Rachael,  

Thanks for the comments and for the useful questions. Quite  an excellent  suggestion  on the aspect of  recommending  future research.  But we  have stated practical application which is  the potential of CIQ to catch issues between instruction and learners before the end of the semester.  Traditional  end of term evaluation,   attempts to capture  class issues  but has no significant benefits to a student  who observed classroom issues  that  confused or did not engage him. 

Mohamed A. Ali 

Hi Mohamed,

I absolutely understand your statements about the end of term evaluation, but I would challenge you to think in terms of the bigger picture. Why is the evaluation important overall? Why do we care if there are benefits to the student (or not)? I absolutely believe there is value in this, but would like to see you make that direct connection in your writing.

Hi Racheal,

We appreciate the constructive feedback you offered because it furthers  the   discussion on  what makes  a student an active learner in the sessions or moments of learning.  The goal  of achieving that  involves monitoring and  engaging  the student  in the learning environment in order to achieve  desired objectives or outcomes. Monitoring our  lessons or  our teaching environments is  challenging in practice and hence  our study tries  to understand  it using students’ perceptions. 

You asked why care if it  does not benefits the students?  We say,  we should  care because reflective practices  help to empower students and change classroom dynamics for  the benefits of the student.  We want students who are engaged, and that is the heart of teaching and learning.  Reflective practice can  be used as a form of assessment and assessment without changes is like fishing without a fishing pole.  It is quite difficult, but we believe,  what we are trying  to  understand is that assessment  can lead to  change in our pedagogy. And  that change  seems to  begin  when we reflect with learners at the core aspects of   learning that involves  instruction and   use of resources-- and how  our learners interact or perceive them.

Thanks again for the feedback

Mohamed 

Great points made here.  End of the semester evaluations definitely serve a specific function in academia.  After receiving feedback from students, instructors can adjust classroom dynamics and interpersonal communication strategies for future courses.  However, making changes for the future is not beneficial for current students.  Ergo, fostering a supportive atmosphere that allows students to offer feedback throughout the semester is critical for student development and a progressive learning environment.  Your suggestions would be very beneficial for retention and collaborative purposes.

Thanks Nastassja for the comments.  Exactly, if we can catch issues as we teach,  we can improve retention because failure begins from day one when the student is lost and not connected to resources or the instruction. 

Collaborative active seems to be challenge for online learners, yet at  work place it is  a major thing used often to enhance productivity or training. 

Thanks again. 

Mohamed 

This was a very interesting article -- it speaks to the effectiveness of leveraging the multi-intelligences to ensure we engage every student.  Further, I used a practice called "ink shedding" which is similar to one of the activities you described where students provide their thoughts and ideas but do not include their name... in "ink shedding" students are allowed to respond on the same paper to the student (anonymously) before passing it on to at least one other student.  This practice allowed students to "speak" freely and without fear of criticism from other students. 

I appreciate the author drawing parallels between the online and on-ground (traditional) students, as an educator, this work allowed ME to step back and reflect on ways to improve my instruction and reliability to students.

Thank you!

Hi Rhondra 

Thanks for your encouraging comments  and for sharing  your technique  that  engages students.  Any time we use innovative strategies  to enable students participate and be active in the learning environment, as said  you said, we add something that improves students' positive perception of  teaching. 

Thanks again, 

Mohamed A. Ali