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Reduce Student Mental Load and Course Bloat
Posted April 10, 2024
by IDLT
A common refrain by instructors is that information must be repeated for students to know of said information. In solving for this lack of discipline or awareness, this “information must be repeated…” phrase can become a mantra for some, who then employ due dates and other notices ad nauseum. I posit that repeated information encourages students to “check out”, and that when due dates and notices are employed ad nauseum it becomes a nightmare of upkeep for instructors.
Here are three tricks to reduce student mental load and course bloat.
Concentrate Information
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Remove all due dates written in the text of assignments and activities. This cuts down on what instructors must update each semester dramatically. Instead, leverage various features of Blackboard. When due dates are set for anything associated with a grade it is automatically listed in the Calendar , and with due dates removed from text every due date can be set at once using Date Management .
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Create an Item titled Introduction in the Content Area of whichever grouping method is being used (for example: Week 1 Introduction, Module 1 Introduction, Unit 1 Introduction, ext.). This should be the secondary reference, and the only place other than the syllabus/schedule where due date information is intentionally listed. In this one spot, students can quickly see what the itinerary for the current content is.
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Reinforce syllabus/schedule as the primary reference. A clear and concise syllabus/schedule is the guiding document for each course. Make direct mention of this document's importance in any getting started instructions, recommending it be printed off for easy access and reference. Continuously refer students back to the syllabus if they have questions about due dates. You can utilize the IDLT Syllabus Template for a clean and accessible template when getting started.
