Help Students Learn

1. Learn your students’ first names. Research shows that it is important to students that faculty know their names; learning names is one strategy for increasing “teacher immediacy,” which can improve learning outcomes. You can find strategies for learning names on this Blog or in this Lecture.

2. Provide your students feedback through frequent, short, and easy to grade assessments. Research suggests that doing so can increase performance and attendance. Providing these opportunities early in the term conveys your expectations for the course, and helps identify who may need additional resources. An early assignment or quiz can also be used for confirming academic engagement for Financial Aid reporting purposes.

3. Provide encouragement to students. A short, encouraging email can make a great difference. Canvas allows you to send messages to students based on performance on specific assignments or exams, allowing you to convey congratulations or let students know help is available.

4. Use Mid-Term Grades. All students should receive midterm grades. These are most meaningful if you explain to students what “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” means in the context of your course.

5. Use Early Academic Alerts. When you see a student struggling, Early Academic Alerts can be used to initiate contact from the student’s advisor, and to connect the student with support services.

6. Use Canvas. Students benefit from having the information about their courses on single platform. At UNF, Canvas is that platform.  The Center for Instruction and Research Technology (CIRT) is eager to help you learn about Canvas.