{"id":1858,"date":"2021-06-23T16:57:09","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T15:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/?p=1858"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:20:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T15:20:52","slug":"top-tips-on-saving-time-and-helping-students-get-work-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/2021\/06\/23\/top-tips-on-saving-time-and-helping-students-get-work-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Top tips on saving time and helping students get work done!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Jenni<\/b>Jenni Rose (Senior Lecturer in Accounting and one of the University’s Teachers of the Year 2020<\/a>) shared a video in which she demonstrated some of the blended learning tools<\/a> that had worked really well for her last year and detailed some of the ways in which she organised her Blackboard spaces to help students manage their workload.\u00a0\u00a0Colleagues have found this\u00a011 minute\u00a0video to be clear and helpful, and we particularly like Jenni\u2019s discussion of how students responded to the changes.\u00a0 We wanted to share it with you on TEA and find out a little more about Jenni\u2019s perspective on this development work.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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What led you to try out the\u00a0specific\u00a0changes you outline in your video?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

In all honesty \u2013\u00a0receiving\u00a0lots\u00a0and lots\u00a0of emails!\u00a0\u00a0With up to 600 students on a course, I found I was getting\u00a0a large number of\u00a0emails with similar basic queries from students, who often didn\u2019t feel clear on what they needed to do.\u00a0 The back and forth\u00a0that was\u00a0needed to help clear things up (and the sheer volume of email traffic) meant this wasn\u2019t a great way to give students the clarity they were seeking, so I wanted to try to tackle this by making my course information as clear as possible.\u00a0 It was also to help ensure they did the work \u2013 being\u00a0absolutely clear\u00a0on what they were expected to do before a lecture\u00a0meant no discussion or debate needed on this once they joined the session!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What motivated you\u00a0to share\u00a0this\u00a0work\u00a0with colleagues?\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

I inaugurated\u00a0Teaching Excellence Debriefs within my department, and\u00a0a session\u00a0in November 2020 turned into a discussion of\u00a0concerns that\u00a0students were often not completing the work they had been set ahead of a lecture.\u00a0 I explained\u00a0the approach I\u2019d\u00a0started taking, and the positive response this had\u00a0had\u00a0from students (who were now so keen on the structured approach I\u2019d set up on Blackboard that they got a bit upset\u00a0if\u00a0I introduced something new in a session!).\u00a0 I produced the video to share more detail on what I\u2019d done and how this had gone,\u00a0in case this could\u00a0help my\u00a0colleagues tackle this issue\u00a0and to give\u00a0practical tips which worked in engaging students in a large cohort of over 600.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What are the key things students said they valued?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

Students said that they found the Blackboard space was very well organised and that the information on necessary preparation helped them to feel clear on what they needed to do and to keep on track.\u00a0 Some students really liked the Piazza discussion boards, while others appreciated the quizzes and other\u00a0interactive elements\u00a0such as\u00a0polls and\u00a0Mentimeter\u00a0word clouds, and the fact that these\u00a0tools\u00a0made them feel\u00a0involved.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Has anything changed since you\u00a0originally\u00a0posted the video, either tech-wise or in your practice?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

I tried out most of these approaches while teaching very big groups\u00a0(300\u00a0to\u00a0600)\u00a0in Semester 1.\u00a0 When teaching smaller groups in Semester 2 I relied less on these tools, as I felt confident that I could take\u00a0a more personalised approach to engagement.\u00a0 On reflection,\u00a0students would have benefited from\u00a0integrating\u00a0tools such as\u00a0Mentimeter\u00a0and interactive videos.\u00a0 Another\u00a0teaching idea\u00a0I really want to bring in more is nudged engagement, using techniques where students\u00a0have to\u00a0unlock things as they go through the course rather than providing everything up-front, such as having to participate in a Blackboard quiz\u00a0in order to\u00a0access\u00a0suggested solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I did a little\u00a0bit of this last academic year\u00a0and I\u2019m keen to do more of it; I\u2019m working with Paul\u00a0Middleditch\u00a0from the Centre for Innovation and Pedagogy to explore this.\u00a0 I\u2019m really committed to designing my teaching on active learning principles, and this can be a great way of\u00a0getting students to engage.\u00a0 It would be great to hear from anyone who has tried more of this out about what they did and how it went \u2013 just get in touch if you\u2019re happy to share!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On reflection, what\u00a0would you say are your\u00a0top tips?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

Think\u00a0really carefully\u00a0about what you\u2019re asking students to do.\u00a0 Be very explicit about your expectations and how it links into the rest of what they\u2019re learning.\u00a0 Value the input and feedback that you get from your students and try to change things in response to this: if you can show you\u2019ve done this, they will feel valued.\u00a0 I\u2019ve found that knowing what\u2019s expected of them and feeling valued are two vital parts of getting students excited about their learning, so whatever you can do to support these can really help.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u00a0try something new\u00a0as a result of\u00a0watching\u00a0Jenni’s\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0can\u00a0feed\u00a0back\u00a0on how it worked,\u00a0you can\u00a0contact Jenni on\u00a0Jennifer.Rose@manchester.ac.uk<\/a>\u00a0(please\u00a0note that you will need to be logged in to the University of Manchester Video Portal\u00a0in order to\u00a0view this video).\u00a0\u00a0In her video Jenni also mentions the guidance\u00a0on Piazza\u00a0developed by Ralf Becker:\u00a0you can find out more about this in his advice on\u00a0how to use online discussion boards effectively<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Related<\/h1>\n

Related posts:<\/h3>
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TEA Winner 2021: Ben Parslew and 'Drone From Home': Building Social Impact into Courses.<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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My experience as an SPI<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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A student's perspective on online delivery<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
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Contact Us<\/h4>\n

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