From the Field - Student Assessment
The Muddiest Point
In 1989, Frederick Mosteller's article, "The 'Muddiest Point in the Lecture' as a Feedback Device," appeared in On Teaching and Learning: The Journal of the Harvard-Danforth Center, Vol. 3, 1989, pp. 10–21.
Mosteller, a statistics professor at Harvard, advocated using the last three or four minutes of every class to ask students these three questions:
- What was the most important point in the lecture?
- What was the muddiest point?
- What would you like to hear more about?
This can be adapted to the online environment in a variety of ways. Read Dr. David Brown's adaptation from Campus Technology Magazine >>
Discussion Question: What feedback strategy do you find most effective in your online classroom?
