Take some time to reflect on your course

I know that the happiest day of most educators' semester is the last day of classes and I'm right there with you!!! I love nothing more than school break... BUT, I've learned that taking just a few moments to actively reflect on the semester can go a long way in ending the semester successfully. Learn more about the process I use in today's blog post.

When I finish teaching a class, I usually have a big sigh of relief and happily go away on vacation or start prepping for the next semester, but I hardly ever take the time to critically reflect on my course. However, once I started doing this, I've learned just how impactful it can be.

Benefits of reflecting on your course

One of the benefits of reflection that I found in my experience was becoming aware of some of the things I had either overlooked during the semester, meant to return to, or forgot about at the end of the semester. Additionally, the process of reflection also helped me to reanalyze the course and determine if my course assignments were in proper alignment with the course objectives. Lastly, I was ale to appreciate the work that my students did and review the communications we shared over the semester.

Tips for reflecting on your course

Here are some guiding points to help you with the process of reflecting on your course:

• What went well this semester?
• What didn't go well?
• What changes would you like to make?
• How could you have made this a better semester?
• What would you like to do differently next time you teach this course?

These aren't the only questions you can consider when reflecting, however, it's a good start.

I'd love to know if you reflect on your online courses at the end of the semester? Let me know in The Online Educator group.