We have found, through previous instructors and student feedback, that ITS has higher levels of satisfaction and engagement when it is more closely integrated with the course material. A good initial step is to simply schedule the module assignment at the same time you have a lecture similar to the module’s topic. For example, if you have a lecture related to Empathy, have an ITS assignment on Empathy be opened on the same day.
When using the Assessing Suicide Risk module, we recommend that you review this document first. It goes over the standards and practices that the module content is based on and might vary with your curriculum content. If you are able to spare more time, we encourage you to use the information instructor dashboard as starting points for discussions either during class or via email. (See the section on the Instructor Dashboard below to gain deeper insight on the type of information it presents). Here are some examples of how to use the dashboard:
- If several cards have the same skill component, discuss why that skill is challenging to interpret
- Go over an example problem that many students had issues with in class
On your course webpage, when introducing ITS you can include this file that gives a brief overview of ITS.