Ending Class with Purpose

So often we start class by setting-the-stage or doing warm-up exercises, but we rarely take the time to end class with the same purpose.  We teach up until the last-minute, forgetting that students benefit from opportunities to check for understanding, tie up loose ends and correct misunderstandings. An intentional closure activity creates a more lasting impression. Rob Lucero of Colorado State University calls this the recency effect, also known as a lasting impression. Below are a few tried and true strategies that work well for closure activities:

1. Three W’s- Students discuss or write: (1) What did we learn today? (2) So what (how does this fit into what we are learning)? (3) Now what (can we predict where we are going)?
2. 3-2-1- Students reflect and record 3 things they learned, 2 things they have a question about, 1 thing they want the you to know.
3. If you prefer to end class with a question for individual or group reflection, Rick Wormeli wrote an excellent book called Summarization in Any Subject: 50 Techniques to Improve Student Learning. Below are some questions to guide student reflection from his book:
1. How does something you learned connect to what you already knew?
2. What questions do you still have?
3. What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned?
4. Imagine a simile or a metaphor about what we learned.
5. Think of one thing you have learned in this class that you can apply in another class or another part of your life. What is it, and how can you apply it?
6. What was your favorite activity in class? Why?
7. What was your least favorite activity in class? Why?

Submitted by:
Ashley Montgomery
Assistant Dean of Teaching, Learning & Assessment
University of Maine at Farmington

More tips and just-in-time resources are available at https://conhi.asu.edu/academic-innovation