My name is Angie Miller, and I am the department chair of Teacher Education at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Missouri. I have served in this capacity since 2009. My use of Hypothesis has largely been in Educational Psychology classes which I have taught since around 2011. I fully adopted Hypothesis in this class in Spring 2024. Nearly every student enrolled in the class seeks to be a public K-12 educator.
A few years ago, I decided to commit our program to open education resources. This was a complicated task for the Educational Psychology class since I could not locate a designated OER text on this specific topic. Instead, I reorganized this asynchronous class to include a series of readings selected by me over various learning theories. However, in the semesters after 2020’s “pivot,” more and more students seemed to expect to learn material without reading the assigned texts. At the same time, Canvas discussion boards became as dull for me to read as they were for students to submit. I sought something that would engage all of us in a different way with the online materials. Enter Hypothesis.
I don’t mean to sound dramatic when I say that if I can’t teach with Hypothesis, I won’t continue teaching. The impact it has had on learning is profound. About four years ago, I transitioned completely away from traditional grading and adopted a specs-based system. More recently, I added to this a standards-based system where students receive from me exclusively feedback and one of three marks: standard met, standard not met, and standard met with distinction.
Using Hypothesis allows me to actually see and read their thinking processes as they move through a certain assignment. Hypothesis affords the chance to supremely showcase the practice of metacognition–a learning topic in an Educational Psychology class anyway, and a vitally important skill for any learner. Through student feedback provided at the close of each semester, it is clear that positive experiences from social annotating ring as true for students as they do for me. Here are just two of their comments (there are many similar to these):
“I have never really enjoyed class discussion posts prior to this class. As an online student, I think that discussion boards have felt artificial and forced, lacking depth, content, or connection. In this course, however, I think I truly hit my stride in engaging alongside my peers in content, working towards discoveries and learning together. I found enjoyment and meaning in online learning within a group of peers. I discovered the value of collaboration in learning firsthand. Engaging with my peers deepened my understanding of the course material, allowed me to see different perspectives, and created a sense of community despite the digital/online setting.”
“I like the Hypothesis tool to see how my peers interpret the text. It’s helpful to be able to tag the teacher in with the “question” keyword, and she answers it back.”
I think one of the most powerful components of Hypothesis is my involvement in the reading and annotation right alongside the students. Social learning in a classroom should always include the instructor, and Hypothesis allows for such an interaction even when you never share a room together (and even if you do).
My Educational Psychology class is broken into assignments, or standards, types; the Hypothesis readings are called TARs (The Annotated Readings). TARs exist in two parts: part one is the reading, annotation, and discussion in the tool itself, and part two is a separate assignment that requires reflection on the learning and any remaining questions that still exist for any student. Since my only “grade” is feedback, students do read my responses to these reflections. There is no point system to muddy this important element of the class. Students are not writing a reflection in exchange for points; they know they are writing these reflections to wrap up their learning. I have found that most students engage very deeply in both parts of the TAR. Their metacognition is evident, and I tell them why and how I can see it. Students now generally seem intrinsically motivated to learn, read, and process the material for the value it gives them as future teachers, not merely to receive points in a class. This is a powerful pedagogical formula for meaningful learning.
I certainly recommend that any new instructor using Hypothesis plan for involvement and participation in any of the reading assignments. Students enjoy having you “near” to answer their #questions and authentically respond to their engagement, since generally everyone is engaging with the content. I think one of the most important things to do to successfully start a semester with Hypothesis is to require the syllabus as the first required Hypothesis reading. Since I grade non traditionally, it is vitally important that students understand the premise of the entire class as well as adjust to the annotating tool. Annotating the syllabus is a Canvas prerequisite for the entire class. This allows them to ask early questions and for me to explain the purpose behind my choices. It’s a powerful “hook” in the first week of a semester because it triggers some intrigue and guarantees that your syllabus will at least be perused if not deeply read and considered.
I would encourage any instructor to use Hypothesis, no matter the subject. Many college students do not read at a college level, and many never once opened a textbook in high school. This is a stark change from the past in terms of student readiness for college reading. Hypothesis provides the perfect scaffold to support students, no matter where they are in their reading and comprehension abilities. Some students need more support from you, and some need far less. Either way, Hypothesis allows you to be involved to provide the assistance needed and does so in a usable, easy-to-integrate manner.
I frankly cannot imagine teaching without this tool. It’s the missing link that makes every student’s learning visible. Current students generally need more academic support, not less. Hypothesis is that support. It allows you to meet them wherever they are in their learning.