Designing Assessments into Activities that Meet Learning Goals

1. Designing Assessments into Activities that Meet Learning Goals Michelle Hall-Wallace

2. Think • Spend 2 minutes writing the questions or concerns you have about assessment. These questions could be related to your classroom teaching or your online resources.

3. Questions/Concerns • What do we we want to assess--role of goals? • Why assess at all? Who benefits? For planning? To give grades? • To get input from students and others to guide design/redesign (Are they doing what we think they are doing?) • Where are the human resources for assessment--faculty time issues?

4. Questions/Concerns • How to separate assessing of CT from content • How to move assessment from artificial or punitive to an authentic tool for learning • Role of summative and formative assessment • Strategies for assessing on the web (distance learning concern)

5. Good Assessment Depends on… • Clear goals • Creative approaches • An emphasis on reinforcing learning rather than separating the wheat from the chaff

6. Formative Assessments - Part of the Learning Process • to give students feedback • to guide student effort • to diagnose problems in learning • to encourage students • to give students experience with diverse assessment methods • to help direct the teaching effort

7. Summative Assessment - Measure Performance • to discriminate between students • to provide quality assurance checks both within the institution and externally • to motivate students • to judge student progression • to award marks and enable a final degree classification

8. Guiding Questions for Resource Design • What is worthy and requiring of understanding? • What is evidence of understanding? • What learning experiences and teaching promote understanding, interest and excellence?

9. Guiding Questions for Assessment Design • Are students learning what you expect? • Are they learning it in ways (using the methods) that you like?

10. Creative Assessment • Knowledge (terms, principles, procedures) • List the evidence for plate tectonics • Comprehension (understanding terms and principles; interpretation) • Summarize the evidence for and against the expanding Earth theory • Which of these examples represents the principle of… • Application (solving problems, applying concepts and principles to new situations) • Assuming Airy isostasy, calculate the elevation of the continent in the given model. • Predict an outcome…

11. Creative Assessment (cont.) • Analysis (recognition of facts, inferences, unstated assumptions, logical fallacies) • What are the facts supporting Wegner’s hypothesis for continental drift and what are the underlying assumptions? • Synthesis (integrate learning from different areas or solve problems with creative thinking) • Design a monitoring system for geologic hazards in the Seattle area. • Evaluate (judging or assessing) • Evaluate the evacuation plan for Seattle assuming that flooding will be associated with the next major earthquake or volcanic eruption.

12. How are Online Assessments Different? • Allows for test-study-retest - promote mastery • Can be done outside the classroom setting • Allow for animations, dynamic model analysis, color imagery • Rapid feedback with guidance on reading or problem sets to remediate gaps • Motivation and reinforcement • Can be embedded throughout the learning experience • Requires access to technology • Provides data for analysis of resource and assessments

13. In small groups of 7… • Describe your most creative / effective or “best” assessment strategy. Explain why it is your best. • How can this type of assessment strategy be used with online resources?