Weekly check- ins and wrap ups

Weekly check-ins and wrap ups can include many things and can be delivered in different ways-- as text announcements, as video summaries or even as discussion posts.  The most important thing to remember is: be human, be present and be flexible!

A weekly check-in or wrap up is a great way to bridge content from one week to the next, to continue to build community and relationships with your students, and to assess their progress. Its also a great way to increase your instructor presence in the course.

From The Value of a Weekly Wrap Up Links to an external site.

• A weekly wrap up helps students see what they should have learned and how that material relates to what they will learn in the upcoming week. 
• A weekly wrap up shows students that you have been actively engaged with the course.
• Creating a wrap up keeps you on top of assessing students’ performance. The wrap up is a way to make observations about how students are doing in the course.

 

From The Value of a Weekly Wrap Up Links to an external site.

Discussion Commentary: make observations about students discussion of the content for the week. Show students you are engaged by commenting on themes that you see emerge.

Content Preview: Summarize how the content just learned leads into the upcoming week to help prepare them. 

Additional Consideration: Pose questions. Invite students to respond on the open forum to continue the conversation with each other.

 

This wrap up example captures the need for the instructor to recalibrate following the first week's discussion assignment. The rest of the announcement included a summary of discussion expectations and linked out to the grading rubric.  It may be necessary to coach your students and realign expectations and understanding.

"Week 1's discussion was not a discussion...Majority did not follow the instructions and many did not respond to classmates. Please remember that this course is a community, and it takes participation by all students..."

If you are holding a live class meeting in Zoom you could discuss and problem solve together. What challenges prevented students from posting? Were your directions clear? Was there enough time built in to complete both an initial post and two responses? The weekly wrap-up is an opportunity for you to make real time course corrections for the students you are teaching at that specific time, with their unique context.