It’s Week 10 of the 10 week study period. I had the last Zoom session with one of my classes this evening. I usually invite students to do two things.

Number two is to give feedback on “keep, change, chuck” to help the next lot of students. So, let me know what works and what does not.

We do get anonymised survey feedback from students, that I try to implement as much as possible, but I literally often get comments one right after the other to the effect ”The best thing about the course was the xyz. It was essential and I really appreciated it. This is the best course I have ever taken” then, ”This course is full of xyz. There should be none. It is the worst course I have ever taken”. Asking for feedback from students as a group can help me get a vibe about where others sit on the comments, or to ask questions to make sure I understand what they mean.

CC-BY-SA-4.0 From Jamesbond Raul https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A-haVistalegre19.JPG#mw-jump-to-license

The first thing I invite students to do in our last class together is to share an ”Aha!” moment. Something where they realised they had always done one thing, but another approach would be easier, or a concept gelled, or they learned something brand new.

My courses are imbued with reflective practice, so this is another way that students get to think about their own progress. I hope that they are reminded of the wonder of learning, but also that they see how far they have come specifically, that their hard work has in some way helped them. I also am very open to this being the catalyst for them to realise they are not really getting as much as they thought out of the degree. I also value what students can learn from each other. Hearing about other students’ aha moments, whether they are very similar or totally different, contextualises their own experience in a new way.

Let’s not kid ourselves though. It’s mainly for me. About 15 or so years ago, when I was running classes in creating avatars at Murdoch Uni, I recognised that one of my strongest motivators professionally is opportunity to help, and be part of, someone else’s ”AHA!” moment. Nothing compares. I know what I would like people to be getting out of their experience, and this lets me know whether I am on track. It also reminds me that what I think is important or meaningful about what I do probably is not the only thing happening.