PROJECT RUNWAY: Designing Assessments
Students all have their own unique “style” – of learning! We’ll discuss numerous ways of connecting with different learning styles, and ways to assess student learning in an online environment. Design a variety of assessments that are aligned to lesson objectives, that check for understanding, and that help you know when to make adjustments to your instruction in order to better meet student needs.
|
Assessment
When you hear the word "assessment," what comes to mind? Multiple choice tests? Essays? What about group work, presentations, polls and practice activities? Assessment is key in determining if your students met the learning objectives. Fortunately, there are many ways to assess student learning that go beyond multiple choice tests.
When you hear the word "assessment," what comes to mind? Multiple choice tests? Essays? What about group work, presentations, polls and practice activities? Assessment is key in determining if your students met the learning objectives. Fortunately, there are many ways to assess student learning that go beyond multiple choice tests.
RESOURCE BOOK REFLECTION QUESTION (p.33):
Think about how you currently measure student achievement in your course. Jot down a list of all the things that you ‘grade’ in class.
These are all ways you assess student mastery of the course’s learning objectives.
Think about how you currently measure student achievement in your course. Jot down a list of all the things that you ‘grade’ in class.
These are all ways you assess student mastery of the course’s learning objectives.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY#1:
Using the list that you just created, share amongst your group the types of assessment that you use in your courses.
Using the list that you just created, share amongst your group the types of assessment that you use in your courses.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Formative assessment is a two-way process between the teacher and student. The main purpose is to help the student learn better. Teachers can use various tools to get feedback from students which should aid them in adjusting teaching technique and content delivery. Instructors could, for example, have students:
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
The purpose of summative assessment is to summarize the learners' comprehension of given objectives at a particular point in time. For example, after two weeks in a course students are asked to perform a particular task. They are evaluated based on a rubric of standards and then given a grade on the performance. More traditionally, students are often given multiple choice exams to assess their knowledge. However, there are many other ways to determine if students met a learning objective. Summative assessment = assessment OF learning Formative assessment = assessment FOR learning |
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY#2:
Refer to the ideas for assessment that were generated in the earlier Discussion Activity#1 - can you identify which are formative, and which are summative?
Refer to the ideas for assessment that were generated in the earlier Discussion Activity#1 - can you identify which are formative, and which are summative?
ASSESSMENT TIPS:
WANT TO LEARN MORE? Check out this Online Classroom report on Assessing Online Learning.
- Develop rubrics for projects, discussion board postings, papers, assignments and activities.
- Provide the students with a sample completed assignment and the rubric that will be used for grading.
- Allow students to submit draft assignments to receive feedback prior to final submission.
- Provide self-assessment opportunities that give immediate feedback and allow mastery of content (quizzes, puzzles, games, etc.).
WANT TO LEARN MORE? Check out this Online Classroom report on Assessing Online Learning.