assessment overview - designing an inquiry learning unit

8/7/2019 Assessment Overview - Designing an Inquiry Learning Unit

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ASSESSING STUDENT UNDERSTANDING

The last focus area we are going to address in depth this year is the notion of assessing student understanding

of science, and how this process relates to the instructional efforts of the teacher. Before we get into details

of this process, we need to address some broad considerations about assessment, so that we have a common

understanding of what we want or need to address. The notes on the following pages accompany the

presentations around this issue.

Assessment vs. GradingOne of the difficulties in thinking about assessment is that teachers and students so often confuse the concept

with grading. Assessment needs to be viewed as an on-going process intended to further our students learning

and understanding of the desired materials. Grading is not such a process, considering the way it is used in

most classrooms. If we are to assess our students learning in order to determine whether or not they are

meeting educational or other objectives within the class, we must evaluate their learning at a variety of stages

along the way, as opposed to a final, cumulative, all-or-nothing process. The underlying assumption that goes

with this definition of assessment is that we are doing this to better assist our students in learning and

understanding the concepts and principles we are teaching in our classrooms.

Assessment GradesFormative

Diagnostic

Private to student and assessor

Non-judgmentalSpecific

Subtext and process specific

Goal directed

Focus is on learning

Summative

Final

Part of administrative record

JudgmentalGeneral

Text and information specific

Content driven

Focus is on counting or discipline

Purposes of Assessment

When examining the types of assessment we use within our classrooms, we need to determine the purpose of

the assessment and whether or not it is properly assessing the learning objective of the student. When this is

not done, it often causes misunderstanding and anxiety on the part of the student, both toward the class and

the teacher. When determining a method of assessment, one should ask the following questions:

1. What tools are we already using?2. How are we using the results?3. How are we reporting the results?4. To whom are we reporting?5. What school proficiencies (goals) are being measured by the results?6. What are the relative strengths of the process?7. What are the weaknesses?8. What should we do to better achieve our purposes?

GPS Phase III - Assessing Student Understandingin Science Page 1


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Once these questions are asked by educators of their own classroom and school, it is much easier to determine

appropriate methods of assessment for the actual instructional goals of the class.

To influence policyand planning

To improvesystems

To focusteaching

To focus studentlearning

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

To focus student learning:

1. To inform and guide students as to what they have learned and to suggest what they need to learn sothey can adequately manage the direction of their own work.

2. To inform and guide parents for the same reasons.

To focus teaching:

3. To inform day-to-day teaching so that teachers can adjust lesson plans to meet student needs.4. To evaluate teaching effects and the usefulness of their teaching strategies and methods employed in

the classroom.

To improve systems:

5. To determine special services that might be required to assist students.6. To evaluate systems which run the school.7. To evaluate the curriculum as a whole, and make necessary adjustments to accommodate student

needs.

To influence policy and planning:

8. To inform school boards and larger decision making bodies of the programs and evaluate their needs.9. To inform the public of the quality of educational programs in their schools.



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Classroom AssessmentFor a broad definition, we consider assessment as the process of collecting, synthesizing, and interpreting

information to aid classroom decision making (Airasian, 1996). Assessments must match the content taught in

order for the students to demonstrate what they have learned. Effective assessments address the learning

objectives and the instructional emphasis when they are designed and implemented. Assessments should never

include topics or objectives not taught to the students. Also, assessments can never appraise everything that

students learn in class; they can only estimate what students have learned by sampling tasks from a much

larger possible range of tasks. Ideally, we, as teachers, try to address this limitation by giving students several

opportunities to show what they have learned through different media (e.g., answering tests and quiz items,

completing student sheets, collaborating in groups, presenting projects), and at different points during the

course of study, so that we get a broader view of the students understanding of the concepts and skills, rather

than a mere snapshot on what might be a bad day for the student.

During the process of learning science through inquiry in our classrooms, there are many opportunities to assess

student understanding. Assessment can include formal and informal assessments. Formal assessments examine

products such as written or oral responses (Pellegrino, 2001). These might include tests, quizzes, artifacts,

investigations, student sheets, and presentations, among other, tangible things. According to Pellegrino

informal assessments are intuitive, often sub-conscious, reasoning teachers carry out everyday in classrooms.

These might include checks for student understanding like classroom questioning and assessment conversations.

These informal assessments are more based on habits of mind from the teacher, as well as their abilities as

observers of learners.

Ideally, all of the assessments a teacher or school may conduct with students are formative in nature.

According to Black and William (1998) formative assessments encompass all those activities undertaken by

teachers, and/or by their students, that provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching

and learning activities in which they are engaged. The feedback component of assessments is critical.However, many assessments have to be summative in nature in order to measure what students have learned at

the end of some set of learning activities and to assign a grade.

Classroom assessment may look at various grain sizes for teachers to better understand their students

knowledge and depth of understanding of the content, processes and skills of science. Some assessments might

allow the teacher to get a glimpse into the individual thoughts of students and to be able to respond to each to

address their learning needs. Others might provide a broader view of the general understanding of small

groups, or the class as a whole. Either way, when a teacher develops and uses an assessment, they need to be

ready to analyze the work or responses of the student so that they can utilize this information to better craft

their own instruction. As a result, the teacher needs to look at a variety of factors within the design of theindividual assessment. These might include thetype of learning desired, the nature of the understanding of

the content (and its place relative to the learning goals of the classroom), the prior knowledge or skills a

student might have to address a particular topic or task, and the ways in which the student communicates

their knowledge to others. As we focus on the design of assessments, well look at each of these categories.



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Types of Learning

There is more than one type of learning. A committee of colleges, led by Benjamin Bloom, identified three

domains of educational activities:

Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge) Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (Attitude) Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (Skills)

Since the work was produced by higher education, the words tend to be a little bigger than we normally use.

Domains can be thought of as categories. Trainers often refer to these three domains as KSA (Knowledge, Skills,

and Attitude). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as "the goals of the instructional process."

That is, after some amount of instruction, the student should have acquired new skills, knowledge, and/or

attitudes.

The committee also produced an elaborate compilation for the cognitive and affective domains, but none for

the psychomotor domain. This compilation divides the three domains into subdivisions, starting from the

simplest behavior to the most complex. The divisions outlined are not absolutes and there are other systems orhierarchies that have been devised in the educational and training world. However, Bloom's taxonomy is easily

understood and is probably the most widely applied one in use today.

CognitiveThe cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or

recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual

abilities and skills. There are six major

categories, which are listed in order below,

starting from the simplest behavior to the most

complex. The categories can be thought of as

degrees of difficulties. That is, the first one

must be mastered before the next one can take

place. The diagram, shown at right, helps

illustrate these levels. The text that follows

provides some insight into the types of tasks or

assessments we use, and what kind of language

we use to ask students to do these tasks.


Evaluation

Synthesis

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge


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Cognitive Level (Description) Examples of a Task Key Words and Directions

Knowledge: Recall data or

information.

Recite a policy. Quote prices

from memory to a customer.

Knows the safety rules.

defines, describes, identifies,

knows, labels, lists, matches,

names, outlines, recalls, recognizes,reproduces, selects, states

Comprehension: Understand

the meaning, translation,

interpolation, and interpretation of

instructions and problems. State

a problem in one's own words

Rewrites the principles of test

writing. Explain in ones own

words the steps for

performing a complex task.

Translates an equation into a

computer spreadsheet.

comprehends, converts, defends,

distinguishes, estimates, explains,

extends, generalizes, gives

Examples, infers, interprets,

paraphrases, predicts, rewrites,

summarizes, translates.

Application: Use a concept in a

new situation or unprompted use

of an abstraction. Applies whatwas learned in the classroom into

novel situations in the work place.

Use a manual to calculate an

employees vacation time.

Apply laws of statistics toevaluate the reliability of a

written test.

applies, changes, computes,

constructs, demonstrates,

discovers, manipulates, modifies,operates, predicts, prepares,

produces, relates, shows, solves,

uses.

Analysis: Separates material or

concepts into component parts

so that its organizational structure

may be understood.

Distinguishes between facts and

inferences.

Troubleshoot a piece of

equipment by using logical

deduction. Recognize logical

fallacies in reasoning.

Gathers information from a

department and selects the

required tasks for training.

analyzes, breaks down, compares,

contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs,

differentiates, discriminates,

distinguishes, identifies, illustrates,

infers, outlines, relates, selects,

separates.

Synthesis: Builds a structure or

pattern from diverse elements.

Put parts together to form a

whole, with emphasis on creating

a new meaning or structure.

Write a company operations

or process manual. Design a

machine to perform a

specific task. Integrates

training from several sources

to solve a problem. Revises

and process to improve the

outcome.

categorizes, combines, compiles,

composes, creates, devises,

designs, explains, generates,

modifies, organizes, plans,

rearranges, reconstructs, relates,

reorganizes, revises, rewrites,

summarizes, tells, writes.

Evaluation: Make judgments

about the value of ideas or

materials.

Select the most effective

solution. Hire the most

qualified candidate. Explainand justify a new budget.

appraises, compares, concludes,

contrasts, criticizes, critiques,

defends, describes, discriminates,evaluates, explains, interprets,

justifies, relates, summarizes,

supports.



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AffectiveThe affective domain addresses the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values,

appreciation, enthusiasm, motivation, and attitudes. There are numerous organizing categories for this

domain, but the most commonly used is listed on the next page. Like the cognitive domain, these build upon

each other, with the first being the simplest and building to the most complex.

While the affective domain is often diminished or ignored in curriculum design or instruction, we need to

consider these categories, as they are often barriers to engagement for students, and can not only limit their

ability to build cognitive understanding of science, but also affect the effort and value a student may place on

science or education in the future. We know, for instance, that middle school is generally the first time that

students fully express frustration and lack of satisfaction in their learning of mathematics and science.

Psychomotor

The psychomotor domain includes physical movement, coordination, and the use of motor-skill areas.

Development of these skills requires practice and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance,

procedures, or techniques in execution. The table on page 8 highlights these categories from simplest to most

complex.

While these abilities may often seem to be more of an issues in the early grades of school (pre-adolescent

children), they are still developing through adulthood, and are enhanced with practice. In science instruction,

it is often crucial to include tasks that develop these skills when considering the many measurement and

experimentation activities that are typically done in the sciences.

REFERENCE

1. Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New

York: David McKay Co Inc.

2. Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Bertram, B. M. (1973). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, the

Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook II: Affective Domain. New York: David McKay Co., Inc.

3. Simpson E. J. (1972). The Classification of Educational Objectives in the Psychomotor Domain.

Washington, DC: Gryphon House.

4. Dave, R. H. (1975). Developing and Writing Behavioural Objectives. (R J Armstrong, ed.) Educational

Innovators Press.

5. Harrow, Anita (1972) A taxonomy of psychomotor domain: a guide for developing behavioral objectives.New York: David McKay.



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Affective Domain Levels

Affective Category (Description) Examples of a Task Key Words andDirections

Receiving Phenomena:

Awareness, willingness to hear,selected attention.

Listen to others with respect. Listen

for and remember the name ofnewly introduced people.

asks, chooses, describes,

follows, gives, holds,identifies, locates, names,

points to, selects, sits,

erects, replies, uses.

Responding to Phenomena:

Active participation for students.

The student attends and reacts to

specific phenomena. Learning

outcomes focus on compliance in

responding, willingness to respond,

and satisfaction in responding

(motivation).

Participates in class discussions.

Gives a presentation. Questions

new ideals, concepts, models, etc.

in order to fully understand them.

Knows and practices safety rules.

answers, assists, aids,

complies, conforms,

discusses, greets, helps,

labels, performs, practices,

presents, reads, recites,

reports, selects, tells,

writes.

Valuing: The worth a person

attaches to an object,

phenomenon, or behavior. Ranges

from acceptance to commitment.

Based on how a person internalizes

a set of specific values. Clues to

these are expressed in the

students behavior

Demonstrates belief in the

democratic process. Sensitive

toward individual and group

differences. Shows the ability to

solve problems in social interaction.

Proposes a plan to social

improvement and follows through.

completes, demonstrates,

differentiates, explains,

follows, forms, initiates,

invites, joins, justifies,

proposes, reads, reports,

selects, shares, studies,

works

Organization: Organizes values

into priorities by contrastingdifferent values, resolving conflicts

between them, and creating a

unique value system. Emphasis is

on comparing, relating, and

synthesizing values.

Recognizes the need for balance

between freedom and responsiblebehavior. Accepts responsibility for

ones behavior. Explains the role of

systematic planning in solving

problems. Accepts professional

ethical standards. Prioritizes time

effectively to meet the needs of the

organization, family, and self.

adheres, alters, arranges,

combines, compares,completes, defends,

explains, formulates,

generalizes, identifies,

integrates, modifies,

orders, organizes,

prepares, relates,

synthesizes

Internalizing Values: Has a value

system that controls behavior.

Behavior is pervasive, consistent,

predictable, and most importantly,characteristic of the student.

Instructional objectives for this level

are concerned with students

patterns of adjustment (personal,

social, emotional)

Shows self-reliance when working

independently. Cooperates in group

activities (displays teamwork). Uses

an objective approach in problemsolving. Revises judgements and

changes behavior in light of new

evidence. Values people for what

they are, not how they look.

acts, discriminates,

displays, influences,

listens, modifies, performs,

practices, proposes,qualifies, questions,

revises, serves, solves,

verifies



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Psychomotor Domain Levels

Skill Level (Description) Examples of a Task Key Words and Directions

Perception: Ability to use sensory

cures to guide motor activity.

Ranges from sensory stimulation

to translation.

Detects non-verbal

communication cues. Estimate

where a ball will land after thrown

and the move to the correctlocation to catch the ball. Adjusts

heat of stove to correct temp. by

smell and taste of food.

chooses, describes, detects,

differentiates, distinguishes,

identifies, isolates, relates,

selects

Set: Readiness to act. In includes

mental, physical, and emotional

sets. These sets are dispositions

that predetermine a persons

response to different situations

(i.e. mindsets).

Knows and acts upon a sequence

of steps in creating an object.

Recognizes abilities and

limitations. Shows desire to learn

a new process.

begins, displays, explains,

moves, proceeds, reacts,

shows, states, volunteers

Guided Response: Early stage inlearning a complex skill that

includes imitation and trial and

error. Adequacy is achieved by

practice.

Performs a mathematical equationas demonstrated. Follows

instructions to build a model.

copies, traces, follows,reacts, reproduce, responds

Mechanism: Intermediate stage

of learning a complex skill.

Learned responses are habitual

and movements performed with

confidence and proficiency.

Uses a personal computer. Repair

a leaking faucet. Drive a car.

assembles, builds, calibrates,

constructs, dismantles,

displays, fastens, fixes,

grinds, heats, manipulates,

measures, mends, mixes,

Complex Overt Response:Skillful performance of motor acts

involving complex movement

patters. Quick, accurate and

highly coordinated performance

with minimum energy show

proficiency. Generally automatic

performance

Maneuver a car into a tight parallelparking spot. Operate a computer

quickly and accurately. Display

competence while playing the

piano.

,

(Note: key words are the

same for mechanism complex

overt response, but for the

latter, adverbs or adjectives

indicate performance - i.e.

quicker, better, more

accurate, etc.

Adaptation: Skills are well

developed and the individual can

modify movement patterns to fit

specific requirements.

Respond effectively to unexpected

experiences. Modify instruction to

meet the needs of the learners.

Perform a task with a machinethat it was not intended to do.

adapts, alters, changes,

rearranges, reorganizes,

revises, varies.

Origination: Creating new

movement patterns to fit a

particular situation or specific

problem. Learning outcomes

emphasize creativity based on

highly developed skills.

Constructs a new theory.

Develops a new and

comprehensive training program.

Creates a new dance or

gymnastic routine.

arranges, builds, combines,

composes, constructs,

creates, designs, initiates,

makes, originates.



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Techniques for Assessing Course-Related Knowledge and Skills

Assessing Prior Knowledge, Recall, and UnderstandingBackground Knowledge Probe - Short, simple questionnaires prepared by instructors for use at the beginning of

a course, at the start of a new unit or lesson, or prior to introducing an important new topic. Used to help

teachers determine the most effective starting point for a given lesson and the most appropriate level at which

to begin new instruction.

Focused Listing - Focuses students' attention on a single important term, name , or concept from a particular

lesson or class session and directs them to list several ideas that are closely related to that "focus point." Used

to determine what learners recall as the most important points related to a particular topic.

Misconception/Preconception Check - Technique used for gathering information on prior knowledge or beliefs

that may hinder or block further learning.

Empty Outlines - The instructor provides students with an empty or partially completed outline of an in-class

presentation or homework assignment and gives them a limited amount of time to fill in the blank spaces. Used

to help faculty find out how well students have "caught" the important points of a lecture, reading, or

audiovisual presentation.

Memory Matrix - A simple two-dimensional diagram, a rectangle divided into rows and columns used to organize

information and illustrate relationships. Assesses students' recall of important course content and their skill at

quickly organizing that information into categories provided by the instructor.

Minute Paper - Instructor asks students to respond in two or three minutes to either of the following questions:

"What was the most important thing you learned during this class? or "What important questions remains

unanswered?" Used to provide a quick and extremely simple way to collect written feedback on student

learning.

Muddiest Point - Technique consists of asking students to jot down a quick response to one question: "What was

the muddiest point in ?" with the focus on the lecture, a discussion, a homework assignment, a play, or a film.

Used to provide information on what students find least clear or most confusing about a particular lesson or

topic.

Assessing Skill in Analysis and Critical ThinkingCategorizing Grid - Students sort information into appropriate conceptual categories. This provides faculty with

feedback to determine quickly whether, how, and how well students understand "what goes with what."

Defining Features Matrix - Students are required to categorize concepts according to the presence (+) or

absence (-) of important defining features. This provides data on their analytic reading and thinking skills.

Pro and Con Grid - Students list pros and cons of an issue. This provides information on the depth and breadth

of a student's ability to analyze and on their capacity for objectivity.



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Content, Form, and Function Outlines - Students analyze the "what" (content), "how" (form), and

"why" (function) of a particular message. This technique elicits information on the students' skills at separating

and analyzing the informational content, the form, and the communicative function of a lesson or message.

Analytic Memos - Students write a one- or two-page analysis of a specific problem or issue. Used to assess

students' skill at communicating their analyses in a clear and concise manner.

Assessing Skill in Syntheses and Critical ThinkingOne-Sentence Summary - Students answer the questions "Who does what to whom, when, where, how , and

why?" about a given topic, and then synthesize those answers into a single informative, grammatical, and long

summary sentence.

Word Journal - Students first summarize a short text in a single word, and second, the student writes a

paragraph or two explaining why he chose that particular word to summarize the text. This technique helps

faculty assess and improve the students' ability to read carefully and deeply and the students' skill at explaining

and defending, in just a few more words, their choice for a single summary word.

Approximate Analogies - Students complete the second half of an analogy for which the instructor has supplied

the first half. This allows teachers to find out whether their students understand the relationship between the

two concepts or terms given as the first part of the analogy.

Concept Maps - Drawings or diagrams showing the mental connections that students make between a major

concept the instructor focuses on and other concepts they have learned. This provides an observable and

assessable record of the students' conceptual schema-the patterns of associations they make in relation to a

given focal concept.

Invented Dialogues - Students synthesize their knowledge of issues, personalities, and historical periods into

the form of a carefully structured, illustrative conversation. This provides information on students' ability to

capture the essence of other people's personalities and styles of expression - as well as on their understanding

of theories, controversies, and the opinions of others.

Annotated Portfolios - Contain a very limited number of selected examples of a student's creative work,

supplemented by the student's own commentary on the significance of those examples.

Assessing Skill in Problem SolvingProblem Recognition Tasks - Students are provided with a few examples of common problem types and are

asked to recognize and identify the particular type of problem each example represents. Faculty are able to

assess how well students can recognize various problem types, the first step in matching problem type to

solution method.

What's the Principle? - Students are provided with a few problems and are asked to state the principle that best

applies to each problem. Instructors assess students' ability to associate specific problems with the general

principles used to solve them.



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Documented Problem Solutions - Prompts students to keep track of the steps they take in solving a problem.

This assesses how students solve problems and how well students understand and can describe their problem-

solving methods.

Audio- and Videotaped Protocols - Students are recorded talking and working through the process of solving a

problem. Faculty assess in detail how and how well students solve problems.

Assessing Skill in Application and PerformanceDirected Paraphrasing - Students paraphrase part of a lesson for a specific audience and purpose, using their

own words. Feedback is provided on students' ability to summarize and restate important information or

concepts in their own words; it allows faculty to assess how well students have understood and internalized

that learning.

Applications Cards - Students write down at least one possible, real-world application for an important

principle, generalization, theory, or procedure that they just learned. This lets faculty know how well students

understand the possible applications of what students have learned.

Student-Generated Test Questions - Students are asked to develop test questions from material they have been

taught. Teachers see what their students consider the most important or memorable content, what they

understand as fair and useful test questions, and how well they can answer the questions they have posed.

Human Tableau or Class Modeling - Groups of students create "living" scenes or model processes to show what

they know. Students demonstrate their ability to apply what they know by performing it.

Paper or Project Prospectus - A prospectus is a brief, structured first-draft plan for a term paper or term

project. The Paper Prospectus prompts students to thin through elements of the assignment, such as the topic,

purpose, intended audience, major questions to be answered, basic organization, and time and resources

required. The Project Prospectus focuses on tasks to be accomplished, skills to be improved, and products to

be developed.



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Techniques for Assessing Learner Attitudes, Values, and Self-Awareness

Assessing Students' Awareness of Their Attitudes and ValuesClassroom Opinion Polls - Students are asked to raise their hands to indicate agreement or disagreement with a

particular statement. Faculty discover student opinions about course-related issues.

Double-Entry Journals - Students begin by noting the ideas, assertions, and arguments in their assigned course

readings they find most meaningful and/or controversial. The second entry explains the personal significance

of the passage selected and responds to that passage. Detailed feedback is provided on how students read,

analyze, and respond to assigned texts.

Profiles of Admirable Individuals - Students are required to write a brief, focused profile of an individual - in a

field related to the course - whose values, skills, or actions they greatly admire. This technique helps faculty

understand the images and values students associate with the best practice and practitioners in the discipline.

Everyday Ethical Dilemmas - Students are presented with an abbreviated case study that poses an ethical

problem related to the discipline or profession they are studying and must respond briefly and anonymously to

these cases. Students identify, clarify, and connect their values by responding to course-related issues and

problems that they are likely to encounter. Faculty get honest reactions and information on what students'

values are and how they apply them to realistic dilemmas.

Course-Related Self-Confidence Surveys - Students answer a few simple questions aimed at getting a rough

measure of the students' self-confidence in relation to a specific skill or ability. Faculty assess their students'

level of confidence in their ability to learn the relevant skills and material and can more effectively structure

assignments that will build confidence in relation to specific tasks.

Assessing Students' Self-Awareness as Learners

Focused Autobiographical Sketches - Students are directed to write a one- or two- page autobiographical sketchfocused on a single successful learning experience in their past - an experience relevant to learning in the

particular course in which the assessment technique is used. This provides information the the students' self-

concept and self- awareness as learners within a specific field.

Interest/Knowledge/Skills Checklist - Students rate their interest in various topics, and assess their levels of

skill or knowledge in those topics, by indicating the appropriate responses on a checklist which has been

created by the teacher. These checklists inform teachers of their students' level of interest in course topics and

their assessment of the skills and knowledge needed for and/or developed through the course.

Goal Ranking and Matching - Students list a few learning goals they hope to achieve through the course and

rank the relative importance of those goals.. This assesses the "degree of fit" between the students' personal

learning goals and teachers' course-specific instructional goals, and between the teachers' and students' ranking

of the relative importance and difficulty of the goals.

Self-Assessment of Ways of Learning - Students describe their general approaches to learning, or their learning

styles, by comparing themselves with several different profiles and choosing those that, in their opinion, most

closely resemble them. This provides teachers with a simple way to assess students' learning styles or

preferences for ways of learning.



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Assessing Course-Related Learning and Study Skills, Strategies, and BehaviorsProductive Study-Time Logs - Students keep a record of how much time they spend studying for a particular

class, when they study, and how productively they study at various times of the day or night. This allows

faculty to assess the amount and quality of out-of-class time all their students are spending preparing for class,

and to share that information with students.

Punctuated Lectures - Students and teachers go through five steps: listen, stop, reflect, write, and give

feedback. Students listen to lecture. The teacher stops the action and students reflect on what they were

doing during the presentation and how their behavior while listening may have helped or hindered their

understanding of that information. They then write down any insights they have gained and they give feedback

to the teacher in the form of short, anonymous notes. This technique provides immediate, on-the-spot

feedback on how students are learning from a lecture or demonstration and lets teachers and students know

what may be distracting. And students are encouraged to become self-monitoring listeners, and in the process,

more aware and more effective learners.

Process Analysis - Students keep records of the actual steps they take in carrying out a representative

assignment and comment on the conclusions they draw about their approaches to that assignment. This

technique gives students and teachers explicit, detailed information on the ways in which students carry out

assignments and shows faculty which elements of the process are most difficult for students and, consequently,

where teachers need to offer more instruction and direction.

Diagnostic Learning Logs - Students keep records of each class or assignment and write one list of the main

points covered that they understood and a second list of points that were unclear. Faculty are provided with

information and insight into their students' awareness of and skill at identifying their own strengths and

weaknesses as learners.

Techniques for Assessing Learner Reactions for Instruction

Assessing Learner Reactions to Teachers and TeachingChain Notes - Students write immediate, spontaneous reactions to questions given by the teacher while the

class is in progress. This feedback gives the teacher a "sounding" of the students' level of engagement and

involvement during lecture.

Electronic Mail Feedback - Students respond anonymously by E-mail to a question posed by the teacher to the

class. This provides a simple, immediate channel through which faculty can pose questions about the class andstudents can respond to them.

Teacher-Designed Feedback Forms - Students answer questions on feedback forms which contain anywhere

from three to seven questions in multiple-choice, Likert-scale, or short fill-in answer formats. These forms

allow faculty to quickly and easily analyze data and use the results to make informed and timely adjustments

in their teaching.



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REFERENCES Angelo, Thomas A. and Cross, K. Patricia. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for

College Teachers; 1993, Jossey-Bass, Inc. Axelrod, Valija M., and Hedges, Lowell E. Assessing Learning. Instructional Materials Laboratory; 1995. Halpern and Associates. Changing College Classrooms: New Teaching and Learning Strategies for an

Increasingly Complex World, Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1994, San Francisco, CA. Hilgerson, Karin M. Achieving Equity and Excellence Through Improved Assessment, Oregon School

Study Council; April 1994. Sandifer, Everette Jr.; Evaluating and Recording Student Achievement in Education; Appalachian

Regional Commission; May 1981.


assessment overview - designing an inquiry learning unit

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