In our Fall 2020 update, Jonathan Collins (Education) reflected, “Flexibility was key.” Strikingly, for Brown students of many levels, the change that found to be most helpful is flexibility about when key assignments and assessments are completed (e.g., choices on deadlines, take home/open book exams).

Nearly all undergraduates (94%), MFAs (95%), and doctoral students across candidacy and divisions (92%) value having fewer time-dependent deadlines and take home exams. The vast majority of master’s students (91%) also indicate that such flexibility is helpful for their learning, but two other adaptations were rated more highly (please see below).

Emmajane Rhodenhiser ‘22, Neuroscience Concentrator, notes how open book exams and oral exams “pushed me as much, if not more, than standard exams.” She adds, “I was not only being tested on Neuroscience and Physics, but on how to use spoken language to communicate my knowledge effectively, and how to approach problems for which my open notes were a small aid and the solution was intentionally far from reach.” 

In AY20-21, many faculty reported that they developed recorded lectures to accommodate students’ dispersion across 20+ time zones, technical barriers, and personal challenges. In Fall 2020, Professor Judith Bender (BIOL 2150, Scientific Communications) observed that she would carry forward this change, noting, “I think the Zoom recordings on our Canvas site provided a great way for students to review the material. Next year I will set up to capture all our lectures for the course regardless of whether we have in-person or remote teaching.”

For both Brown undergraduates and master’s students, the second most frequently named positive adaptation is video recordings of live class sessions (94% and 93%, respectively, found helpful). For example, Abby Perelman ‘22 (Cognitive Neuroscience) comments, “I greatly appreciated my professors' video recordings from live class sessions as they allowed me to feel more connected. This strategy encouraged learning based on what was most beneficial for each student.”

This option is also very highly ranked by some doctoral students, namely pre-candidates in the physical sciences (92%) and life and medical sciences (92%), but it is also generally well-regarded by all doctoral students (84% overall). (One important exception is MFAs’ preferences. Not surprisingly, because of the hands-on learning that often characterizes MFA coursework, a majority, or 69%, of MFA students report that recordings are useful -- but this was not among the most highly ranked items.) 

Videos have a positive impact on learning, particularly when they complement an interactive or active learning environment (Noetel et al., 2021). Recordings are valuable when students have to miss a class, such as due to illness, but they are also appreciated by those who attend the course, allowing review and a self-adjusted pace for watching (Noetel et al.). According to additional research cited in a previous Sheridan newsletter on podcasts, ​​students primarily use recordings to review concepts covered in class or revise their notes, rather than to substitute for class attendance.

Although commonly used last academic year, Zoom recordings are not the only way to help students revisit course content. In Fall 2020, some faculty reported switching to text-based options, such as posting lectures or sharing student-generated collaborative notes. Although asked only of undergraduates, a majority of this student group (74%) found that audio transcriptions of discussions and presentations were very helpful as well.

Among undergraduates, flexibility about how key assignments and assessments are completed (i.e., choice in assignment type) rounds out the top three adaptations that were found to be helpful (87%) to their learning. Interestingly, this is the #1 feature of effective courses among master’s students (94%). For doctoral students in aggregate, choice is also very favorably ranked (88%), although there is some variation by discipline and candidacy status (e.g., ranging from 69% for social science candidates to 91% for physical science pre-candidates).

In last year’s faculty surveys, a frequently noted innovation was to allow students more choice in how learning would be assessed. For example, Ruth Colwill (Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences) offered “a lot of variety and choice in online assignments,” with options such as a “Fun Final Project,” which asked students to get creative with course material by creating a game, writing a children’s story or Public Service Announcement, or creating a new course assignment. Another example of an assignment type heavily oriented around choice is a “Pink Time” assessment (named after author Daniel Pink) (Baird et al., 2020). With this approach, an instructor would use class time to design and engage in self-directed activity about a topic or learning goal (e.g., read a journal on a topic, meet with an expert in the field, compose a piece of music) and self-assess based on a rubric for self-regulated learning. However, as Zhuoya Zhang’s quote demonstrates, a repertoire of more traditional assignments also can create a choice-oriented learning environment.

How can choice-focused assignments be assessed? Bruff (2019) offers a sample analytical rubric, as well as a way to engage students in “crowd-sourcing” the rubric. (Bruff’s chapter on multimodal assignments is available online in Brown’s library and is also cited below for non-Brown readers.) Sheridan’s 2018 newsletter on Fostering and Assessing Equitable Classroom Participation also offers options for participation feedback and grades. 

For Brown undergraduates, master’s, and doctoral students, there is striking consistency in the approaches that they found most helpful for their learning, underscored by choice and flexibility in how new ideas are learned, how learning is assessed, and when assignments are completed. (For MFA students, there is some variation, and the top three for this group of students are flexibility in deadlines (95%), alternative grading systems like contract grading (88%), and “backchannel” discussions like chat (86%).) Such findings are not surprising for students who have chosen to study at an institution known for its Open Curriculum, but they underscore the importance of intentionally planning a course around equity and inclusion, especially in the challenging times in which our students are learning. Choice and flexibility are course features that contribute to equitable and inclusive classrooms (Fuentes, Zalaya, & Madsen, 2020; Laird, 2011; Odom et al. 2021).

Although the student survey results suggest that choice and flexibility are key frameworks to carry forward, Brown students responded positively to nearly all of the survey items. These include other changes that were frequently identified by Brown faculty, including: 

• More opportunities for feedback, such as through more frequent, but smaller, “low-stakes” assignments
• Small-group discussions, such as Zoom breakout rooms and in-person active learning strategies like jigsaws or think-pair-share
• Backchannel discussions, such as the Zoom chat feature
• Use of multimedia for feedback, like video feedback on written work
• Alternate assessment systems, such as contract or mastery grading
• Asynchronous discussions, like Canvas discussion posts 

Across all levels, a majority of students name these as helpful features in the hybrid or online course that was most effective for their learning in the past academic year.