What is Regular and Substantive Interactions?
Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI) refers to consistent and meaningful engagement between instructors and students over the course of a term. It encompasses both the frequency of interaction and the depth of engagement, emphasizing sustained communication and meaningful exchanges that contribute to student engagement, retention, and completion.
Key characteristics of regular substantive interactions include:
1. Consistency: Interaction occurs regularly and consistently over time, rather than sporadically or infrequently.
2. Meaningful Engagement: Meaningful exchanges of information, ideas, feedback, or resources that contribute to the achieving learning objectives and outcomes.
3. Two-Way Communication: Interaction is characterized by active participation and dialogue which encourages understanding, clarification, and collaboration for student to instructor and instructor to student interaction.
4. Purposeful: Interactions are meeting the stated objectives and outcomes of a course through learning, problem-solving, decision-making, or relationship-building.
5. Feedback and Reflection: Interaction includes opportunities for feedback, reflection, and evaluation, enabling continuous improvement and growth for instructor to student and student to instructor communications.
Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) Quick Guide and Checklists
Why RSI?
RSI helps maintain continuity, build rapport, and sustain momentum in deeper understanding, critical thinking, and active participation, leading to enhanced learning outcomes, effective collaboration, and stronger connections.
How do I implement RSI?
Daily check-ins, weekly meetings, ongoing discussions, frequent updates, regular emails, and consistent feedback sessions. Interactive discussions, thought-provoking questions, collaborative projects, problem-solving activities, constructive feedback, and meaningful exchanges of ideas.
Strategies:
- Adapt communication frequency based on the context and needs of participants.
- Encourage collaboration and peer-to-peer interaction.
- Encourage participation through reminders and incentives.
- Establish a schedule for communication or engagement.
- Foster an environment conducive to open dialogue and critical thinking.
- Incorporate active learning strategies such as group discussions, case studies, and simulations.
- Pose challenging questions that encourage reflection and deeper exploration.
- Provide constructive feedback that promotes growth and learning.
- Utilize various channels such as in-person meetings, emails, video conferences, and social media platforms.
RSI Tools and Resources (available online or at Klamath Community College):
- Communication Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom
- Collaboration Tools: Microsoft Office 365, Trello
- Discussion Forums: Canvas, Discord, Slack
- Interactive Learning Tools: Articulate, Puzzel.org, H5P
RSI Best Practices
- Balance regular interaction with substantive engagement to maintain both continuity and depth.
- Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of interactions and adjust strategies accordingly.
- Encourage active participation and provide opportunities for all individuals to contribute.
- Foster a supportive and inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives and contributions.
- Tailor communication and interaction strategies to the specific needs and preferences of participants.
Instructor to Student Feedback
Providing effective feedback from instructors to students is important to help encourage learning,growth, and improvement. Here's a quick resource guide to understand and implement best practices for instructor to student feedback:
Instructor to Student Feedback:
In higher education practice is the process of providing constructive comments on course assessments and discussions.
Types of Feedback:
- Formative Feedback: Given during the learning process to guide students' ongoing development and improvement.
- Summative Feedback: Provided at the conclusion of a learning activity or assessment to evaluate performance and provide a summary of achievements and areas for growth.
- Specific Feedback: Targets particular aspects of student work, such as content, structure, clarity, or presentation.
- General Feedback: Offers overall impressions or comments on student performance without focusing on specific details.
Strategies for Effective Feedback:
- Acknowledge students' strengths while also identifying areas where they can grow and develop.
- Be clear, specific, and objective in your feedback, focusing on actionable insights and concrete examples.
- Offer practical suggestions, resources, or strategies for improvement that students can implement.
- Prompt students to reflect on their work, achievements, and areas for growth, encouraging meta-cognitive skills and self-awareness.
- Provide feedback in a timely manner to ensure its relevance and usefulness to students.