Getting to know your students’ interests, goals, and expectations can help you design assignments or experiences that help students connect their learning. Something as simple as asking students what they plan to do after they graduate may spark you to bring in a certain guest speaker or utilize a specific case study.
Here are a few ways to collect this information in your course:
- Interest Inventory Index Card (suggestion from Iowa State Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching). Give each student an index card and choose some of the following items to have them write down. Note: You can also have students complete the Interest Inventory online via Microsoft Forms (Free for you to use!) or you can create an assignment in Blackboard.
- Name according to the Office of the Registrar & what they prefer to be called in class and pronouns
- Why did they sign up for the course?
- What are they looking forward to learning?
- What are their goals after graduation?
- Besides graduating, what is another goal they have for their time in college?
- Fun questions to help to get to know them: Name an imaginary college class you wish YSU (Youngstown State University) offered. What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or to the future?
- Mission Statement Assignment. Consider making the first assignment in your course a mission or goal statement. You can modify the following prompt to align with your course topic:
- Submit a written description of your personal mission for learning and applying [TOPIC] principles to your work as a student and in your future. You should respond to the following questions in your submission: What do you expect to get out of this course? What strengths and needs do you bring to this course? At the end of this course, what would you have like to accomplish related to [TOPIC]? This paper is expected to be 2-3 pages and submitted via Blackboard.