I switch the lights off and close the automatically-locking classroom door. My left arm is full of papers, articles, forms, and assignments-the usual flotsam of course endings. I have said good-bye to the students and they to me. The course is over, ended, completed, finished, but has it been closed?

The parts of this course, like the pieces of a quilt, were designed with care and attention and I want the students and myself to experience the comfort, warmth, and symbolism in closing this course. The purpose of this article is to advocate for educators to create student-centered closure rituals, be cognizant of the different types of closure and the situations to which they pertain, and to utilize a number of strategies to create appropriate closure.

Types of Closure

There are many types of closure, including emotional, cognitive, and ceremonial. Some factors that contribute to the type of closure required include the medium of teaching and the year of the nursing program as students just starting their program may require a different type of closure than those at the end of their education. Closure as part of an underlying philosophy of teaching on which the entire course has been based ensures that the appropriate type of closure is delivered to students.

The basic social rituals of saying "thank-you" and "good-bye" are sometimes lost in a classroom environment. However, simple closure rituals can still be observed and connections can be forged outside the classroom by expressing thanks verbally, in a simple gesture such as shaking the hand of each student as they leave, or a professor handing out his/her business card.1 Closure may be highly emotional in nature whereby the students and teacher genuinely regret their parting. An example of this is the placement of 8 students in an 8-week clinical rotation in the inner city. The nursing students did not want to leave the site, in part, because there was still so much to do and the rotation had been filled with challenges they had faced as a team. Proper closure is valuable in helping to relieve the anxiety felt by students losing the support and identity they established as members of the clinical group and nursing unit staff.

Other kinds of closure are more cognitive, whereby course content is reviewed or questions for examination are identified. The objective of this kind of closure is to prepare the students for an examination. In this case, the format of closure is greatly appreciated as students invest a significant amount of time and money in their education with the goal of achieving educational success. Some common activities include a "Parting One-Minute Paper" reflecting on what was learned, a pre-post test model of course objectives, or a game show scenario to review course material.1-3

On a grander scale, convocation, too, is a form of closure. Students are expected to robe, receive a parchment attesting to their new status, and listen to speeches given on their behalf. The ceremony in this form of closure is intense, allowing students to be recognized and valued as a graduate of an institution. Giving a student a certificate or diploma with a meaningful quotation or a humorous memory of the course at the end does evoke ceremony-like behaviors.1

Closure is also based on the medium of teaching. Large classroom lectures will have a different closure format than Web-based course or clinical rotations. Closure will also vary depending on the year of the program or the program site. First year nursing students who are just beginning to be socialized into the nursing role may be less welcoming of emotional closure as opposed to fourth year students who have had several years to become accustomed to the nursing group culture. This indicates the importance of assessing the degree of community in the classroom situation prior to determining the method of closure.1 Often in nursing, students and their teacher will have a potluck meal as a way of closing the course. Particularly when using a potluck structure, it symbolizes sharing and teamwork: tenets of the nursing profession.

Barriers to Closure

Shortage of time, lack of teaching experience, unawareness of useful techniques, student apathy and/or lack of student-teacher engagement, and feeling uncomfortable saying goodbye can contribute to a lack of foresight regarding ending a course with finesse and reflection of a teaching philosophy.4 Institutional polices directing teachers as to what type of evaluation is to be used and when it is to be distributed may also take precedence over closing activities. In fact, institutional policies may even prevent certain methods of closure from being implemented such as going for alcoholic drinks together at the request of students after the course is over. In this case, a method of closure that is both appropriate and accepted by teacher and student must be utilized instead and, despite any barriers, educators are still reminded of the importance of providing closure both academically and emotionally.1

Conclusion

The following considerations must be taken into account when making decisions about ending the class: relevance to the course; the teacher's style; type of closure (in some classes due to time constraints, meeting times, the course content, or class size, students may not have a developed a sense of the learning community and, as such, there is less need for psychological or emotional closure and academic closure is most appropriate); course and campus climate (for instance, courses that are personal in nature and a great deal of sharing has taken place [many clinical classes] may need a more complex activity than less personal classes that tend to have less sharing [a physiology or psychology class]. In addition, some college campuses portray themselves as "caring" and "student centered" and parting-ways activities seem especially useful on such campuses or for such faculty).1

Although there is a strong focus on beginning a course positively, there should be an equally strong focus on closing a course with finesse and not just simply ending it. As teachers, we bring together the parts or the edges of the course, thus the intricate quilt of our course must be closed and sewn properly.

[horizontal ellipsis]So the course is over. I enter my office, turn on the light and begin to consider how I will facilitate closure for the next group of students. Just like caring for patients, the process starts well before I ever meet them.

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Quinn Grundy, Research Assistant, for her assistance with this article.

References