning to their own lives? Have they discovered insights into their own personal strengths or areas they can continue to improve? How do they feel empowered to take on new challenges?

Reflective practice stretches our students' metacognitive muscles, and it is a habit we want them to build that will serve them well as lifelong learners. You may choose to create a discussion forum for students to share end-of-course reflections. This approach also lends itself to using digital tools such as Flipgrid where students can record reflections of the course. Reflection is a skill that needs developed, so provide students with prompts to help them get started.

Final Assessment Feedback

Many courses end with a cumulative experience that brings together key concepts and skills. When you integrate final projects into your course, students have an artifact that encapsulates key learnings that can be used if they need to create a portfolio or collect evidence of their learning.

One important idea instructors should relay to students is to review the feedback they receive on their final project, even if the course has ended. Students should be aware that the final project represents their ability to use and apply knowledge articulated in the course learning outcomes (CLOs), and it is important for them to use the feedback on the final project in future courses.

Sometimes, once a course ends, students do not review feedback. Help your students develop the important skill of reviewing and reflecting on their final feedback. In addition, students can present their work in the form of a final presentation. This can be done quite effectively online either by having students pre-record a video that they submit (using a tool such as Panopto) or by presenting during an online synchronous meeting (using a tool such as Zoom).

Creating an opportunity for students to lead a final showcase or symposium can be another great way for them to take ownership of how the course ends, while giving them an audience to share their learning. This is a good way to continue to foster the peer-to-peer collaboration and social presence that is so important in your Community of Inquiry (CoI).

The end of the course is also a good time to not only summarize and review, but also help students see how they can continue to dig in on the course topics.

As students are working through the modules each week, they may not have the time to take advantage of the learning materials and resources that are embedded in the course. Create an open link or downloadable PDF to these to help students have easy-access as a reference they can use after the course.

Likewise, consider highlighting co-curricular or extension activities that relate to topics in the course. For example, if there is a student organization or club that aligns with a topic in the course, encourage students to get engaged. Or, if there are national or global examples or real-world stories or resources to share, point students towards these in a resource document. You might even consider emailing this to students after the course ends or by posting it as a final announcement.

Reflecting on Student Feedback

National Louis utilized the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction tool for assessing student perceptions of learning, quality, and satisfaction at the course level. The IDEA survey is a part of an ongoing plan to ensure academic excellence. Instructors can use survey results to assess their teaching performance and as a guide for developing teaching related skills.

While the IDEA survey is a helpful tool, instructors may choose to use other feedback mechanisms throughout the course, and especially at the end. Ask questions that spur interesting insights, reflections, and conversations.

Some prompts might include:

• What advice do you have for students who are about to take this course?
• Using three adjectives, describe the best thing about this course.
• Using three adjectives, describe what frustrated you about this course and why.
• What was the most valuable thing you learned in this course?
• Find a meme to describe this course. Why did you choose it?
• If my instructor could know one thing about you and your experience in this course, what would it be and why?

A Reflective Teaching Journal can be a useful tool to help you reflect on your teaching and your students' feedback. This can be an effective way to also assist you as you work to develop your own personal teaching style.

Following are some prompts to help you get started using such a journal:

• What did you learn about yourself with regards to your preferred teaching style? What about your work with students did you enjoy the most? What did you enjoy the least, and what might you change about this to make it more enjoyable? 
• What did you learn about your students during this course? What assumptions did you make at the beginning, and how might those assumptions affected your expectations for student performance? What was especially motivating for them? What role did you play (or could you play) in fostering motivation?
• What were some of the most stressful parts of teaching this course for you? What do you think made it stressful? What might you change to reduce the stress you experienced next time?
• What knowledge or skill can you develop that would make you more effective at planning? At leading a discussion? At providing feedback? At supporting students (beyond their academic needs)? 
• How do you see yourself differently now as an online instructor? Did you have preconceptions about online learning? Have those changed? What can you do to overcome any other challenges you have in promoting a Community of Inquiry in an online course?