Structured Support
Structured support describes a systemic approach to designing assessments and learning activities that guide students through targeted practice with key concepts and skills (e.g., active learning). It also describes strategies that support equitable opportunities for students to participate and interact in the classroom.
Student achievement increases with more class structure, particularly for students whose identities have been historically excluded and underserved in higher education (Theobald et al., 2020). In more structured courses, students spend more time preparing for class and feel a greater sense of community in the classroom (Eddy & Hogan, 2014) than they do in less structured courses.
Learning Outcomes & Assessments
Note: these are course design considerations
The syllabus describes the intentional design of assessments and activities that support student learning, which may include multiple and varied ways for students to practice with concepts and skills and to demonstrate their learning. Variety in the types of assessments provides diverse pathways for students to demonstrate their learning and plays to different students’ strengths. Offering some choice in assessments also motivates learning and helps students find course material personally relevant.
A syllabus that embeds structured support…
Example: Aligned assessments and learning outcomes (16.01 -.04 Unified Engineering: Signals and Systems)
16.01 -.04 Unified Engineering: Signals and Systems
Measurable Outcomes (assessment method)
Students graduating from 16.030/040 will be able to:
- Use Laplace transforms to solve differential equations and to determine the response of linear systems to known inputs. (homework, quiz)
- Explain the importance of superposition in the analysis of linear systems. (concept test, homework, quiz)
- Explain the role of convolution in the analysis of linear time-invariant systems, and use convolution to determine the response of linear systems to arbitrary inputs. (concept test, homework, quiz)
- List and apply properties of the unilateral and bilateral Laplace transforms. (concept test, homework, quiz)
(M. Drela, et al. 16.01 -.04 Unified Engineering: Signals and Systems. Fall 2005. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA)
Example: Summary of opportunities for feedback and revision in a design project (6.033 Computer System Engineering)
6.033 Computer System Engineering
This design project requires students to develop a detailed system design to solve a real-world problem in teams of 3. Students submit several lower-stakes assignments with feedback before the final design report, including:
- A Preliminary Report for the design project with feedback from instructors;
- An oral Presentation that reflects feedback students got on their preliminary report (Preliminary report + Presentation worth 10% of final grade)
The Final Design Report addresses feedback from the presentation (worth 20% of final grade). Students also submit a Peer Review of another team’s final design report (worth 4% of final grade). A full description of the design project is available here.
*This is a summary of resources in the syllabus rather than a direct excerpt from the syllabus.
(K. LaCurts. 6.033 Computer System Engineering. Spring 2018. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA).
Examples: Variety in Assessments (History & Mechanical Engineering subjects)
21H.336 The Making of a Roman Emperor
The syllabus includes reading quizzes, varied writing assignments, and a video presentation, as detailed below:
- Class participation (20% of final grade)
- 24 open-book reading quizzes (20% of final grade)
- 2 Short Analytical Response Papers (20% of final grade)
- Museum Artifact Video Project (20% of final grade)
- Final paper: Analytical Essay (20% of final grade)
See all assignments here
(W. Broadhead. 21H.336 The Making of a Roman Emperor Spring 2023. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA).
2.007 Design and Manufacturing I (A. Winter, Spring 2024)
The syllabus includes various elements of a robot design project (e.g., a design notebook, demonstrations, and oral reviews) as well as homework assignments, an exam and quizzes, and participation, as detailed below:
- 8 weekly milestones in design notebook (24% of final grade)
- A physical demonstration of robot (6% of final grade)
- An oral presentation on the design of robot (10% of final grade)
- 5 physical homeworks demonstrating engineering principles (15% of final grade)
- 5 written homeworks on engineering principles and real-life design problems (15% of grade)
- Exam (15% of grade)
- Pop quizzes during class (5% of final grade)
- Participation (10% of final grade)
*These are summaries of assessments described in the syllabi rather than direct excerpts from the syllabi.
Example: Summary of opportunities for student choice in a final project (CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio: Climate Change)
CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio: Climate Change
In the final project, students must gather, analyze, and synthesize various civic datasets to create a compelling and creative presentation of their data story. Students are able to choose the type of presentation, ranging from a long-form journalism article, a physical sculpture, an interactive game, or a collaboration with a community group. The instructors provide examples of past student presentations (e.g., fundraising board game, video on honeybee populations).
Students also collaborate with teammates to co-author a “methodology” blog post on their data analysis process and an “impact” blog post to gauge the reaction of the intended audience.
*This is a summary of resources in the syllabus rather than a direct excerpt from the syllabus. See the full final project requirements here.
(R. Bhargava. CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio: Climate Change. Spring 2017. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA).
Class Activities & Participation
The syllabus is an opportunity to explain to students what participation means in the context of the class and how class activities are designed to support their learning. By defining expectations and structuring opportunities for all students to participate, the syllabus can convey that students’ ideas and perspectives are encouraged and valued.
A syllabus that embeds structured support…
Example: Guided activities to prepare for class (6.033 Computer System Engineering)
6.033 Computer System Engineering
Week 1: Operating Systems Part I | We Did Nothing Wrong Assignment
Read “We Did Nothing Wrong: Why Software Quality Matters” by Deborah Gage and John McCormick in Baseline Magazine on March 4, 2004. This paper details a number of software systems that failed in spectacular ways, with most of the focus on a radiation machine made by Multidata called the Cobalt-60.
As you read, think about the following:
- What fault(s) contributed to the failure of the Multidata machine?
- Are there quality-control procedures that might have made a difference?
Question for Recitation
Before you come to this recitation, write up (on paper) a brief answer to the following (really—we don’t need more than a sentence or so for each question):
- What was the Cobalt-60?
- How did it fail?
- Why did it fail?
(There are multiple possible answers to each of these questions.)
See more examples of pre-recitation assignments: Week 2 Operating Systems; Week 8 Distributed Systems Part 1
(K. LaCurts. 6.033 Computer System Engineering. Spring 2018. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA).
Example: Varied ways to participate in class (6.033 Computer System Engineering)
6.033 Computer System Engineering
Recitation Participation: Our recitations are discussion-based, and we expect you to be engaged and participate. Participating in a recitation means:
- Coming prepared to recitation (doing the reading, turning in the pre-reading question etc.)
- Paying attention when the instructor is speaking (you can’t participation in a discussion if you don’t know what it’s about)
- Participating (verbally) in pair-/group-work
- Volunteering to answer questions when the instructor asks them. (Note that you may not get called on each time. That’s okay; our class sizes prevent that. Statistically, if you’re raising your hand frequently, you’ll get called on with some frequency.)
- Responding to other student’s comments with an opinion of their own.
- Asking good questions in recitation (where “good” just means it’s clear that you prepared for the recitation).
We will assign the participation grade in two parts: one for the first half of the semester, one for the second half of the semester. We will also give you preliminary grades for each of these (one about a quarter into the semester, one about three quarters into the semester), so that you know where you stand and have time to improve. This document explains in more detail how your participation grade is determined.
Communication Participation: A portion of your participation grade will also be based on your participation in writing tutorials and on your understanding of communication concepts and skills, as demonstrated by your work on the design project and evaluated by your communication instructor.
See Dr. Katrina LaCurts describe some of the efforts to broaden participation in this course in this video (beginning at 21:30 for several concrete examples of activities as well as the instructors’ rationale and observations of student engagement).
(K. LaCurts. 6.033 Computer System Engineering. Spring 2018. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA).
Course Policies
Students benefit from both clear structure (e.g., a course schedule with due dates and clear policies for late work or missed assignments) and flexibility when unforeseen circumstances arise that get in the way of their learning. Course policies that describe “planned flexibility” – pathways designed in advance to indicate what students can do if they need to be absent or turn in work late – can reduce stress for both instructors and students. Providing clear pathways if students need to be absent, turn in work late, or request accommodations for disabilities lowers barriers to success for students who lack the academic background or social capital to inform them, implicitly, of what to do if personal and medical issues get in the way of their academic work.
A syllabus that embeds structured support…
Example: Clear, detailed policy for missed classes (9.17 Systems Neuroscience Lab)
9.17 Systems Neuroscience Lab, M. Harnett, S. Flavel, L. Frawley, 2022
Missed sessions, make-up policies, and late policies
We would really like this to be a fun learning experience for you. In an ideal world, all students would be able to attend all the sessions and learn from their experience. The biggest loss to you is the lost opportunity to learn and experience something new – something that only you can value for yourself. Research has demonstrated that students learn best in person.
“Make up” policy: We understand that there are times where a health or family-related emergency may come up. If you have run into some sort of extenuating circumstance, please meet with one of our colleagues in S3. They can talk you through your situation and then let us know if they support you being excused.
If an extracurricular conflict arises (sporting event, interview, etc.), we encourage you to email [Instructor] as soon as possible to discuss your options.
Example: Plans for flexibility with assessments (21M.051 Fundamentals of Music)
21M.051 Fundamentals of Music, S. Iker, Fall 2024
What happens if I need to submit work late?
Because material in 21M.051 moves quickly and builds upon previous assignments, it is essential that you submit your work on time so that I can return it to you in enough time that you can use feedback to complete your next assignment.
For this reason, it is important for you to submit work on time wherever possible, and to reach out to me if you find you are falling behind. It is often better to skip an assignment to catch up than to fall behind.
To this end:
- I will drop your lowest graded assignment grade of the semester
- I will also allow you one graded assignment redo per semester (at your discretion—you must submit the revision within one week of receiving my feedback and you must have submitted the initial assignment on time) for a replaced grade.
Please note: deadlines on exams and compositions are necessarily more rigid. In all cases, however, if you reach out, I will do my best to work with you.
See additional examples of plans for flexibility in MIT subjects at DoingWell (link coming soon).
Student-Instructor Interactions
Structuring opportunities for students to engage with instructors and receive additional support helps students build key relationships with the teaching staff, supports their sense of academic belonging, and communicates care for student learning (Felten & Lambert, 2020; Rainey et al., 2018).
A syllabus that embeds structured support…
Example: Accessible ways to ask questions (15.401 Managerial Finance)
15.401 Managerial Finance, L. Schmidt, Fall 2023
Piazza discussions: This term, we will be using Piazza for coordinating class discussion. Rather than emailing questions to the teaching staff, please post your questions on Piazza (which is already integrated with Canvas). We encourage you to ask questions when you’re struggling to understand a concept—you can even do so anonymously. It can also be a venue for broader discussion about topics we cover in the course.
Once you post, our teaching team will be able to see and reply to your questions there. In addition, we also highly encourage you to participate in the discussions there and answer questions from other students there; doing so can also reflect positively on your participation grade. The Piazza forum will be monitored regularly to address any questions about course content and logistics; please direct all inquiries to Piazza and not to the personal emails of the professors or teaching assistants.