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How do I know whether my students read the content I assigned?

Using a variety of approaches to determine student readiness after reading assigned content

Problem Statement

Instructors often assign students the task of reading content before class with the intent that this content will prepare them for class activities. This content can be a Canvas page, an article, a handout, or other text-based content. When students do not complete this assignment or when, after viewing the content, they have not acquired the knowledge or understanding at the desired levels, this can cause problems for both the instructor and the student. Being unprepared often leads to failed classroom learning experiences, an unplanned readjustment in class activities, and falling back to lecturing on the content covered by the reading content.

This document will cover several approaches you can use to monitor students' compliance with reading content. It will also provide ways of determining whether compliance equals preparation for planned classroom activities.

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Delivering content to students using Canvas

Canvas Modules and Pages allow instructors to organize content to help control the course flow and collect analytics on content. Modules organize course content by weeks, units, or a different organizational structure. Modules create a one-directional linear flow of what students should do in a course. Each module can contain files, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and other learning materials. Module items can be added to the course from existing content within the modules.

Link to article or document

linked doc

While there are several ways to access a document, providing access to the document through the Modules tool is the most common way. The format of linked documents can include anything as long as the student has the application that supports viewing the file. The most typical file formats for linked course readings are Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word. To link to an article or document:

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Modules link.
  2. To add an item, click the Add Item icon.
  3. Select File from Add drop-down menu.
  4. If the file you wish to link to is already in your Canvas course, select the desired file.
  5. If the file you wish to link to needs to be uploaded, select [ Create File(s) ] then select Choose Files button. Specify the location within Canvas to save the file from the Folder drop-down menu.
  6. Determine any desired level of indentation within the Modules tool.
  7. Click Add Item.

This will create a link to the file within the Modules tool. When clicked, the browser will display the file within Canvas if the format is supported. If not, the file will be downloaded to the student's computer.

Deliver content within a Canvas Page

Canvas Page with text

Sometimes, you have content in text format and want students to read it within a Canvas page instead of linking to a document.

If you want to create a new Canvas Page, follow the directions below:

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Modules link.
  2. To add an item, click the Add Item icon.
  3. Select Page from Add drop-down menu.
  4. If you wish to create a new page, select [ Create Page ], then name the document in the Page Name box. Note: If you want to track usage, provide a descriptive name to make it easier to identify it in the analytic reports.
  5. Determine any desired level of indentation within the Modules tool.
  6. Click Add Item.

Embed article in a Canvas Page

embedded doc

If you need to embed a document within a new page, follow the directions below:

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Modules link.
  2. To add an item, click the Add Item icon.
  3. Select Page from Add drop-down menu.
  4. If you wish to create a new page, select [ Create Page ] then name the document in the Page Name box. Note: If you want to track usage, provide a descriptive name to make identifying it in the analytic reports easier.
  5. Determine any desired level of indentation within the Modules tool.
  6. Click Add Item.

If you want to embed a document within an existing document, follow the directions below:

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Modules link.
  2. To add an item, click the& Add Item icon.
  3. Select Page from Add drop-down menu.
  4. Select the document to add to your module.
  5. Determine any desired level of indentation within the Modules tool.
  6. Click Add Item.

Once a page is added to the Modules tool, click on the link and click Edit.

Embedding a PDF link

  1. Place the cursor where you want to create the link.
  2. Click on the arrow next to the link tool and select Course Link.
  3. If the file exists within Canvas, select Insert from the menu, then either Upload Document to add a file from your computer, Course Document to link to a file in your course files or User Documents to link to documents in your user folder.
  4. Once the link appears on the page, click it once and choose Link Options.
  5. Choose Preview inline, and Expand preview by Default to display the PDF within the Canvas Page.

Monitoring compliance vs. measuring understanding

Once you have delivered content in ways that generate user data, the next step is to determine what question you want to use the data to answer. If you want to know whether students engaged with the content before class, that falls under a monitoring compliance action. If you want to know whether students' engagement with the content prepared them for future learning, that is a measuring understanding action. These two approaches have slightly different solutions. We will start with basic monitoring.

Monitoring compliance

How do I know whether my students read the content I assigned?

The goal of monitoring compliance may have a different meaning from one instructor to another. The Learner Engagement Analytics Dashboard (LEAD) data regarding compliance with an assigned reading may fall short of expectations. For the sake of this document, compliance is simply the measurement of whether a student did or did not click on the link to a reading, as well as how many times they did click on the link.

LEAD

LEAD is a course-level learning analytics dashboard that displays Canvas, Kaltura Mediaspace, and Unizin Engage eText data to course instructors using Tableau, our institutional data visualization tool. Data can be viewed as an aggregate of the entire course or at the level of an individual student. The LEAD Page Views by Activity Type visualization can be used to help or contribute to answering the question, "Has the student viewed the content I assigned?".

This visualization allows you to see how often your students access your course's various activity types. You can use filters to drill down and see how much content in your course is being accessed and who is accessing it. This visualization can also give you a sense of how many students are accessing specific content in your course and which students are. For example, you can select a specific course reading from Main Activity Type and then select one specific assignment (eg. Twigg Reading) from Name of Activity to see how many times students in your course clicked on that specific assignment; you can also filter by a student to see which students accessed a specific item.

LEAD Page View By Activity Type

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Understanding the data

There are a few important caveats to point out here.

  1. Viewing a page tells you whether the student accessed the page with the reading. It is the lowest level of compliance an instructor can use — Yes, they clicked on the link, or No, they did not click on the link.
  2. Keep in mind that there may be other ways in which a student access the content. Working in a group, for example, might lead to only one student viewing the reading and then sharing it with the other student(s).
  3. LEAD does not show duration; it shows frequency and time. We know instructors are interested in knowing how much time students are spending on course activities, but at this time, that’s not available in LEAD. Remember that duration can be tricky to calculate; students may click on a course resource or launch a video and walk away to grab a sandwich or jump to a different tab in their browser.

How can I use this data in a responsible manner?

UW-Madison Learning Analytics Guiding Principles state that learning analytics should be used to benefit students; instructors should be transparent about using learning analytics; instructors should respect students’ privacy and confidentiality and should minimize potential adverse impacts. The following are examples of valid and invalid uses of the data presented through the LEAD Page Views by Activity Type visualization:

responsible use of data
Valid use of data Invalid use of data
  • Seeing whether most students click the link.
  • Seeing whether any student has clicked the link yet.
  • Seeing how many times a student clicked on a link.
  • Assigning points to those who clicked the link.
  • Calling out those who did not click the link.
  • Looking at the data right before class to determine student preparedness.

Measuring understanding

How can I know whether students have achieved competency at this level?

Unlike measuring compliance, measuring understanding requires that you look at things differently. LEAD does not provide any information that would help identify the level of student understanding of content. This would have to be done by developing various activities aimed at the desired level of competency (e.g., remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, or create).

bloom's taxonomy

REMEMBER

REMEMBER — Retrieve, recognize, and recall relevant knowledge from long‑term memory.

  • What do you remember about __?
  • How would you explain __?
  • Describe what happens when __.
  • Find the definition of __.
  • Identify, locate, or name __. 

Possible approaches

  • Canvas Quiz — Quiz questions that have students define terms, label elements, list concepts, or recall points of conclusions.
  • Canvas Discussion — Students post a response to a prompt in the Discussion tool that requires them to recall or retrieve the main points in the assigned content.
  • In-class Discussion — Use TopHat to have students respond to a prompt that requires them to recall or retrieve the main points in the assigned content.
  • Focused Listing — Students are given a single term, name, or concept and directed to list several ideas closely related to the topic.
  • Background Knowledge Probe — Students answer a short survey to collect feedback on their prior learning, including knowledge or beliefs that may hinder or block further learning.

UNDERSTAND

UNDERSTAND — Construct meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.

  • How would you sort/classify/categorize __?
  • Please tell me what you mean when you say __.
  • Use your own words to summarize __.
  • What is another way of saying __?
  • Compare/contrast __.
  • How can you explain __?

Possible approaches

  • Canvas Quiz — Students are asked to describe, explain, or identify content elements.
  • Think/Pair/Share — Students solve problems aloud and try their reasoning on a listening peer. Ask them to answer some of the questions from above individually, share their results with their partner, and then report their shared results to the class.
  • Empty Outline — Students are given an empty or partially completed outline of an in-class presentation or homework assignment and a limited amount of time to fill in the blank spaces.
  • Memory Matrix — Students fill in a two-dimensional diagram to organize information and illustrate relationships in a way the instructor can quickly analyze.
  • Categorizing Grid — Students sort subordinate terms into the correct categories on a grid.

APPLY

APPLY — Carry out or use a procedure through executing or implementing.

  • Which factors would you change if __?
  • What questions would you ask of __?
  • Which approach would you use to __?
  • What actions would you take if __?
  • What would the results be if __?
  • Why does __ work?

Possible approaches

ANALYZE

ANALYZE — Break material into constituent parts, determine how the parts relate to one another, and create an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.

  • Is __ based on fact or opinion?
  • Explain what must have happened when __.
  • What conclusions can you draw from __?
  • What is similar/different from __?
  • What is the motive/underlying theme of __?
  • What is the relationship between __?

Possible approaches

  • Pro and Con Grid — Students decide by reviewing an issue, creating a list of pro and con arguments, and deciding based on analyzing those points.
  • Defining Features — Students categorize concepts according to the presence of (+) or absence of (–) critical defining features.
  • Send-a-Problem — Students solve a problem as a group and pass the problem and solution to a nearby group who does the same, with the final group evaluating the solutions.
  • Think-Aloud Pair Problem-Solving — Students solve problems aloud and try their reasoning with a listening peer.
  • Categorizing Grid — Students sort subordinate terms into the correct categories on a grid.

EVALUATE

EVALUATE — Make judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing.

  • How would you explain __?
  • What changes to __ would you recommend?
  • Do you agree with the outcome of __? Why?
  • What evidence supports your view?
  • What are the consequences of __?
  • How could __ be improved?

Possible approaches

  • Case Studies — Students review a written study of a real-world scenario and develop a solution to the dilemma presented in the case.
  • Structured Problem-Solving — Students follow a structured process to solve problems.
  • Think-Aloud Pair Problem-Solving — Students solve problems aloud and try their reasoning with a listening peer.
  • Pro and Con Grid — Students decide by reviewing an issue, creating a list of pro and con arguments, and deciding based on analyzing those points.

CREATE

CREATE — Put elements together to form a coherent or functional whole, reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing.

  • What changes could you make to revise __?
  • What theory can you propose for __?
  • How many ways can you __?
  • What might be a solution for __?
  • Develop a plan/proposal for __.
  • Devise your own way to __.

Possible approaches

  • Case Studies — Students review a written study of a real-world scenario and develop a solution to the dilemma presented in the case.
  • Think-Aloud Pair Problem-Solving — Students solve problems aloud and try their reasoning with a listening peer.



Keywordsknowledge, check, pre-class, preparation, article, lecture, online, reading, analytics, chapter, handoutDoc ID122285
OwnerTimmo D.GroupInstructional Resources
Created2022-11-03 13:19:41Updated2024-08-23 15:33:14
SitesCenter for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring
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