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Skills practice means providing space for students to do the things that are important for student learning in your course. Look at this semester’s key assignments and consider adding in opportunities to practice the appropriate skills that will support student success. Think about the process a student needs to follow as well as the product. What steps does a student need to take to successfully complete the assignment? 

Some skills practice ideas which will effectively and efficiently use class time include:  

This semester, we challenge you to focus on one high-impact skill you want every student to master and make it a recurring part of your class. A few minutes of targeted practice throughout the term can help students strengthen their abilities, understand why the skill matters, and apply it more effectively both in your course and beyond. And there’s a related benefit for you – students who practice key skills generally produce assignments that truly provide evidence of learning and are much easier to grade! 

Want to incorporate more explicit career connections into your Mason Core courses but unsure how? We talked with Amanda Bryan, Assistant Professor in the English Department, about her experience adding career-ready instruction and assignments into her ENGH 302 course, focusing on teamwork as a way to support students’ ability to work with others, develop and practice leadership, and thoughtfully describe to others how they used key skills for any job opportunity. 

Amanda transformed several individual assignments into team-based projects, dedicating roughly nine weeks of the course to collaborative work. To help students succeed, she intentionally taught project management, leadership, task delegation, and conflict resolution. Each student serves as project lead at least once, giving every team member an opportunity to practice leadership in a structured environment. 

Amanda carefully balances collaboration with individual accountability. While students work together to synthesize research and develop shared projects, individual contributions are documented through assigned roles, reflections, bylines, and project artifacts. Only a small portion of students’ grades are based on shared team outcomes. 

Reflection is a key component of the experience. After each project phase, students consider what worked well, what they would do differently, and how the skills they practiced connect to future internships and careers. Amanda has found that these structured opportunities for teamwork not only strengthen students’ writing and research abilities but also foster a greater sense of belonging as students build meaningful connections with peers who share similar interests. 

Want to be highlighted next? Click on the button below to share what you’re doing to engage students in your Mason Core course.