In recognition of National First Gen Week, and Williams faculty’s commitment to student learning, Academic Technology Services offers some “tech”-niques you can use (both as you’re preparing for the next semester, and just-in-time at any point during the semester) to illuminate the hidden curriculum, and build self-efficacy, for the Williams Firsts students in your courses.
Preparing for your Students before the Semester Starts.
When you’re reflecting and planning, here are some structural practices that can have meaningful impact for the Williams Firsts you’ll have next semester and beyond:
- Restyle a GLOW course using modules, to promote structure.
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- Why: All students (and especially Firsts!) can benefit when their digital learning environments leverage built-in organizational cues, minimize cognitive load, and maximize usability.
- How: Chunk course content into GLOW modules to provide Firsts a consistent, navigable space for engagement.
- Reference: Whitenton, K. (2013). “Minimize Cognitive Load to Maximize Usability.”
- Center transparency in a GLOW assignment.
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- Why: Transparency of goals, rationale, expectations, and assignment evaluation can support student achievement in your course while retaining high standards. Maintaining high standards by centering cognitive challenge (rather than logistical challenge) is supportive for students who are immersed in a new cultural and academic context, an experience shared by many Firsts.
- How: Explicitly enumerate the purpose, task, and criteria for one of your assignments for next semester, using research-based methods from the TiLT (Transparency in Learning and Teaching) framework.
- Reference: Leuzinger, R. and Grallo, J. (2019). “Reaching First-Generation and Underrepresented Students through Transparent Assignment Design.“
- Strategize with the Rice Center (and your Academic Technology Consultant).
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- Why: Why go it alone? As Williams faculty, you have access to thought partners: The Rice Center for Teaching and Academic Technology Consultants are here to collaborate on the pedagogy and technology questions that speak to you. Let’s get curious together!
- How: Set up a Rice Center consultation for support with general pedagogy, and one with your Academic Technology Consultant for support with academic technology. Connect with other campus partners who can assist faculty on specific teaching needs.
- Reference: Taylor, K. L. and Znajda, S. K. (2015). “Demonstrating the impact of educational development: The case of a course design collaborative.”
Communicating Students’ Progress and Potential via GLOW During the Semester.
Especially in the midst of a busy semester, you can use specific communication practices to make the “hidden curriculum” more transparent, with meaningful impact especially for the Williams Firsts in your course:
- Maintain communication, demonstrate support, and promote belonging by sending a GLOW announcement message.
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- Why: Firsts can benefit from continued validation that they’re not alone in their experience, and that they belong here at Williams – especially at challenging points in a semester. Stereotype threat can impede student performance, while students who feel a strong sense of belonging and connectedness are more likely to persist in the course, major, and field.
- How: Send a note by GLOW announcement just to check in! Simple human connections like these could make a difference for first-generation students handling a moment of stress, especially if they are experiencing stereotype threat. You can:
- share that you also feel pressures in a semester;
- restate your personal commitment to their success;
- openly acknowledge that you experience challenging times as well;
- normalize reaching out to available resources and link to them directly (like the Tutoring Center, or your office hours).
- Reference: Payne, T., Muenks, K., and Aguayo, E. (2023). “Just because I am first gen doesn’t mean I’m not asking for help”: A thematic analysis of first-generation college students’ help-seeking behaviors.
- Use GLOW systems to offer Firsts as much current information about their progress as possible.
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- Why: Time management and prioritizing are key skills Firsts exercise throughout the semester. By giving Firsts as much up-to-date information as possible about their current progress, you equip them to exercise more effective longer-term planning towards assessments and learning, in your own class and others.
- How: Use the time- and submission-based notification features integrated throughout GLOW, including Calendar, Gradebook, and Dashboard:
- Enable To-Do List – simply by using due dates and Calendar events.
- Send messages to:
- all students based on specific course grade,
- an individual student based on specific course grade,
- any student based on missing, late, or excused assignments
- Customize Gradebook to match your specific grading philosophy and policies.
- Encourage students to customize their Notification settings based on your recommendations.
- Reference: University of Oregon, Academic Success Center. “3 Ways to Prioritize.”
- Use an assessment wrapper activity in GLOW to center metacognition and reflection.
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- Why: All students can benefit from reflecting on, and improving, their own study strategies. Firsts are often keenly aware of a deterministic mindset (focused on what they may need to learn); a wrapper centers self-reflection, and positions Firsts as both sharing and receiving knowledge about how to study and learn. Further, dedicating time to discuss the process of preparing for and completing an assessment can de-emphasize a product- or grade-oriented focus, in favor of an asset-based growth mindset focused on existing and emerging skills.
- How: Collect information from your students about how they prepared for the assessment, and what their plan is for preparing for the next assessment.
- To implement an assessment wrapper with flexible options, use a Google form embedded in a Canvas quiz, and customize with points and anonymity.
- As you prepare to collect information, consider:
- what kinds of information you would like to know about how or when students engage with your assessment;
- what questions to ask students to understand their approaches;
- whether sharing out anonymized answers may help students learn and share study skills and preparation with their peers.
- References: University of Denver, Center for Teaching and Learning. “Assignment/Exam Wrappers.”; Chick, N. (2013). “Metacognition.”
You can use these pedagogically-based technology interventions to support your students – and especially Firsts students – in your classes. This is not an exhaustive list of approaches one might take. We again invite you to connect with your Academic Technology Consultant and the Rice Center for Teaching for support in implementing these strategies, or any other strategies about which you are curious!