Assessment Tools and Strategies

Office of Learning & TechnologyPurdue University North Central

Outline

We will cover: Formative vs. summative learning

assessment The meaning behind “authentic

assessment” Quality Matters and aligning

assessments Using technology to enhance our ability

to assess effectively

Assessment Refers To…

Accomplishment of learning objectives Quality of interaction or project work

(measured with rubrics) Knowledge (measured with tests and

exams) Knowledge application (measured with

essay or advanced-level tests) Experience with technology Course Instructor

Formative and Summative Assessment

FORMATIVE

Helps you get a handle on how the course and/or students are doing at any given point

Gives you a chance to correct something if it’s not going as planned

SUMMATIVE

Usually done at the end of a unit or course

Provides a final look at how things went

Determines whether students “pass” or have attained the necessary skills to move on

Should You Assign a Grade to Everything?

Unfortunately, human nature is such that we will typically only do what we have to

Only students that are intrinsically motivated will tend to go beyond

Experience and research shows that most students tend toward extrinsic motivation and perform best when: A grade is involved Completion of a major course requirement is

contingent on participation

Something to Try – Self-Reflection

When students have a chance to reflect on themselves as learners, they may be more inclined to grow and achieve more

Try one of these surveys in class or as an assignment/discussion and see the reaction Felder’s Index of Learning Styles:

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire: http://www.johnbiggs.com.au/academic/students-approaches-to-learning/

The Quality Matters Rubric

What Do We Mean by “Alignment”?

Assessments in your course should match up with what students need to know and be able to do

Make sure that the information that you’re testing students on it directly related to this

Nice-to-know information is great, but that’s all it is

Make sure your assessment matches the level of the objective and is not above or below the students’ skill level

Try using Bloom’s Taxonomy

•Evaluationmake judgments based on criteria

•Synthesiscompile information in a new way

•Analysisbreak down information into parts

•Applicationuse information in a new situation

•Comprehensioninterpret information

•Knowledgerecall information

Lower Order Thinking Skills

Higher Order Thinking Skills

http://cstep.csumb.edu/Obj_tutorial/bloomwheel.html

Thinking skill

Action verbs

Student products

Let’s Try Some Alignment!

Let’s try coming up with some assessments for the following objective: “At the end of the unit, students will be

able to create and revise a household budget using Microsoft Excel.”

How about this one? “And end of the course, students will be

able to explain the processes of meiosis and mitosis in the cells of animals and plants.”

Adding Variety to Assessments

Instead of a multiple-choice test of knowledge, try an essay test, a file response test, a project, or a paper

Instead of a case study, try having students go out into the field to find their own case

Provide a problem without a known solution and ask students to explore possibilities

Ask students to interpret concepts through presentations or multimedia creation

Tools to Make it Happen

Quizzes and tests Discussion forums Multimedia (text + images, video,

etc) Presentation tools Digital video and audio E-books, wikis, blogs

Tests in BlackBoard

Can be mobile-capable or browser-only Can be supported through Respondus

LockDown Browser or Respondus Test Creator or from other sections

You can also create tests from scratch Test exceptions allow different settings

for different students See

https://www.pnc.edu/distance/learn-tutorials/ for all videos on tests and Respondus

Mobile Exams in Blackboard

Mobile Exams can be created in Blackboard for use with the Blackboard Mobile Application.

Question types: Multiple Choice True/False Calculated Numeric File Response Hot Spot Fill in Multiple Blanks Short Answer

Mobile exams are integrated into the grade center, similar to a web assessment.

Create a Mobile-Compatible Assessment

Creating a Mobile Assessment Test Link Test Canvas Quiz Settings/Properties

Doing a Project or Discussion? Rubrics can Help!

You can grade using rubrics right within BlackBoard

Rubrics make your job a little easier when grading more extensive assessments

Video tutorials available: https://www.pnc.edu/distance/learn-tutorials/

Try These Model Rubrics

https://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/rubrics.cfm

http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/rubrics.html

http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/authentictaskexamples.htm

Free Tools Websites

BlackBoard discussion, blog, wiki, Kaltura media tools

WebEx: http://purdue.webex.com Google Docs: http://drive.google.com Prezi: http://www.prezi.com MS Office Templates:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/ Screencast-o-matic:

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com Jing and Camtasia: http://www.techsmith.com Wordpress: http://www.wordpress.com SimpleBooklet: http://simplebooklet.com/index-

edu.php

Assessment Resources

Writing good learning objectives: http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives/writingobjectives

A great help with coming up with verbiage for your rubrics: http://rubistar.4teachers.org

Kathy Schrock’s guide for educators: http://www.schrockguide.net/authentic-learning.html

Workshop in scenario-based learning and authentic assessment examples: https://sites.google.com/site/workshopctandsblresourcesite/home

Thanks!

Reach us at: pncolt@pnc.edu Twitter and Facebook: @PNCOLT http://www.pnc.edu/distance for all

workshop notes, links, and training needs