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Course reflections

An invitation for students to share their takeaways and feedback on your course

Chelsea Wilson avatar
Written by Chelsea Wilson
Updated yesterday

Summary

  • Reflections prompt active learning at three key moments, with automatic syllabus integration and email reminders for accountability.

  • Shareable student reflections build community and deepen learning.

  • Post-course reflections connect to public reviews. Use time in your final cohort session to optimize for responses.

How reflections support learning

Students choose live, cohort-based courses because they have an urgent need. They're ready to shift from passive to active learning, and want to be held accountable to their goals.

To support their learning goals, we've built Reflections. These are a series of prompts to support student's active learning and share their takeaways at three key moments in the course experience. Students will share their:

  1. Pre-course goals at cohort start.

  2. Mid-course takeaways at cohort midpoint (only added for cohorts 2+ weeks in length).

  3. Post-course wrap-up at cohort end.

Reflections are automatically added to your course syllabus based on your cohort's start and end date.

Boost accountability through automated nudging and default prompts

We designed reflections to feel quick and lightweight, with short prompts and simple navigation through a sidebar. Similar to projects, students will receive an automated email nudge to fill out a reflection when it’s due.

💡Tip: Remind students to fill out the pre-course goals reflection at the cohort start. Use the responses to tailor your instruction and support.

Build community through shareable Reflections

Reflecting is valuable as an individual, and even better as a group. Students sharpen their own insights by seeing other responses.

💡 Tip: Engage with student responses! Even a simple emoji reaction recognizes their effort to share.

Receive authentic and meaningful reviews

The most compelling reviews tell a clear story of transformation. The updated post-course survey now starts with a reflection, encouraging students to consider that context and reference their journey when writing the public review.

💡 Tip: Bookmark time during your last live session for students to fill out the post-course wrap-up. This is the best way to ensure a high response rate.

FAQs

  1. What if I don’t see the reflections on my syllabus?

    • We have only added for cohorts starting May 1, 2025 and later. If you’d like to add reflections for a cohort starting sooner, let us know at [email protected].

    • We have only enabled mid-course reflection for cohorts that are 14+ days in length. If you’d like to enable for a shorter cohort, you can do this from the syllabus editor.

  2. What if I want to disable reflections?

    • Post-course reflection is a Maven marketplace requirement since it is connected to the post-course survey with ratings/reviews.

    • Mid-course reflection can be disabled and enabled directly from the syllabus editor.

    • Pre-course reflection is strongly recommended but we can accommodate special requests at [email protected].

  3. When exactly do email reminders to complete the reflection get sent?

    • Pre-course and mid-course emails are sent the day before the due date. The pre-course due date is your cohort start date, and the mid-course due date is the cohort midpoint based on your start and end dates.

    • Post-course survey email is sent on cohort end date.

  4. Can I customize the prompts?

    • Not as of yet, but we may consider as we iterate! We’d love to hear how you’d plan to customize - let us know.

  5. What happened to course goals in the student onboarding flow?

    • We deprecated these questions in favor of the new pre-course goals Reflection prompt.

  6. What happened to the mid-course survey?

    • We deprecated this standalone survey in favor of the new mid-course Reflection prompt.

  7. How will we ensure students still fill out the post-course survey?

    • We strongly suggest bookmarking time in last live session as a best practice. Plus, we will soon be adding reminder email sent to those who don't complete the post-course Reflection and survey.

  8. Can I see all of a student's reflections in one place?

    • Yes - if you click “view profile” from a student’s avatar and navigate to “Posts”, you will be able to see all their reflections (alongside other posts in Maven community).

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