Before you start collecting feedback, there are a few things you should consider to make sure you achieve your desired results.

1. Think about what you’re hoping to achieve – do you want to improve your teaching or just check that your students are understanding everything? Both?
2. Consider how your students are performing and feeling at the time you’re asking for feedback.
3. Plan out how you will use the results of the feedback you receive.

By considering your goals for collecting this student feedback, you can create effective and meaningful questions to ask your students at a time that will generate the most engagement and honest feedback. 

If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry – we’ve got some tips to help you get going.

Share your why with students

To better engage students,  share the role their feedback plays in the classroom and how you plan to use it. Sharing the “why” behind your request for feedback and how you plan to use the information helps students see the value in their voice and how their feedback will help them and future students. This will not only help build pedagogical partnerships but also help to foster an inclusive learning environment. 

Get to know your students

As you gear up for the new teaching term, one of the most impactful things you can do is get to know your students better.

A simple, effective way to do this is to ask students to complete a short survey at the start of the term. Lumen One makes this easy with its built-in “Introduce Yourself” survey, designed specifically for faculty. This tool allows you to gain valuable insights into your students’ backgrounds right from the beginning, setting the stage for a more personalized and effective learning experience.

Taking the time to understand who your students are can make all the difference in how you connect with them and how they engage with your course. So, as you start the term, consider making this small but significant step a part of your teaching routine.

The following questions can be incorporated into a survey for students to introduce themselves. 

• • • • • • • What is your goal for this course?

• • • • • • • How are you feeling about this course? 

• • • • • • • Do you have any obligations outside of class that would be helpful for me to know about? 

Once you’re ready, here are some ways effective strategies to gather feedback:

• Leverage Discussion Boards: Don’t just limit discussion boards to simple Q&A. Transform them into dynamic forums where students can ask questions, share thoughts, and engage in meaningful discussions throughout the course. By creating a dedicated feedback thread, you open up a space for students to voice their opinions and concerns in real-time, making the feedback process ongoing and interactive.
• Use Anonymous Feedback Boxes: Encourage candid feedback by providing anonymous feedback options. Whether it’s a physical box in your classroom or a digital version online, anonymity can help students feel more comfortable sharing their honest thoughts without fear of repercussions. This approach often uncovers valuable insights from those who might be hesitant to speak up otherwise.
• Conduct Online Surveys: Online surveys are a convenient and effective way to gather detailed feedback. Utilize tools like Kahoot, Polling Apps, Google Forms, or your LMS to create surveys and email them to your students. Be sure to include both open-ended and closed-ended questions to capture a broad range of insights that are easy to analyze and apply.
• Prompt Feedback After Assignments: Integrate feedback collection into your regular workflow by adding prompts after assignments or assessments. Ask students to share their input weekly as they complete their work. Additionally, consider using Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATS) to quickly gauge what’s working, what’s unclear, and what needs further reinforcement, helping you adapt your teaching on the fly.

Things to Consider:

 If you’re already collecting student feedback, take a moment to reflect on how you gather feedback and explore ways to make it more impactful for you and more accessible for your students., here are some tips to elevate student engagement: 

• • When gathering student feedback, it’s important to consider the diverse ways students might feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. Some students may prefer to remain anonymous, while others might be more inclined to share verbally or need time to write out their responses thoughtfully. To truly involve students in feedback, consider asking them how they’d like to provide input. This approach respects their preferences and helps build pedagogical partnerships, leading to more meaningful and effective feedback.
  • Consider whether you want to “compensate” students for their time. Feedback takes time, and most students have other responsibilities. Incentives can come in many forms, including extra credit, early release time from class, or additional assignments during the feedback window.
  • Whenever possible, acknowledge students’ contributions to your changes due to their feedback. Students will appreciate seeing how you’re using the feedback! This will help you build trust with your students and show them that you are actively listening to their feedback and involving them in the process.

By Angelica Halbert and co-authored by Lumen Team

Resources: 

https://schoolguide.casel.org/resource/strategies-for-gathering-student-feedback/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/advice/1/how-can-entry-level-critical-thinking-professionals-jye6e 

https://vcsa.ucsd.edu/_files/assessment/resources/50_cats.pdf 

While some educators have expressed concerns about AI’s impact and use, Lumen has proactively explored ways to leverage AI that are rooted in equity and aligned with our mission to enable unprecedented learning for all students.  

David kicked off the webinar with a brief introduction to generative AI and then shared an overview of study strategies, which vary in effectiveness. Some of the most popular study techniques that students typically use are often some of the least effective. Generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can help reverse those patterns, so students support their own learning with evidence-based study strategies, including developing study prompts with platforms such as ChatGPT or Gemini. 

For example, students can develop prompts for spaced practice (studying material over a period of time), interleaved practice (mixing more than one topic to better understand an overall subject), or retrieval practice (recalling facts or concepts to enhance learning). Here is an example of a prompt for retrieval practice: 

I’m taking a college class in <class name> and I want to review what I’ve learned about <chapter name>. 
Give me a quiz where you ask me two questions about each of the following topics:

- Topic 1
- Topic N

Ask me one question at a time and wait for my answer.
Interleave the questions so that you don’t ask me two questions in a row about the same topic. 
After each answer, give me feedback on my answer and explain anything it seems like I don't understand. 
Then ask if I'd like additional information on that question. 
When I indicate I'm finished, ask me the next question.

These types of prompts can be especially beneficial in getting students to engage in high-level strategic thinking about their own learning, leaving them feeling more empowered about their academic journey. 

David concluded his portion of the webinar with some final thoughts: 

• Using generative AI as an effective learning tool is a critically important literacy for students to develop, and it can only be developed through practice. This is especially crucial for historically underrepresented students who may not have this kind of literacy readily available to them. 
• Generative AI systems will likely present students with information that is inaccurate. While it is remarkable that such systems can create the content we need right when we need it, we must be mindful of misinformation and biased content. 
• However, these interactions present a way of helping students think critically and think through the techniques they will use to uncover such instances of inaccuracies or biases.

For more of this engaging presentation from David, watch the full webinar here.

Reflecting on the conversations that have profoundly impacted my thinking this year, one in particular has persistently occupied my thoughts: the SXSW EDU panel, “Reimagined STEM Courseware: Equity-Centered Digital Learning.” For the second consecutive year, I had the privilege of joining leading academics on this equity-focused platform. Moderated by Professor Aireale Rodgers, Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the panel featured esteemed voices such as Dr. Ariel Anbar from Arizona State University and Dr. Brian McGowan from American University. Together, we delved into how courseware and technology, especially in STEM subjects, can support equitable student success for minoritized students.

Here are a few key takeaways from our conversation: 

• Digital courseware does not replace the faculty member/instructor.

  The faculty member is the primary source of instruction and establishes a human connection with students. Caring is an evidence-based practice that we know students respond to and courseware can help enable that practice. For example, in Lumen One, we offer an Introduce Yourself assignment that gives students the opportunity to share more about themselves – their background and goals – with the instructor . This information helps faculty members better understand their students and tailor instruction accordingly.   

  

  Example of a question found in Lumen One’s Student Introduce Yourself Survey.

• When it comes to digital courseware, instructors need support.

  There is a cognitive process in learning and using technology effectively. My fellow panelist, Dr. McGowan, spoke of reimagining professional development in a way that becomes more institutionalized, involving everyone from the IT department to faculty and equity centers on campus.  

• The practice of designing and using equity-centered courseware isn’t easy.

  After nearly one year of introducing Lumen One to our partners and other institutions, we are excited by what we’ve seen so far, but we are still learning and building community. I remain energized and encouraged by the fact that the equity conversation is growing, as evidenced at SXSW EDU, and equity-centered courseware is increasingly in demand. 

The lasting impact of our panel discussion is deeply rooted in the insights shared by my fellow panelists. Their perspectives have served as a guiding light, helping to navigate through the challenges we encounter. In a time where it is crucial to build equitable products and engage faculty, the wisdom exchanged during our conversation has been invaluable. It has provided me with direction, keeping me (and my team) focused on real issues and practical solutions.

As we move ahead, it is important to revisit and underscore the significance of these insights. They should stay at the heart of our plans and strategies as we navigate the complexities of education. In doing so, we ensure that our efforts are aligned with the principles of equity and inclusion, propelling us towards a future where every student has the opportunity to thrive.

You can listen to the full panel here. If you would like to learn more about Lumen One, you can reach out and request a demo.

Generative AI as the logical successor to OER

There are several parallels between OER and new generative AI models. Both OER and AI can and should be viewed as tools to increase educational opportunities. David cautions that higher ed should avoid falling into the trap of too heavily promoting the solutions themselves and losing sight of the true outcome of making course materials more accessible. Additionally, content created with generative AI  is not eligible for copyright protection, making it OER. Consequently, it can be continually updated and improved (unlike traditional textbooks).

AI’s impact on instructional design

AI will have significant positive impacts on instructional design. Establishing clear learning goals is the first step in building a strong instructional framework, and according to David, AI models can be trained to create learning objectives that are foundational to how instructors should design their lessons.  AI can also be used to develop more effective content and assessments based on these learning objectives. Integrating AI throughout the entire course design process can make it more efficient and effective.

How colleges and universities should approach AI policy

It is still too early for higher ed institutions to develop specific policies around AI. David compares our current understanding of AI to our understanding  of the internet in the late 1990s. We have not even begun to imagine the transformative potential of generative AI, and instructors and institutions both need more time to discover and experiment with its capabilities. If specific policies are established too early, they will likely inhibit innovation and experimentation now and be difficult to revoke or amend in the future. The untapped potential of AI and the current early stage of development necessitates light policy frameworks that serve more as living documents that can be revisited or updated as the technology and our understanding of it develops. 

AI developments on the horizon

Developers are already building faster and cheaper AI models, which will increasingly support the current push for equitable access to AI learning solutions across higher ed. Generally, as technologies develop and become more ubiquitous, costs go down and performance improves. David predicts that the same will happen with AI – eventually, all educational institutions, including smaller community colleges, will be able to afford AI solutions for their students.

Upcoming Webinar

Join David as he shares innovative ways to leverage AI technology with students on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 @ 2:00 p.m. ET.
Register here.

As an advocate for inclusivity and equity within our educational community, I  am excited to discuss a powerful approach to help us achieve this goal: pedagogical partnerships. Originating from the work of Alison Cook-Sather, pedagogical partnerships involve collaborative relationships between faculty and students, where both parties actively engage in co-creating the learning experience.

This approach recognizes that students bring valuable perspectives, experiences, and insights to the educational process. By inviting students to participate as partners in their education, we not only enhance the learning experience but also promote inclusivity by valuing the diverse experiences of our student body.

A Story of Transformation

Let me share a quick story that illustrates the transformative potential of pedagogical partnerships. 

A faculty member I worked with recently implemented this approach in their business course. Instead of solely dictating the course content and structure, they invited students to co-design the syllabus, suggest readings, and even lead discussions on topics of interest to them.

The faculty member initiated the pedagogical partnership by fostering an open and inclusive classroom environment where students felt empowered to contribute to the course design. They started by explaining the concept of pedagogical partnerships and highlighting the importance of student engagement in shaping their own learning experiences. This transparent communication laid the groundwork for collaboration and set the tone for mutual respect and shared responsibility.

Active Involvement: Co-Designing the Course

To actively involve students in the co-design process, the faculty member organized collaborative brainstorming sessions where students could voice their interests, preferences, and learning goals. These sessions allowed students to share their ideas and collectively identify key topics and themes they wanted to explore in the course. Additionally, the faculty member provided guidance and support throughout the process, ensuring that students felt supported and that their contributions were valued. 

The reaction from students was overwhelmingly positive. They felt empowered and valued as active participants in their learning journey. Students who had previously felt invisible or overlooked in traditional classroom settings found their voices amplified and their perspectives validated. As a result, they became more engaged and enthusiastic learners, eager to contribute to class discussions and collaborate with their peers.

Why Partnerships are Essential

This example underscores why pedagogical partnerships are an essential approach in higher education. By centering the experiences and voices of our students, educators can cultivate a dynamic learning environment where every individual can flourish. Moreover, this approach fosters a sense of ownership and agency among students, empowering them to take control of their education and become lifelong learners.

While the approach of pedagogical partnerships, as exemplified by the faculty member’s story, may not be feasible for every course to the same extent, there are smaller steps educators can take to involve students in the learning process. 

Challenges, Considerations, and Meaningful Steps for Engagement

It is also essential to acknowledge that implementing pedagogical partnerships requires time, resources, and a willingness to adapt teaching practices. However, even in courses where full-scale faculty-student collaboration may not be feasible, educators can still take meaningful steps to engage students beyond the traditional model of knowledge transfer. These steps might look like:

• Soliciting student feedback on course content and teaching methods via short surveys.
• Allowing students to share authors, experts, or scholars they are familiar with or interested in learning more about.
• Providing opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and set personal goals.
• Offering choices in assignments or project topics to accommodate diverse interests.

By embracing these incremental changes, educators can foster a more student-centered approach to teaching that empowers learners and promotes deeper engagement with course material. As you consider incorporating pedagogical partnerships into your teaching practice, here are a couple of key elements to keep in mind:

1. Welcome Collaboration: View your students not just as recipients of knowledge but as collaborators in the learning process. Invite them to co-design the curriculum, provide feedback on assignments, and share their insights and experiences.
2. Value Diversity: Recognize and celebrate your students’ diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Create space for historically marginalized voices to be heard and amplify their contributions to the classroom dialogue.
3. Embrace Uncertainty and Flexibility: Be comfortable with uncertainty and allow room for the unexpected. Pedagogical partnerships thrive on openness to new ideas and perspectives. Embrace the “chaos” of collaborative learning and allow the process to evolve organically.
4. Demonstrate Transparent Communication and Patience: Be transparent with students about your approach and how the class might evolve over time. It’s important for everyone to exercise patience and show grace, humanizing the faculty-student relationship and fostering a supportive learning community.

Pedagogical partnerships offer a powerful pathway to enrich the learning environment by honoring the diverse experiences of every student. Through this approach, educators can foster educational experiences that empower students, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world. While implementation may require adjustments, even small steps towards engaging students in co-creation can have a profound impact. As we strive to create a more equitable and effective educational experience for all, let us embrace pedagogical partnerships as a powerful pathway to empower our students and prepare them to become active agents of change in the world.

Reference:

Cook-Sather, Alison, Melanie Bahti, and Anita Ntem. 2019. Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-To Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education. Elon, NC: Elon University Center for Engaged Learning. https://doi.org/10.36284/celelon.oa1.

About Daysha Jackson-Sanchez:

As Lumen’s Vice President of Equity Solutions, Daysha oversees the equity-centered design strategy, approach, and implementation. A first-generation college graduate, Daysha has served in leadership roles, such as Dean of Student Success and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, and has spent over fifteen years in higher education administration, building collaborative communities focused on identifying and eliminating systemic barriers faced by students.

We are currently looking for passionate instructors and subject matter experts to help us modify and author content for our current courses that focus on eliminating the academic equity gaps specifically experienced by Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income students. Do you love writing engaging activities and assessment questions based on cutting edge and culturally relevant examples? Are you excited to do work that will help students who may struggle through GenEd courses because of a plethora of obstacles? Do you also have a finger on the pulse of current changes in your field? 

Our current course titles in progress:

• Introductory Statistics
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Calculus 1
• College Algebra
• Computer Applications for Managers
• Business Communication
• Principles of Management
• Abnormal Psychology
• Lifespan
• College Success
  

The ideal candidate is someone with lived experience similar to that of the students we are trying to support through our courseware. However, we encourage you to apply if you have a deep passion for equity in education and are excited about these tasks, even if you don’t meet the exact description of our ideal candidate. 

This is flexible work that can be done from home, anywhere in the US. The work can be either part-time or full-time and is milestone-based rather than a fixed number of hours per week. Please note this is an Independent Contractor role, and you will receive a 1099.

About Lumen Learning

Our mission is to enable unprecedented learning for all students with an emphasis on ensuring that race, income, and gender are not predictors of success. We are a fast-paced, tech company service in higher education currently supporting more than 400,000 students, 5,000 faculty members at more than 500 colleges and universities across the country. Lumen provides solutions that create effective learning experiences for students and guide faculty members in the use of evidence-based teaching practices that improve student success.

We are doing something that has not been done before. Each position requires an individual who can assess the needs of customers, the education community, and other Lumen team members and develop new approaches and solutions. This requires creativity, commitment, generosity, openness, and a drive to create belonging for our team and community. You can read more about our company values here, and find out more about what we do on our website.

We are committed to building an organization that reflects the diversity of the communities and students we serve. We can only achieve our goals by creating a team of differing perspectives, social circumstances, values, and abilities, including those of historically resilient communities. We strongly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian, & other People of Color, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, and members of underrepresented groups. Lumen Learning is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. ​​

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in the field of the referenced course (Mathematics, Statistics, Business, Psychology, Education, Management, Communication, etc.), equivalent work experience, or adjacent fields of study
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent time and project management skills, including the ability to meet project deadlines
• Extremely reliable: When you take on a task, you see it through to the best of your ability
• Great people skills: you respect and enjoy working with people and organizations to help them succeed at their objectives
• While this work is primarily asynchronous, you must have availability to meet once per week (US Pacific time zone) with a Lumen Course Product Manager and other SMEs working on the course project
• Experience working with students from Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income backgrounds, and a strong aspiration to help remove barriers for these students
• Interest in evidence-based teaching practices and pedagogy as it applies to learning within your subject area

Project Roles

• Core Content Author: Create the expository content (text, images, video) used in Lumen courses, and write transition content to fill gaps as we rearrange pieces of the course.
• Question Author: Create outcome-aligned assessment questions with feedback for practice opportunities, self-checks, and quizzes.
• Classroom Activity Author: Create powerpoints, in-class activities, assignments, discussion prompts, and teacher resources that Lumen instructors use to guide lessons in their classrooms.
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Reviewer: Evaluate examples for cultural relevance and inclusion principles and suggest specific improvements. 
• OHM Question Author: Create and code algorithmic questions in the Lumen OHM platform, or write questions that we then code into regenerative questions within OHM.

Submit your application for becoming a Lumen Learning SME here.

Global Diversity in Education

Educational settings are microcosms of the broader global diversity landscape. Students bring their various backgrounds, cultures, and experiences into the classroom every day. When asked about why global diversity awareness is important to her, Brigeth Rivera (she/her), our Vice President of Marketing, shared that in school, she often tried to “fit in and not make being a Nicaraguan immigrant” who she was. However, it was the genuine interest and curiosity of her college classmates that encouraged her to reconnect with her roots as well as ask more questions to learn about the unique backgrounds of others around her. As a result, she now strongly believes that “what makes us unique and different is our superpower.” 

Along with interest and curiosity, recognizing opportunities for positive representation of global diversity in the classroom is an excellent way to affirm the uniqueness of your diverse students. Averie Connell (she/her), a Regional Sales Director at Lumen, reflected on the importance of global representation in the classroom and in content by saying that while representation definitely matters on a societal level, “positive representation is even more impactful within the classroom; representation supports students in the development of realistic, yet aspirational, expectations of themselves and their classmates.” She shared that as a Jamaican immigrant, seeing other Jamaicans (like Bob Marley, Kamala Harris, Colin Powell, and Usain Bolt, just to name a few) who have made significant contributions to U.S. society and around the world served as a source of great pride and motivation to her and other Jamaicans. Because of her experience as an immigrant, she can say with confidence, “Students who see themselves represented in a positive light in the classroom feel more confident in their abilities and are more motivated to challenge themselves.” 

One of our Front-End Engineers, Annalyn Sarmiento (she/her),  has been impacted by how her Filipino culture and identity were (or were not) represented in her classrooms. Although she was fortunate to have grown up in a diverse community filled with other immigrants and their children, it was rare to encounter lessons with people or cultural examples that she could relate to. “Having this experience in school impacts the work I do at Lumen because I understand firsthand how including more diversity in the course content and examples can be beneficial to students.” She believes it’s important for faculty to celebrate and to be aware of the global diversity of their students “because it can support and enhance the student learning experience.” 

Understanding Cultural Norms in Global Diversity 

Besides representation and inclusion, understanding varying cultural norms and expectations that your students may be experiencing is another important aspect of global diversity awareness. Jessica Szewczyk (she/her), a Product Marketing Manager at Lumen, experienced not feeling worthy of academic or career opportunities due to several cultural reasons. “Being raised in a Polish household as a first-generation American, there wasn’t any precedent for me to understand how to get into college, let alone how my life would look on campus as a first-generation student. It’s rare to see Poles continuing in education, with many in older generations thinking it’s unnecessary, especially for women.” This is an excellent example of how not all students have the same access to information and support as it relates to higher education. For this reason, trying to learn about your students’ unique backgrounds and how they affect their education is critical for educators. As Jessica told us, “Having culturally aware professors, managers, and colleagues helped give me the confidence to be an advocate for myself.” 

Global diversity awareness is an essential aspect of educational settings and the broader society.  It involves embracing and celebrating students’ unique backgrounds, offering positive representation, building confidence, and understanding the impact of cultural differences on a student’s educational journey. By fostering a diverse and inclusive educational environment, we can empower students to succeed and thrive. 

Embrace Global Diversity in Your Teaching 

At Lumen, we strongly believe that small changes can make a big difference in the overall student experience. As an educator, you have the power to create an inclusive environment that embraces the diversity of all students. One way to do this is by using an “introduce yourself” survey to learn more about your students and their unique backgrounds. Another way is by incorporating diverse resources, images, and materials into your teaching.

If you’re interested in learning more about digital courseware or tools that can help you make these small, yet meaningful changes, we encourage you to check out our latest courseware- Lumen One. Lumen One is designed with an equity-focus empowering both faculty and students to thrive in their teaching and learning journeys while embracing their unique abilities and diverse perspectives. Register here to get a glimpse of Lumen One and it’s equity-focused design.

Reflections From Our Team: 

“We can facilitate more effective learning by promoting positive representation of diverse groups and honoring various perspectives in the classroom and in the content we create.” – Averie Connell, Regional Sales Director

“Global diversity is a source of strength, offering a plethora of ideas, traditions, and experiences that can enrich our lives and contribute to creating a compassionate and harmonious future for everyone.”- Brigeth Rivera, Vice President of Marketing 

“Having materials that promote diversity in the classroom can help promote self-awareness and cultural awareness for students and teachers. Global diversity in the classroom and the content helps create a friendly and inclusive environment for students, which can enhance a student’s experience in school.” –Annalynn Sarmiento, Front-End Engineer

“I’m proud to work for Lumen Learning, a company whose mission is to achieve unprecedented learning for all students. Students deserve affordable and accessible learning materials, and they deserve to feel like they have ownership of their learning and belong in their classrooms. I’m grateful knowing that my position helps students feel seen not just during Global Diversity Awareness month but every month.” – Jessica Szewczyk, Product Marketing Manager 

Lumen is deeply committed to eliminating race, income, and gender as predictors of student success in US higher education. Each and every student, regardless of their race, income, or gender, is capable of succeeding when they are supported effectively. And at Lumen, we are working to provide every student and each instructor with the pedagogical supports they need to be successful.

In 2022, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided Lumen with substantial funding in support of this vision. This generous grant allowed Lumen to update and improve our equity-centered design process, leading to significant improvements to our content and assessments as well as a new software platform for supporting students and instructors as they engage in the teaching and learning process. The new courseware offering that resulted from this work is called Lumen One, and the first subject is Introductory Statistics.

Equity-Centered Design

We define equity-centered design as “the practice of purposefully involving historically marginalized and resilient communities throughout a design process with the goal of allowing their voice to directly affect how the solution will address the inequity at hand” following Kwak (2020). This principle is sometimes expressed as “design with, not for.” As we created Lumen One, we involved students and faculty throughout the process of drafting platform features, content designs, and assessment approaches.

One of our key strategies for designing with students, instead of for them, was the creation of two User Testing Centers (UTCs). Through partnerships with Santa Ana College and Rockland Community College, two Minority Serving Institutions, the UTCs trained 13 student interns to complete user testing research cycles with more than 140 of their student peers. Using a variety of research techniques – from empathy interviews and cognitive interviews to prototype testing and interactive co-design sessions, the interns helped Lumen understand the answers to questions like: What’s the reality of students’ lives and academic experiences today? How might students solve the problems they experience in their gateway courses? What’s interesting, relevant, and engaging to them? What definitely isn’t? What would students change if they could?

Examples of Equity-Centered Designs

Students taught us many valuable lessons through their work with the UTCs. One of those lessons is that there’s nothing that students find universally interesting and relevant to their lives. This recognition led us to co-design data analysis practice in Introductory Statistics that has a greater chance of engaging students by including multiple datasets. This gives each student a chance to choose a topic to analyze that’s meaningful to them. We call these Choose Your Own Dataset activities.                                                         

Students also told us that they frequently need to hear a concept explained multiple times by multiple people. This typically leads them to search YouTube for additional perspectives on challenging topics. However, surfing YouTube presents a number of challenges. Different instructors use different language to describe the same concepts, making them more difficult to understand. And the YouTube algorithm always suggests unrelated videos that easily distract students and waste their time. Understanding the underlying desire for additional perspectives as well as the challenges presented by using YouTube for this purpose, we recorded three different instructors with different perspectives and life experiences explaining key concepts throughout the course. This allows students to get a range of perspectives on challenging ideas without the confusion and distractions of YouTube.

In another example, students told us they strongly wish that instructors better understood them as individuals and appreciated the obligations they have outside of class, like working full-time or caring for an aging family member. Many students long to feel a genuine connection to their instructors and to feel seen and supported. To help bridge this gap between instructors and students we co-designed an Introduce Yourself activity for students and a corresponding instructor dashboard. This provides faculty with information like students’ preferred names and pronunciation, preferred pronouns, academic majors, year in school, and obligations outside of class.

As a final example, we heard loud and clear from students that they don’t enjoy reading long monolithic blocks of text. This complaint actually aligns very well with research about what makes for effective studying. Specifically, research consistently shows that engaging in interactive practice with immediate feedback is dramatically more effective at promoting learning than reading or watching video.

(And this effect of doing interactive practice is causal, not merely correlational.) This student perspective combined nicely with another consistent bit of feedback– that students hate having to purchase a calculator or special mathematics software in order to do homework for their classes. We brought these ideas together in a co-design that significantly reduces the amount of passive reading and video watching that students do in the course. In place of reading and watching, students engage in significantly more interactive practice, including with an online statistics tool that is integrated directly into the course materials at no additional cost.

Equity isn’t Just a Process – It’s Also Results

It’s often said that equity is a process, and I agree with the call to action underlying that idea. But equity must also be about results. For example, if Lumen’s equity-centered design process doesn’t facilitate equitable outcomes for students, then our process still needs work. We recognize that there are likely many cycles of continuous improvement between us and the audacious goal of eliminating race, income, and gender as predictors of student success. With Lumen One Introductory Statistics available for broad adoption this fall, we’re excited to evaluate our initial progress towards this goal, publicly share what we’re learning, and continuously re-design Lumen One with – not for – students and faculty across the US in pursuit of equitable outcomes. 

Interested in Learning More?

Hear what your peers who’ve adopted Lumen One have to say during a webinar on October 26th at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Register here: https://info.lumenlearning.com/exploring-lumen-one-in-the-classroom

References

Kwak, J. (2020). How equity-centered design supports anti-racism in the classroom. https://www.everylearnereverywhere.org/blog/how-equity-centered-design-supports-anti-racism-in-the-classroom/

As Hispanic Heritage Month draws to a close, we reflect on the significance of this celebration and its relevance in the context of higher education. Hispanic Heritage Month began as a week-long tribute in 1868 and was extended to a month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. This month-long celebration honors the rich cultural heritage of Latin American countries. At Lumen, we are doing our part by shining a light on the unique experiences and challenges faced by Hispanic students who are attending higher education institutions.

For many Hispanic students, the pursuit of higher education is a transformative journey filled with unique challenges. According to a report on Latino students sharing their college experiences, a staggering 70% of Latinx students enrolling in college are first-generation scholars. This status brings with it a distinct set of obstacles, such as navigating the complex college application process, overcoming language barriers, and often coming from historically minoritized communities. To hear directly from students, we hosted a panel of remarkable students who candidly shared their experiences and triumphs in the face of these challenges while finding their place in the world of higher education.

During our enlightening conversation, Valeria Gutierrez-Cruz, a student from Charlottesville, VA, shed light on the added responsibility of educating her parents about the higher education process. This is a common experience shared by many Hispanic students, showcasing the multi-faceted nature of their academic journeys. Valeria also touched upon the representation of Hispanic heritage in educational materials and classrooms. While occasional nods to Hispanic culture are seen on campus, the lack of meaningful representation within coursework can leave Hispanic students feeling overlooked.

Throughout the conversation, panelists offered valuable insights into how educators can enhance inclusivity in the classroom. Carolina Alvarez, a student from Houston, Texas, emphasized the importance of not dismissing students’ questions or opinions, emphasizing that fostering a welcoming environment is crucial for their sense of belonging. Kiara Portillo, also from Houston, Texas, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the desire of Hispanic students to be heard and supported in their learning journey. Just like every student, they need educators who see their potential and are willing to nurture it.

Valeria’s personal experience with a professor who recognized her bilingualism as an asset rather than a deficit serves as a powerful reminder of the impact educators can have on students’ sense of belonging. By celebrating the diversity of skills and backgrounds within the classroom, educators can empower their Hispanic students to thrive.

Learn More

If you’re intrigued by the stories and insights shared by our panelists, you can watch the on-demand recording of “Latinx Belonging in Higher Education” here. If you wish to delve deeper into the challenges faced by other historically minoritized groups of students in higher education, such as those with diverse abilities, we invite you to explore our Elevating Student Voice Belonging Webinar Series. Here, you will find other on-demand recordings of past webinars as well as a registration form for our future webinars.