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It’s the last day of class for your college course. All your lesson content has been taught. You don’t want to create too heavy a final class session, since you know how busy your students are right now. So, what do you do on the final day? What will provide the most value? Here are a few options.
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Option 1: A Course Assessment Activity
Student evals created by the university aren’t the most helpful, in my opinion. A few 1-5 rating questions and the chance to write feedback. Not very specific. So, one option is to create a course assessment that asks for specifics from students. What assignments did they learn the most/least from? Which did they enjoy the most/least? What books were particularly relevant to their lives? What lesson/activity styles did they find the most/least helpful? And so on.
Ask students for their thoughts. Make clear you want to hear from them so that you can improve the course in the future.
Option 2: A Looking Forward Reflection
In this case, it’s all about helping the students see the value of the course in connection to their future endeavors. Lead a discussion where they reflect on how the skills and knowledge they learned in your course can be useful in future situations. How can the skills/knowledge transfer to different courses, jobs, personal situations? How can they build on what they learned to make their lives better? What positive effects can this course have on their lives going forward?
Option 3: Q&A Advice Session
Teaching freshman? Another option for this final day of class is to make it a college advice giving session. What questions/concerns do they have about college life? What advice are they looking for in regard to succeeding as college students? What uncertainties are they currently facing?
Teaching seniors? A next steps advice session can work here. This session can focus on grad school applications, job applications, resumes, interviews, etc. Ask them, what insight are you looking for that I might be able to provide?
Option 4: Self-Care Day
The end of the semester is incredible tough on students and instructors. So, perhaps this last class period can just be a casual self-care day. Have some calming activities, like coloring, crafting, meditating, napping, etc. Or, even offer to let students out early so they can spend their time in the way they feel is most beneficial to them. A day of rest can be incredibly appreciated.
Option 5: Exam Review
Of course, if you have a final exam scheduled for finals week, the last day of class is a great day for a review. I created a video with five exam review styles, in case you’re looking to revamp your review activities. Giving students this designated time to study can really help improve scores on the exam. Plus, it gives students the chance to ask you questions about the course material.
Final Thoughts
The last day of class can be a really productive day. Just because you’re not teaching new content doesn’t mean you can’t provide value. At times, my last day of class was just used as the final exam day. But in other courses, the above ideas were done with great success. I hope you have a great end of the semester!
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