At a workshop on teaching and learning in large groups, guru Phil Race suggested (and used) Post It™ note pads as a way to encourage formative assessment when teaching in large groups. In my initial experience, it can work well.

Formative assessment is becoming more and more a valued teaching and learning activity at University courses. It is assessment which is performed as an aid to learning; an assessment for learning, as opposed to assessment of learning.

I tried it out. After teaching about the components of a gradient echo pulse sequence, I asked students to form groups of twos and threes. I handed out Post-It notes to each group. (They all looked a little wide-eyed at me as I approached them from the front of the lecture theatre. Perhaps not many lecturers do this sort of thing!) I instructed them to nominate one person in their pair or group, who would explain the components of the pulse sequence to the other(s). If they had problems with this, the other member(s) of the group were to assist and try to explain that component. If there was still any confusion or query, they were to write it down on a Post-It note. After a couple of minutes, I collected the notes and addressed each problem one by one to the whole group from the front.

There are quite a few benefits to an exercise like this.

• The group discussions force students to process the material
• Peer re-explanation is an aid to understanding
• Provides feedback to the lecturer about what’s working and what’s not
• Students may ask questions without having to speak in front of the whole group
• Students may admit not understanding anonymously
• Students’ problems are not likely to be unique, and the whole group benefits
• Lecturer gets to address misunderstandings immediately

Students consolidate the learning which they have achieved, and an increase in self-efficacy may result, producing more engaged participants, and ultimately, better exam results (I hope).

One caveat I would make is that attention should be paid by the lecturer to the level of students’ understanding when the the discussion task is chosen. I would say that if your students have understood your teaching, or almost understood it, the exercise is very useful. But if students are not engaged, then the Post-It note exercise might note work so well. The reason for poor engagement can vary. Perhaps the subject material is conceptually challenging, and you have to cover it quickly with reassurance to students that further study is required before they are likely to “get it” (this is not uncommon in physics lecture theatres).

I tried this Post-It note exercise once on the last day of term, just after lunch, and it was the students’ last lecture of the day. Sure enough, the Post-It note exercise tanked! I had Post-It notes returned to me with “I don’t really get any of it” and “exam hints please”!

The Post-It note idea is a way of effecting tutorial-like learning in a large-group context. Try it!

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