Promoting Student Engagement, Wellbeing, and Transfer of Learning through Weekly Check-in Surveys
Abstract
This multidisciplinary study explores using an intentionally-designed teaching innovation to help students feel more connected and motivated in their classes – both online and in-person. The authors propose these weekly check-in surveys as a low-stakes strategy to improve classroom atmosphere. The anonymous, online check-ins focus on emotional states, with a quick debriefing of the aggregate responses, and address the major concerns documented in the literature on student mental health and achievement. In a two-year study of English and math classes (N=2271), students completed weekly check-ins concerning mental wellness and course concerns through Likert-like scales and open-ended questions. In the qualitative and quantitative data, students reported that they felt less alone, more connected, and more metacognitively aware of their emotional states. In addition, they reported they could transfer specific skills to future courses. No connection was found with retention or persistence, which seemed to be more influenced by life events rather than classroom experiences. The authors recommend a specific structure for these short surveys and ways to debrief the results with students.
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