Decoding the Disciplines Step 6: Assessment

Joan Middendorf

Step 6: Assessment

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Analogy CAT

Decoding the Disciplines is like… -Peeling an onion, removing layers and finding another (minus the tears). -Writing a manual. -Performing diagnostic tests on a malfunctioning engine. -Amusement park. Many different rides, up & down, round & round. And get you shook up/unbalanced. You see things differently after. -Unbaking your favorite cake.

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Step 6: Assessment--How To Tell Students Learned

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3 minute writing exercise n  Jot down on large sheet

n  your bottleneck n  Your metaphor n  The crucial operation

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Step 6 Assessment: Note-passing Activity

In a few minutes you will: •  Suggest 2 CATs for each teammate.

Four modalities for CATs

n Kinesthetic n Written n Visual n Verbal

Kinesthetic CATs

1.  Stand up/sit down 2.  Number line

Written CATs

1.  Word Journal (CAT 14): Summarize a text in one word. Write a paragraph explaining why that word?

2.  Categorizing Grid (CAT 8): Provide a labeled grid and have students fill it in.

Step 6 Assessment: Categorizing Grid

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Situation  Array or Struct?  

Contents of data structure  

1. 1 year rainfall data      

2. E-mail address book records      

3. Sorting high temperatures 1 month  

   

4. Finding the median score of your last 20 bowling scores  

   

Visual CATs

The Annotated Figure CAT: Use historical evidence from the poem to draw a figure.

Annotated Figure CAT: Draw what Beowulf looks like to the audience for the poem. Point to the passages that support the elements in your picture. Here’s an example of Hrothgar.

Analysis of Annotated Figure CAT

Average number of items illustrated was 12. Of these:

•  4 items related to plot elements •  2 items related to physical prowess •  1 item dealt with role •  2 with character

Concept Map (CAT 16) in Astronomy: What are processes in the Milky Way?

(Pilachowski, Decoding the Disciplines 2004)

Analysis of Concept Map CAT

Compare an expert concept map to the student concept map. Look for:

•  Main components •  Minor components •  Spatial relationships •  Size and scale

Verbal CATs

1.  Call out zones CAT 2.  Report out from group discussion

Step 6: Principles of Assessment

1.  Focus on one specific operation 2.  Use an assesment that will reveal student

mistakes 3.  Use more than one assessment technique 4.  Measure changes in skill with pre- and post-

tests 5.  Overtime put the skills back together

(culminating products).

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Carousel Activity

In teams: •  Suggest 2 CATs for one teammate. •  Note your suggestions on a sheet of paper. •  Pass it to that person and repeat for next

teammate.

Gallery Walk

n Each team writes LARGE on newsprint for each team member briefly:

Name and Field 1.  The bottleneck 2.  Mental process 3.  Metaphor 6.  One specific CAT that you liked.

Summary of Step 6: Assessment

n What did you find useful about this step?

Application CAT

1.  How might CATS be useful in your class? Thanks very much!

Homework

1. Where do you get pushback—a place where students are resistant either to the methods of your field or something that affects their identity?

I cannot write. I am not good at math. You are criticizing my ancestors.

I am not descended from an ape.

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Step 7: Sharing

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Teaching badly is no longer a moral alternative.

n The need is too great n The challenges are too daunting n The means of improving one’s

teaching are too readily available n The Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning

Step 7: Principles of Sharing

1. Finding a community to continue to study teaching and learning

2. Going public with your results

Step 7: How can you use “Decoding”?

Come up with your own bottleneck study Decode tacit thinking (interviews) Develop assessments Develop curriculum Develop SOTL project How do you want to continue your collaboration?

Step 7: Sharing

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

--Benjamin Franklin upon the signing of

the Declaration of Independence

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