Designing Reflections + Final Portfolio Project

Designing Reflections + Final Portfolio Project

Sean M. Landers

Entertainment Technology / Emerging Media Technology at New York City College of Technology (CityTech)

Design Foundations I

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This activity is a capstone portfolio, the culminating synthesis for a foundation course built on iterative design, thinking through media, and developing a reflective practice. Throughout the semester, as students engaged across rapid prototyping across media, they were tasked to complete preliminary freewrites and post-activity response writing.

This final activity gathers and makes use of those scattered pieces, making a final argument for the use and necessity of such reflective writing, even (especially!) in an age of AI.

Students document what they've made and design the presentation of that work, using their previous fragments of writing as a structure and support. This encourages to students to make sense of what they've made, to design the presentation of that work, and to draw meaning from the sequence and structure of the semester itself. The project is an archive and an interface, a user-centered reflection of their own design identity. The portfolio becomes a creative product and a reflective narrative: students explain their decisions, apply visual composition principles, and reflect on their identity and development as designers.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Students will:

synthesize work from across multiple project types and media;

understand and apply the principles of design thinking;

communicate ideas through formal and informal writing;

apply core visual composition & interaction design principles to create a cohesive user experience;

reflect on learning, growth, and process;

demonstrate an understanding of interaction design and design fundamentals;

engage with tools (Notion, Trello, Figma) introduced during earlier modules in a real-world, self-directed project;

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This is a culminating assignment that comes it at the conclusion of the semester, but is most effective when the groundwork for it has been laid over the course of the semester in previous units, allowing students to accumulate a substantial body of writing to feed the process of reflection.

Assigned: Week 14
In-Class Support: Week 14–15 (Portfolio Inspiration, Artist Statement, Draft Workshop)
Final Due: Week 16
In-Class Time: ~3 sessions
Out-of-Class Time: ~5–8 hours over two weeks

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

Preparation: Students must have previously completed core projects (in the case of this course, three course projects, but it could be more or less), all of which include instructions that request brief (250-750 word), structured reflections on their process and product.

Instructor provides a structure, examples, and a sequence of scaffolded mini-activities (portfolio inspirations, artist statement, reflection prompt) both in previous activities and in this activity.

Instructions to Students:

Collect and describe each of the three projects completed during the term, which you have previously submitted in the form of project folders

Compose a 500–700 word reflective essay on design identity and learning

Apply principles of visual composition and interaction design to structure and present your work

Use any platform of your choice (PDF, website, slide deck, Figma file); justify that choice

Final portfolios must feel designed, not just assembled

This is the final assignment and represents 20–25% of the course grade; the other assignments represented in it previously accounted for ~50% of their course grade.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

I began with

Clarity and Structure (30%)
Is the portfolio organized, legible, and navigable? Are sections clear?
Application of Design Principles (30%)
Are visual composition principles and interaction design principles applied thoughtfully across the whole portfolio? Does it reflect design thinking in its structure and layout?
Process Reflection (20%)
Is there thoughtful reflection on what you’ve learned and how your process evolved?
Representation of Design Identity (20%)
Does the portfolio communicate something meaningful about you as a designer?

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

This activity emerged from a desire to ensure that low-stakes reflections (e.g., freewrites), which had yielded thoughtful and interesting results in previous iterations of the course, were not merely disposable assignments. I hoped that incorporating them into high-stakes creative production as a precursor and an opportunity of reflection could yield a final expression of iterative design thinking; moreover, that it could take the format of the 'portfolio assignment', which sometimes feels stapled on and hastily presented and elevate it into a suitable capstone (which can model the skills and process necessary to succeed in subsequent high stakes capstones that they may be required to produce in subsequent course work).

The success of the activity lies in the clarity with which students articulated their growth, when given structured space to reflect. They learned to consider their audience in new ways, even when the audience was themselves, or potential employers, investors, or collaborators.

Challenges included time management — things get hectic at the conclusion of the semester. This is where it is helpful that so much of the material had already been produced; that this was, in large part, an exercise in structure and curation, and an opportunity to revisit and reflect on writing previously written. There was also the issue of tool friction — many of the authoring tools on offer had only previously been explored in project 3, and this assignment not only came on the heels of it, but had a substantial overlap between completion of project 3 and introduction of project 4 — that means there was a great deal of conceptual fuzziness as students tried to conceive of what their portfolio was and what it could look like. It also took a great deal of time to create the understanding of how this was more than just a cluster of previously completed assignments, and how it could be a designed experience; this was addressed most effectively through in-class checkpoints and exemplars.

Flexible submission formats were useful, but sometimes too much flexibility can be as frustrating as too little flexibility; next time around, I'll provide clearer tracks that I'll ask students to commit to early in the process, as well as a modification of the overall assignment write-up tailored to each track. This will also give the students communities of practice operating in the same mode of production; peer groups can perform reviews, share insights, and have informal working groups to share questions, concerns and frustrations with.

Next time, I plan to incorporate an early-semester preview of what a β€œdesign reflection” looks like to give students more scaffolding throughout the term; I also intend to introduce the formal writing component of overall reflection earlier in the process and request that students take their drafts to the writing center, in order to provide a more structured and comprehensive instruction in writing than I was capable of fitting into the semester.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

I'm sharing links to the course OpenLab, as well as a page of the course assignments (Activities, low-stakes activities which structure their work overall, and Projects, which are the high stakes activities that demonstrate mastery) as well as the assignment for Project 04, the portfolio project.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/mtec1101-hd03-sp2025/

Finding and Feeding Curiosity: When Students Drive Their Own Learning

Finding and Feeding Curiosity: When Students Drive Their Own Learning

Sergio Belich

Computer Systems Technology / NYC College of Technology

Web Programming I

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

In this collaborative research activity, students work in small groups (3-5 students per row) during the laboratory portion of class to research and define key concepts introduced in the preceding lecture. Each group is assigned a major topic from the chapter and tasked with finding comprehensive yet accessible definitions using internet sources. Groups contribute their findings to a shared Google document, creating a collaborative chapter resource that serves as a student-generated textbook supplement. Additionally, separate groups are formed to create and present websites based on the material learned throughout the semester, with these projects due at the end of the semester as a culminating demonstration of web programming concepts. This activity transforms passive note-taking into active knowledge construction, particularly engaging for working adult students who prefer hands-on learning over independent reading assignments. The collaborative approach also supports multilingual learners by allowing peer assistance with language and technical terminology comprehension.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Primary goals include: 1) Transforming students from passive recipients to active knowledge creators, 2) Developing research and digital literacy skills essential for web programming careers, 3) Fostering collaborative learning that mirrors real-world development team dynamics, 4) Creating student ownership of learning materials that enhances retention and engagement, 5) Addressing the learning preferences of working adult students who benefit from focused, in-class activities over outside reading, 6) Supporting multilingual learners through peer collaboration and shared vocabulary building, and 7) Building technical English proficiency alongside programming concepts, 8) Applying semester-long learning through final website creation and presentation projects, and 9) Building a comprehensive, student-generated resource that serves both present and absent students for exam preparation.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This activity was implemented most extensively during the first third of the semester, building toward the first exam when foundational concepts were being established. During this initial phase, the 2-hour laboratory session dedicated approximately 90 minutes to collaborative research and document creation. As the semester progressed and more advanced topics were introduced following the first exam, the activity required modificationβ€”less time was devoted to pure research and more time to streamlining and building upon established foundations. The pacing also accommodated the time needed for multilingual learners to process technical vocabulary and collaborate on language comprehension.

After the first exam, "cheat sheets" containing high-level main topic concepts were introduced at the beginning of each 2-hour lecture and used through the end of the semester. These provided quick, easily absorbed foundations before advancing to complex topics. These cheat sheets particularly benefit students for whom English is not their first language, providing key terminology and concepts in a condensed, reference-friendly format. The laboratory portion evolved to include both definition creation and hands-on coding exercises for web page development, with approximately 60 minutes for collaborative research and 30 minutes for practical application as advanced topics were introduced. Website creation and presentation projects are assigned as end-of-semester culminating activities that demonstrate the integration of all concepts learned throughout the course.

Students are expected to read assigned chapters (maximum 50 pages per chapter) prior to each class discussion, with homework assignments from the required reading due prior to following class, though many working adult students prefer to learn during class time rather than complete pre-class reading. The collaborative laboratory activity serves as both reinforcement of chapter material and active learning for students who may not have completed the pre-reading due to work and family obligations. No additional out-of-class time beyond the chapter reading and homework assignments is expected, which accommodates both the scheduling constraints of working adult students who attend Saturday classes due to weekday work obligations and recognizes that additional language processing time for multilingual learners is better supported through in-class collaboration rather than independent home study.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

Initial preparation involves creating shared Google document templates for each chapter and identifying major topics from the lecture to assign to each group. After the first exam, preparation expanded to include developing "cheat sheets" containing foundational concepts that are distributed at the beginning of each lecture session. As the semester progresses, preparation shifts toward streamlining research processes and integrating hands-on coding exercises that apply researched concepts to web page development. Additional preparation includes organizing website project groups and establishing end-of-semester presentation schedules.

Instructions are given both verbally and in writing to support students with varying English proficiency levels. Early-semester instructions focus on: 1) Research assigned topics using credible internet sources, 2) Provide definitions that are comprehensive yet easily absorbed (avoiding both overly technical and overly brief explanations), 3) Include source links for reference, and 4) contribute to the shared document. Groups are encouraged to help each other with language clarification and technical terminology. Later instructions expand to include coding exercises that demonstrate practical application of researched concepts. Website project groups receive specific guidelines for incorporating semester concepts into functional web pages and end-of-semester presentation requirements.

Key logistical considerations include managing simultaneous Google Docs editing issues where students' visual locations shift as others type, and addressing inconsistent formatting across contributions. Future implementations will require individual drafting before collaborative merging and standardized formatting guidelines.

The activity is medium-stakesβ€”it contributes to participation grades and creates essential study materials, but individual mistakes don't severely impact overall course performance. However, the collaborative nature means that group dynamics significantly affect individual success. Website projects carry higher stakes as end-of-semester demonstrations of cumulative learning and practical application skills. Future iterations will include designated group leaders for coordination, bonus point incentives for quality contributions, and structured peer support systems to ensure all students, regardless of English proficiency level, can participate meaningfully.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

Assessment focuses on participation, collaboration quality, and contribution accuracy rather than formal VALUE rubrics. I evaluate: 1) Active participation in group research and discussion, 2) Quality and appropriateness of definitions (comprehensive but accessible), 3) Proper source citation and link inclusion, 4) Collaborative behavior during the activity, and 5) peer support provided to group members, particularly important given the multilingual classroom environment. End-of-semester website projects are assessed on functionality, design, incorporation of semester concepts, and presentation quality.

The informal rubric developed through observation emphasizes engagement and effort over perfection, recognizing that students are learning while contributing. Assessment criteria accommodate varying English proficiency levels, focusing on content understanding and collaborative contribution rather than language perfection. Post-activity follow-up quizzes in subsequent classes assess knowledge retention and understanding of both researched concepts and practical coding applications as the semester progresses.

While this collaborative activity allows for flexible, innovative assessment approaches tailored to this specific student population's needs, all assessments ultimately filter back into a traditional grading system based on exams. To accommodate students who cannot take exams due to work or other obligations, makeup exams with different questions are offered to be taken either prior to or after the scheduled exam date. Assessment evolved after the first exam when it became apparent that despite increased engagement and improved materials, some students still didn't utilize resources effectively for exam preparation due to work obligations or last-minute study habits. This led to implementing more frequent, lower-stakes check-ins and bonus point opportunities to encourage consistent engagement with the collaborative materials.

Future assessments will include: peer evaluation of group leaders, bonus points for exceptional contributions, structured peer mentoring recognition for students who effectively support multilingual classmates, and more frequent formative assessments to bridge the gap between collaborative learning and individual accountability. The ultimate challenge remains translating collaborative learning gains into improved individual exam performance, recognizing that working adult students may prioritize work and family obligations over education.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

The activity succeeded dramatically in engaging students who typically show low motivation for independent assignments, particularly during the first third of the semester when foundational concepts were being established. Students demonstrated high enthusiasm for collaborative work, preferring this active approach over traditional note-taking. The collaborative environment particularly benefited multilingual learners who could support each other with language barriers and technical vocabulary. Average class grades increased compared to previous semesters, and student motivation was notably higher.

I would definitely repeat this activity with modifications. The increased engagement and improved learning outcomes, particularly for working adult students and multilingual learners, demonstrate its effectiveness despite the challenges encountered.

Several challenges emerged during implementation. Initially, inconsistent definition quality ranged from overly verbose to excessively brief explanations, which may partly reflect varying English proficiency levels and cultural approaches to explanation. Google Docs simultaneous editing caused visual displacement issues as students' work locations shifted while others typed. Formatting inconsistencies required significant instructor cleanup time. Most significantly, despite increased engagement and improved collaborative materials, some students still didn't utilize resources effectively for exam preparation due to work obligations (missing weekend classes) or last-minute study habits, reflecting the reality that Work-Family-Education priority hierarchy persists even with enhanced learning activities. After the first exam, I addressed these challenges by introducing foundational "cheat sheets" at the beginning of each lecture, which continued through the semester's end. The activity evolved from pure research to integrated research-and-coding exercises as topics became more advanced.

Future iterations will implement: designated group leaders for coordination, intentional pairing of students with complementary language strengths, individual drafting before collaborative merging, bonus point incentives, standardized formatting requirements, and more frequent formative assessments to better bridge the gap between collaborative learning gains and individual exam performance. The core challenge remains helping working adult students translate enhanced engagement into consistent academic preparation despite competing life priorities.

Students particularly enjoyed the interactions during the laboratory section, which helped reinforce what they learned from the lecture portion. They especially appreciated the coding exercises, which gave them confidence not only that they were learning but that they could be prepared for real-world applications. The end-of-semester website creation projects were particularly popular, as students could see tangible results of their semester-long learning and felt prepared for professional web development work.This hands-on practice with immediate application of lecture concepts seemed to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills they would need professionally. The collaborative aspect and peer support for language comprehension also contributed significantly to their positive experience.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

This approach was specifically designed for a unique classroom context: working adult students attending intensive Saturday sessions (split into 2-hour lecture + 2-hour laboratory) who typically prioritize work and family obligations over education. The student population is predominantly multilingual, with English often not being their first language, which significantly influenced both the collaborative structure and assessment approach.

Key contextual factors that make this activity particularly effective: 1) Students prefer PDF materials over purchasing textbooks and rarely complete pre-class reading. 2)The no-electronics policy during lecture creates anticipation for the hands-on laboratory portion. 3) Small group sizes (3-5 students per row) facilitate peer language support, and 4) Saturday scheduling accommodates work obligations but limits study time availability

Technical considerations for implementation: 1) Google Docs simultaneous editing creates visual displacement issues requiring workflow modification, 2) Formatting consistency becomes crucial when serving multilingual learners who need clear, accessible reference materials, 3) Evolution from pure research to integrated research-and-coding reflects advancing curriculum complexity, and 4) Cheat sheets introduced after first exam proved essential for supporting both advanced topic progression and language comprehension

Materials available for adaptation: 1) Google Docs templates structured by chapter topics, 2) Sample "cheat sheet" formats containing high-level concepts in accessible language, 3) Group assignment rotation systems for equitable topic distribution, 4) Peer support frameworks for multilingual collaboration, 5) End-of-semester website project guidelines and presentation rubrics, and 6) Integration models for transitioning from research activities to hands-on coding exercises.

Future documentation will include: 1) Detailed group leader role descriptions and rotation schedules, 2) Multilingual learner support strategies and peer mentoring structures, 3) Bonus point rubrics tied to collaborative contribution quality, 4) Standardized formatting guidelines to reduce instructor cleanup time, 5) Follow-up quiz examples that assess both individual understanding and collaborative learning transfer , 6) Makeup exam scheduling and question differentiation protocols, and 7) Strategies for bridging engagement gains with exam performance in working adult populations.

This activity demonstrates how pedagogical innovation can address specific population needs while maintaining academic rigor, particularly valuable for instructors serving diverse, working adult, and multilingual student communities. The flexibility to accommodate scheduling conflicts through makeup exams and the integration of end-of-semester website projects further support student success in real-world applicable skills.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Public Space design

Public Space design

Christopher Stienon

Fordham

Urbanism

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This activity is for a course on urbanism that examines the context and principles of good urban design. This assignment began with a walking tour of Midtown Manhattan to visit several prominent public spaces including Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Bryant Park, Union Square, etc. The students were to experience these places and then select one they liked and hype it in the form of short video (like TikTok), a blog post, or podcast, etc. Based on their observations, they were subsequently asked to select a space they didn’t like and reconceive it using features and elements from the places they liked. These were presented to the class in the form of single image of a shadow box / stage set.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The purpose of the activity was two-fold. It gave the students a sense of the scale of the city and places within it (which was later used as a scale comparison with looking at other cities), and it pushed them to look at the character of place and the factors that made them this way. For example, was a space noisy or quiet, active or empty of people, shaded or sunny, small large, etc. The idea was to get the students to look at how the character of place affects human behavior.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This assignment was given at the beginning of the semester before examining the history of cities.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

There is no preparation needed. The first part of the assignment was to follow a walking tour of several public spaces in Midtown Manhattan, starting at Grand Army Plaza next to Central Park and proceeding down Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center and crossing to Times Square and following Broadway all the way to Union Square.
The students were asked to look at all the open spaces to understand how they are physically different and what was contributing to the character of place. The students were to select a space they liked and hype it. That is they could create a photo essay, a blog or a TikTok video – or any medium that described why the space they liked was so appealing – and then hype it – that is, describe why the space was successful and attractive. Why should someone want to go there?
The second part of this assignment asked the students to then select a space they didn’t like and reconceive it using the elements from the space they liked. The students were to create a shadow box / stage set rendition of their proposal and present it in class.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

The VALUE rubric touched on Analysis and Design. The activity was assessed by how well the students were able to communicate and describe what they were seeing and identify contributing factors to the quality of place (analysis). For example, Bryant Park was frequently cited as a successful public space because it was less crowded and quiet, it felt separate from the rest of the city yet there were activities and people within the park. The creation of a shadow box to illustrate a proposed redesign of a particular place they didn't initially like was assessed by how well they could take an idea or an observation and translate it to a different setting – and could these ideas be clearly communicated.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

The assignment was well received, and I will use it again, but I will introduce the project to the students differently the next time. I'll need to emphasize that this is not simply a documentation of a site visit, but an actual analysis of why a space is attractive. It may entail an entire lecture devoted to the design of public open spaces so they understand what these contributing factors actually are before having them undertake the assignment.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

As with all assignments, there are students looking for the simplest and fastest way to complete the work, so some students simply turned in a series of unedited video clips taken as they went from place to place and talked about what they were seeing along the way. If they did this in a group, then each student had more or less the same set of images. This was not entirely bad since there was at least evidence that they visited these spaces, but it was far short of focusing on the details of a particular place.

But the students who pushed a bit did some fantastic work. The result was an assortment of TikTok videos, podcast scripts and recordings, newsletters and blog posts – all capturing elements of the city; the lights, the sounds and the action.

With the second half of the assignment several students listed Times Square as there least preferred space, so there were several proposals for a Bryant Park or Union Square themed makeover of Times Square or 42nd Street. There was a general sense of playfulness and experimentation with these proposals and presentation.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Pre-class discussion

Pre-class discussion

Changkyu Kim

Computer Engineering Technology/New York City College of Technology

Feedback Control Systems

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Pre-class review session will provide an explanation with an analogy about the incoming lecture. Students will read a 10-minute review about the main engineering concepts and discuss them based on non-engineering experience. The pre-class review session will be found at OpenLab. The due date is always the following lecture date.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Students are requested to develop their own idea for the technical problems and submit short informal writing before the weekly class. The pre-class discussion will be evaluated by presenting pure reasoning rather than writing structure or grammatical errors.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

Students will submit the writing assignments of pre-class discussion for the first half of the semester. During this period, students should be able to understand the main engineering concepts of control systems. Because a 10-minute preview of incoming lectures will be given in Openlab, additional discussion is not necessary during the lectures.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

I have to upload the preview of lectures on Openlab, and the discussion question will be based on daily non-engineering experiences. It is low-stakes.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

Pre-class discussion writing will be evaluated based on the following criterion: 1. Sufficiently address the subject with supporting examples 2. Address the subject with consistent and concise logic. 3. address the subject and provide your own perspective.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

I was surprised that all students were eager to respond to pre-class activities. Most students presented their perspectives on each subject. The submission rate was higher than homework, which is given after classes. The main challenge for me is maintaining the same quality of discussion questions and the consistency of the subject during the whole semester. I would repeat the activities after improving quality and consistency.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

1. Instruction : Pre-class discussion
Pre-class review session will provide an explanation with an analogy about the incoming lecture. Students will read a 10-minute review about the main engineering concepts and discuss them based on non-engineering experience. The pre-class review session will be found at OpenLab. The due date is always the following lecture date.

2. General guideline
Format :
Font : Times New Roman
Size : 11, single space

The number of words : No less than 150 words

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/kimcet4864sp2021/2023/01/24/lecture-1-introduction/

Student self-assessment that promotes learning

Student self-assessment that promotes learning

Patricia Childers

Communication Design (COMD)

Graphic Design Principles, Typography

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

A self-assessment activity for reflection and reinforcement.
β€’ low stakes, high impact activity to promote deep learning through engagement
β€’ a mechanism to help focus on specific goals
β€’ a tool to help students track progress towards their goals
β€’ a tool to guide educators in the effectiveness of their communication

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Inquiry & Analysis
A pedagogical approach to student review that not only reinforces student learning, but reinforces that they have learned. The goals this student classroom experience is to support the analysis of creative and critical thinking through the use of HIEPs,

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This activity can be introduced at the conclusion of any student project. Classroom time in minimal, about 20 minutes based on the amount of material reviewed. There is no out-of-class time.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

The low stakes activity requires the project rubric and copies of the final project. Students self access using the rubric. Student assessment refers to specific examples, footnoted or cross-referenced directly on the copy of the final project.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

The rubric development is based on the General Education inquiry of Knowledge and Skills using specific project criteria. This course in not part of a college-wide assessment. The project in itself is not graded. I find that student's responses are a true reflection of the student's understanding. "When the act of self-assessing is given a learning-oriented purpose, students' self-assessments are relatively consistent with those of external evaluators, including professors." [Lopez, R., and Kossack, S. (2007). Effects of recurring use of self-assessment in university courses. Int. J. Learn. 14, 203–216. doi: 10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/v14i04/45277]

I do review the activity to insure that student's response indicates that they correctly understand the material. Any discrepancies are reviewed directly with the student to correct misconceptions. In this way, the activity reflects the impact of my communication of the material through the student's response. If student understanding of the material is low, I know that I need to change me approach.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

The activity works well and I use it several times a semester. The biggest challenge is the response of a few students to "having" to grade themselves. One student reminded me that grading is my job, not theirs. I explain that periodic, external replay of learned input patterns strengthens synaptic connectionsβ€”the combination of structural plasticity, synaptic plasticity and self-generated reactivation not only stabilizes synaptic turnover but enhances their connectivity and associative memory. This explanation tends to erode resistance. And generally, many students have stated that they better understand the concept after the self assessment. The assessment is altered to support each different assignment.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pchilders-portfolio/2023/05/16/student-self-assessment-that-promotes-learning/

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pchilders-portfolio/wp-admin/post.php?post=266&action=edit