In some courses, students expend a significant amount of mental energy on the mechanics of the course; this takes away from the time and energy students are able to spend on learning the course content. Instructors can support student learning by ensuring that the course is organized and that expectations and objectives are communicated clearly. Having an organized instructor helps students manage their time, while having an unorganized instructor create stress and anxiety, and hinders student learning. Students perceive instructors as organized when they set key dates (exams and due dates) at the outset, ensure that all course-related information is shared in one place, and verify that all information is correct before posting it. Having a detailed syllabus appears to be especially important for students, as articulated by an Arts student:
“I also feel that giving the students a well, very detailed syllabus is very useful because then I know exactly what is expected of me what I need to know what I should spend most of my time on and that gives me less stress and then if I know that if I work for this then that will be reflected in my grade.”
Having clear expectations seems to refer to students’ understanding of the mechanics of a course and how much effort is required to receive a particular grade. Knowing what to expect on an exam reduces anxiety. A science student described how having a consistent exam format and practice problems reduced his exam stress: “if you kind of know at least the format of the exam, what to expect, that kind of gets rid of the anxiousness associated with just like the unknown”. Using the same format for assessment throughout the term helps students understand what to expect and learn how to best prepare. Instructors can further reduce stress around exams by highlighting key information in class (i.e. with iClicker questions or lecture recaps), offering review sessions, or outlining which chapters students should focus on while studying. A Science student articulated frustration prior to exams due to “Not knowing what to study for a midterm is just really stressful because you feel like you have to study everything. But you can’t study everything in detail so you kind of have to pick and choose but you don’t know what and I think that can be”.
Students also seem to benefit from understanding what it takes to receive a desired grade. Participants suggested that instructors should provide detailed grading rubrics. One participant felt that instructors should should provide actual grade breakdown showing how many people in a course typically receive each grade and by providing samples of what each grade looks like. “I don’t think a rubric explaining … and 2.5 out of 5 means this. That doesn’t tell me anything, I actually need to see an example that received 5 in that category so I can understand what do they mean” (Arts student).
Clear expectations matter. A lot. And contrary to popular belief, having clear expectations doesn’t mean spoon feeding students the answer. Most students are at university to learn! They understand that just being able to follow instructions and memorize information won’t prepare them for the type of career they want. They actually want to learn how to think critically…
Having clear expectations means students know what to expect, and it pertains mostly to the mechanics of the course. Students have a limited amount of time and energy to devote to each course. They want to devote as much of this time and energy as possible to engaging with the subject matter, and spend as little time and energy as possible figuring out the mechanics of the course. Let’s say students spend 10 hours per week on each course. 3 of that might be in class, with 7 hours spent on course related activities outside of class. Ideally, most of those 7 hours are spent reading, studying or doing assignments. But sometimes, a significant portion might be spent trying to figure out where the course readings are on connect… or how to use the APA style correctly… or figuring out how a literary essay differs from the 5-paragraph essay they were taught in high school… or which of the 3 due dates is the actual one (since the prof posted different dates in different spots, and said something different again in class).
Having clear expectations means that students know what type of support an instructor will provide. They understand the instructors’ practices around grading (i.e. if they give extensions and when). They know exactly when their quizzes and exams will take place and when their assignments are due so that they can plan their lives. They know what they need to do to achieve their desired grade. And they really do appreciate knowing what topics will be on the exam. Here are some tips on how you can structure your courses effectively:
- Setting all key course dates early “When the instructor provides course schedule ahead of time (helps students plan ahead and manage their time with work and extra curricular)” (Student, 2016 UES)
- Providing a detailed course syllabus
- Sharing all course-related information in one place “Course info being easily accessible (office hours, assignment, important dates, handouts, lecture notes). Not spread out over 3 websites, not … where it’s really hard to find items, and not easy to load/download/view multiple items.” (Student, 2016 UES)
- Ensuring that all information is correct before posting
- Providing practice problems (with solutions)
- Indicating what will be covered on an exam
- Sharing the exam format
- Indicating what is expected on an assignment
- Smaller, more frequent assessments, (so long as the total volume of work is not increased).
- Designing questions that allow students to demonstrate learning
- Allow sufficient time to complete assessments
- AVOID group marks
- Provide timely feedback
- Provide constructive feedback
- Share the grade distribution
What are your thoughts on this topic? Thinking back to the time when you were a student, did your instructors provide clear outlines of what to expect on exams? We would love to hear your ideas and thoughts. Feel free to comment below!