Use this teaching activity when you want to know which lecture content has not yet been well-understood by the students. This gives you an impression of the predominant uncertainties and misconceptions and enables you to adapt your lecture content.
- Activity goal
- Recap / Summarize
- When
- In class
- Where
- Offline | Online
- Duration
- < 10 minutes| < 30 minutes
- Group size
- Small | Medium | Large
- Materials
Canvas, Padlet, Teams
Step-by-step plan
Step 1
In your teaching meeting, identify the best time to introduce ‘the muddiest point’ activity. For instance, this can be after a 15-minute presentation, before the break, or at the end of the lecture.
Step 2
Ask the students to formulate a brief answer to the question “What do you still find really unclear?”.
Step 3
Have students note down their answers on paper or in an online tool.
Step 4
Scan the students’ answers (when the students are busy with another assignment, during the break or after the lecture).
Step 5
Identify ‘the muddiest points’ and explain these after the break, at the start of the next lecture or in the online environment.
Consider the tools and materials mentioned here as suggestions. In many cases it’s possible to use alternative tools. Please turn to the Learning & Innovation team of your faculty first to see which online and offline tools are available and how to apply them.
Online
- Check the manual to set up an Online Discussion Forum on Canvas at Advice for Online Education
- Watch the video for creating a 'wall' on Padlet
- You can also work with a shared document in Microsoft Teams
Tip 1
- It is easy to collect ‘muddiest points’ offline using pieces of paper. Online tools also offer you the opportunity to save the ‘muddiest points’ in a structured way for a longer period.
Tip 2
- An ideal moment to collect the 'muddiest points’ is just before a break. You can then use the break to go through the notes and use the start of the next teaching block to clarify several of the ‘muddiest points’.
Tip 3
- This activity is also extremely suitable for giving students insight into their own learning process.
At EUR, we are committed to engaging with (generative) AI responsibly. Refer to the usage guidelines via AI@EUR and the theme page about AI in education as well.
