Presented by Mary L. White, Professor, McAuley School of Nursing, College of Health Professions

This session introduces the REATool (Reflection, Engagement, Awareness, and Time Tracker), a streamlined tool that helps students monitor their weekly learning, identify unclear concepts, and stay engaged across online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. REATool guides students to track professor interaction, peer engagement, concept understanding, personal reflection, and time on task, promoting stronger metacognitive habits and consistent participation.

Instructors gain valuable insight into student needs, allowing them to adjust instruction, address confusion early, and strengthen the feedback loop between teaching and learning. Participants will examine the tool’s core components, explore implementation strategies, and discuss solutions for common challenges such as workload, student buy-in, and grading considerations. Attendees will leave with clear steps for integrating a reflection and engagement tracker into their own courses.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the core components of the REATT Tool (professor engagement, peer engagement, concept understanding, reflection, and time invested) and their rationale within an online course.
• Analyze how weekly reflection and engagement tracking can support metacognition, student–faculty connection, and timely identification of unclear concepts in online learning.
• Apply the REATT Tool framework to sketch a plan for integrating a similar reflection and engagement tracker into their own online or hybrid course.
• Evaluate potential challenges (for example, workload, student buy-in, anonymity, grading weight) and propose at least one strategy to address each within their institutional context.