Tip #31: Making the Last Day Meaningful

Contributed by Kim Vincent-Layton, Center for Teaching and Learning

Think back to your first day of the semester and our tip on the First Day of Class...

Setting the tone for the learning environment on the first day is just as important on the last day of class. The last day is not only the culmination of our students’ unique experiences, but also an opportunity to reflect on our teaching. Creating opportunities to reflect by looking back and then looking forward helps students transfer their learning to new experiences (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000).  The meaningful moments that we plan for our last day can have a great impact on our students in terms of closing the learning loop (Lang, 2015).

These last learning moments can take place in a variety of formats, e.g., discussion, writing, creating portfolios, drawing concept maps, game show, final review session, advice to future students, etc. Most important is the opportunity to reflect on how far they have come as this is a celebratory moment!

Ideas to consider in making the last day experience meaningful for you and your students:

• Reflection: Reflect back to the beginning (revisit the course outcomes and celebrate how far they’ve come) and share what they are walking away with.
• Relevance - What aspects of what they learned are relevant to their lives now and in the future?
• Synthesis - This is the process of identifying pieces of the learning and coming up with common themes and issues and how they fit together or do not fit together.

Colleagues share their last day of class moments:

• At the end of the semester, I like to give my students the opportunity to collectively reflect on their learning and consider shifts or changes in their thinking. I then like to use the “once around the room” strategy to give every student in the class the opportunity to share their ideas. - Libbi Miller, Education
• On our last day of class we do a Jeopardy style/Family Feud game where students are asked trivia questions that cover the entirety of the key concepts and important information we learned throughout the semester. Many of these questions we have gone over and answered throughout the semester and we have reviewed and discussed them in class before. Whichever group ends the game with the most points receives 20 points extra credit. The second place group gets 10 points extra credit and the third 5 points extra credit. It is a nice way to show how much they have learned throughout the semester. It's also a lot of fun. - Cutcha Risling Baldy, Native American Studies
• The professor sharing what s/he learned in the class, reflecting back to students to model how teachers are also learners, and that students teach us as much if not more than we teach them. From ways I might change my course plans/assignments/etc based on their feedback, to new ways of approaching the material, to new insights from discussions we've had and things they've shared.   Showing how we are always changing and learning, that teaching courses is dynamic and shifts all the time, seems essential to student-centered pedagogy. Another idea I use is to bring things full circle for students to self-assess their learning in the class. If it's paired with a "what do you hope to learn/achieve in this class" reflection done at the beginning of the semester, students can look at those original answers and see/discuss with each other and as a class whether they've achieved those things they wanted to. - Sarah Ray, Geography
• Something I've done in the past is to take a group photo on the last day of class or a multi-day workshop (not just from students' desks). I've found this is a nice way to end by getting everyone together and emphasizing the cohesiveness of the group. This is one way I express my gratitude for a great class and to demonstrate how valuable students are to me. - Brandilynn J. Villarreal, Psychology

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Lang, J. M. (2016). Small changes in teaching: The last 5 minutes of class. Chronicle of Higher Education.

Other Resources:

• The Last Class Session: How to Make it Count
• Three Active Learning Strategies You Can Do in 10 Minutes or Less