Current Trend in Digital Technology:
https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2018/8/students-as-partners-for-informed-and-inspired-teaching
“Students as Partners for Informed and Inspiring Learning”
Pulse on Learning (PoL), a recent initiative by Mercy College, is a system that allows faculty to obtain feedback from students mid-semester, rather waiting until the end of semester evaluations. This initiative allows instructors to gain significant insight into the student learning experience, and indicates specific areas of their teaching that need adjustment or intervention. PoL is rolled out to students in the form of a survey, allowing faculty to hear student voices on a level that is simultaneously personal and macro-scale within 48 hours of completion. Because surveys are conducted at the 3rd of 4th week of a 15 week semester class, students are able to communicate areas of complication early on, giving the instructor plenty of time to enact changes or modification within the learning environment. PoL is a highly beneficial tool that allows institutions to better serve their students within all areas of instruction, allowing students the opportunity to become more involved in their own learning. In hearing student voices in this way, faculty are ultimately able to be more responsive and insightful into the needs of their students and how the learning environment is perceived amongst their class as a whole.
Within the area of visual art, much of the student learning objectives provide a visual outcome, where students demonstrate their ability to apply concepts in the form of an art piece or exercise. Informal assessment happens frequently during class, making if easy for instructors to overlook deeper reflection on the student learning experience. If a student is producing evidence of the learning objectives, faculty may not feel it necessary to inquire on ways to improve or modify instruction. With the use of PoL, visual art instructors would be able to gain access to information and deeper insight into how students are processing information, and ultimately aid their ability to differentiate instruction and serve their students at the individual level. PoL can also help identify trends within the classroom learning environment, allowing faculty to make revisions to their instruction to utilize in future courses with different groups of students. Whether utilized in a visual art setting or other areas of instruction, PoL provides an outlet for students to be heard and instructors to listen. This technology can only improve the student-faculty relationship and help to streamline the educational experience for all students.