Recall, Summarize, Question, Connect, Comment (RSQC2)
As the semester nears its end, it's useful to have the students review what they've learned as a way to help them integrate all the topics. It's also useful to us to gather information on which parts of the course might require revision over the summer. Here's an activity that you can use for both these purposes. It can be completed in or out of class and can be a great way to generate discussion in an online or blended course.
Introduction:
This activity will help you look back over the semester, reflect on the course, identify the four or five most important points you have learned, and tie them together. It is similar to the Take-Home Lessons activity, but slightly more structured. By completing this activity, you will:
- reinforce and synthesize the material covered.
- personalize the material, adapting it to your own specific needs.
- gain a multitude of perspectives on the unit's subject and how it could be useful to you.
- provide insights to the instructor to understand what parts of the course have been effective and what may need to be taught in more depth the next time.
Instructions:
- Recall: Make a list - in words or simple phrases - of what YOU recall as the most important, useful, or meaningful items you've learned this semester. Choose three to five main points from your list and rank them in order of importance.
- Summarize: Summarize the ranked items in your list into one summary sentence that captures the essence of the course.
- Question: Write one or two questions that still remain unanswered.
- Connect: Explain in one or two sentences the connection(s) between your summary and the major goals of the entire course. (You may want to look back at the course goals and the student learning outcomes as listed on the syllabus to complete this section.)
- Comment: Write an evaluative comment or two about the course. Here are a few possible comment stems you can use as starting points: "What I enjoyed most/least was..." or "What I found most/least useful was…" or "During most of the course, I felt…"
- If the course is online or blended, you can add the following two steps:
- Post your completed RSQC2 activity to the appropriate forum on the Discussion Board.
- Respond to at least two of your classmates' posts.
Resources:
- Angelo. T. A. and Cross K. P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers, 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass.
- Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
To follow up on any of these ideas, please contact me at . This Weekly Teaching Note was adapted from a contribution to the Teaching and Learning Writing Consortium sponsored by Western Kentucky University.
Contributor:
Francine Glazer, PhD
Assistant Provost and
Director,
Center for Teaching and Learning
New York Institute of Technology
//www.nyit.edu/ctl
- Module
- Challenge
- Initial Thoughts
- Perspectives & Resources
- Wrap Up
- Assessment
How can teachers at Sycamore Middle School meet the educational needs of all of their students?
The researchers at CAST have developed three guiding principles for teachers to consider when designing lesson plans. The table below summarizes these principles and makes suggestions for how teachers can address each of them.
| Representation Principle 1 | Action and Expression Principle 2 | Engagement Principle 3 |
| Presenting information and course content in multiple formats so that all students can access it | Allowing students alternatives to express or demonstrate their learning | Stimulating students’ interests and motivation for learning in a variety of ways |
Examples
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| Examples
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By using these three principles when they design their lesson plans, teachers can reduce or eliminate barriers that may interfere with students’ learning or with their ability to demonstrate their learning.
Most often, but not always, UDL utilizes technology as a primary method of offering flexible ways for students to access instruction and demonstrate their learning. Listen as David Rose discusses the role of technology in UDL (time: 0:49).
David Rose
CAST founder; Chief Scientist,
Cognition & Learning
Transcript: David Rose
People always ask whether UDL requires technology. UDL is not a framework about the use of technology. It’s a framework about learning. It is very possible to do UDL without technology. Why do we talk about technology so much in that case? We have to emphasize new technologies as a way of saying there are alternatives to the textbooks and so on that are in classrooms because those introduce a lot of barriers for many students. It is very possible to make gorgeous, wonderful UDL lessons that don’t involve any technology, multiple ways that students could reach competence and reach the goals for the lesson.
For Your Information
- It may not be reasonable or possible for teachers to incorporate all three of the UDL principles into every lesson plan. Rather, they are intended to guide instruction over time.
- Even when teachers apply the three principles, some students may need additional support. Consequently, teachers will sometimes have to make accommodations (e.g., allow the use of a spell checker) to meet an individual student’s needs.