For active learning, it is important that students first individually immerse themselves in the subject in preparation for in-class activities within the framework of a flipped classroom approach. This activates prior knowledge and also encourages students to ask themselves questions about the subject. In our teaching tip 'How do you encourage students to do the self-study assignments', you can find some general tips on this.
By asking students to share their solution to a case or their opinion on an article with each other and the teacher before class, they can achieve deeper and faster learning during the in-class activities. For online sharing, Canvas' standard functionality can be used: Canvas Discussions.
However, a challenge with this is that with the standard settings of the Discussions, students can read the answers of peers who have already completed the task, even if they have not yet submitted their own. This has two negative effects.
Challenges
Firstly, this situation can lead students to wait until the last moment to submit their own answers. That leaves less time for peers and the teacher to review these responses.
Secondly, it may result in students not formulating their own answers before viewing those of others. This is unfortunate because the greatest learning gains occur when students first make a genuine attempt to formulate an answer using their own knowledge and skills (Inzlicht et al., 2018; Kuldas et al., 2014). Only after comparing their own response with others can the strongest imprinting of knowledge – call it deep learning – take place.
The tendency to delay answering is, in itself, a normal human trait. People often prefer to see what others think before sharing their own solution or opinion, in order to avoid appearing foolish. There is also a natural inclination to achieve required results with minimal effort.
How to deal with these negative effects? Read our tip below!
"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory." - Mahatma Gandhi
Tip: Only show peers’ answers after students have submitted their own
To minimise the negative effects on learning described above, it is advisable to configure Discussions so that students only see their peers’ answers after submitting their own. When students then compare their answers with others, they can gain better insight into their own knowledge and skills by reflecting on the differences and similarities.
This technical setting of Discussions may cause some resistance among students. They may feel pressured or even consider it unnecessary. Some might try to bypass the restriction by asking a peer who has already submitted to show them the answers. In that case, the intended effect is lost.
This makes it crucial to properly inform students about the purpose of the discussion topic: it is not about whether the answer is entirely correct but about thinking independently. This approach gives them the greatest learning benefit – if only by increasing their chances of successfully completing the course.
How to set up Canvas Discussions?
When creating a Discussion, check the option 'Users must post before seeing replies'. The text, image, or video – including the question – will appear in the topic and can always be read by students. They submit their answer using 'Reply'. Only after posting their response can they view their peers’ replies.
Other digital support
Another way to support the process of studying the learning materials is by using one of the functions of FeedbackFruits, Interactive Document, and Comprehension of Document, or using Perusall.