Category: Teaching Tips

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Replying Individually to Students Using the One-Minute-Paper

Initiating Student-Teacher Contact Via Personalized Responses to One-Minute Papers

Although the author did not design the concept of one-minute-papers, Gale Lucas uses the one-minute-paper to personalize the relationship with her students as well as to discover what the students bring away from her classes. This is how the one minute paper works. After a class or lecture, students take a couple of minutes to answer questions from the professor such as, “What did your learn?” and “What remains unanswered?” While some professors only comment on answers and answer questions to the class as a whole, Lucas proposes in this article to e-mail each student individually and answer or comment on the what the student had to say.

By e-mailing the students individually, Lucas found that one-minute-papers were helpful to initiate contact with her students. She begins her e-mail by explaining that she wants to personally respond and then does so. Many students like getting responses and feel that Lucas cares about their “own personal learning and greatly appreciate such concern.” (p.40). This direct contact with her students additionally benefits students who speak up less in class.

Students reported that getting these responses from their professor helped their learning. It also helps the teacher monitor what they have taught to see if it is effective.

Lucas, G. M. (2010). Initiating student-teacher contact via personalized responses to one-minute papers College Teaching, 58(2), 39-42. doi:10.1080/87567550903245631

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More Research Concept Maps

According to Jonassen, D., Howland, J., & Marra, R., “Building models using different computer-based modeling tools is perhaps the most conceptually engaging classroom activity possible that has the greatest potential for engaging and encouraging conceptual change processes.” (2011, Kindle Location 4564). The assumption is that if the student can’t model it, they don’t know it. Modeling may be created using concept mapping, spreadsheets, and databases, among others. “When using computers as Mindtools to model phenomena, students are teaching the computer, rather than the computer teaching the student.” (Jonassen, et al., 2001, Kindle Location 4593) Students cannot use concept mapping without deep thinking about the content. In other words, the user has to think harder about the content than how to use the computer to render the content.

Concept Mapping  and other Mindtools (Jonassen, 2006) help students comprehend and remember what they are learning. Should the model be of systems and how they are integrated together, then it helps the student understand how the information is tied together. In addition, if the students compare their concept maps with other students they can see how others represent the same ideas, for deeper thinking.

Working together on concept maps are also useful because this gives the learners a reason to reflect on knowledge  in association with ideas presented by the others in the group.

A concept map is composed of nodes (or concepts and ideas) that are connected by links which are propositions or relationships. In software programs the nodes are represented by blocks and the links are represented by lines. According to Jonassen, et al., (2001) the ability to describe the links is the most important intellectual requirement and that concept mapping software without this ability is not useful. “The more exact and descriptive these links are, the better the map is.” (Jonassen, et al., 2001) For this reason, Jonassen, et al do not think that adding graphics, etc. is prudent. It’s easy to get carried away with the graphics and give less importance to the links.

Jonassen, David H.; Howland, Jane L.; Marra, Rose M. (2011). Meaningful learning with technology, 4th Edition. Allyn & Bacon. Kindle Edition.

Jonassen, David H. (2006). Modeling with technology: Mindtools for conceptual change. Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.