Recently we have presented a series of posts which aim to explore how reflecting on assessment methods can lead instructors to develop a set of meaningful assignments to engage students and improve course design. From the student-centered learning model, committed to valuing connectivity of subjects and ideas across disciplines, to a review of Bloom’s Taxonomy […]
Continue Reading 1 comment December 15th, 2009
One of the main issues with assessment lies in the fact that some educators delay the majority of assessment activities until the very end of academic terms. Such practice leads to several problems that directly and negatively affect learning outcomes: students do not know on what level they are expected to perform students are confused […]
Continue Reading December 9th, 2009
To begin detailed discussion about measuring student learning, we ought to consider one of the most critical tools to distinguish between superficial understandings, and complete comprehension. Verbs. They can run, jump, bounce, and fly, but, when applied to students, verbs do something very different. Students sit. Students read. Students write. How much more do we […]
Continue Reading November 23rd, 2009
To instructors, who have received an extensive formal education, knowing exactly what a test is asking may come easy. For some students, though, the ability to know exactly what they should do when words like “analyze” or “discuss” on exam can be vague and even foreign. Teachingprofessor.com, one of our favorite websites, recently published a […]
Continue Reading March 2nd, 2009
Inside Higher Ed’s article “Assessing Assessment” launches its discussion by stating that assessment and accountability movements are “alive and well,” and that colleges who think they can ignore them are “misguided.” In an effort to provide an overview or guide of assessment practices, the National Institute for Learning Outcomes and the Alliance for New Leadership […]
Continue Reading February 19th, 2009
As the semester is about to begin, it’s time to think about the most important day of the entire semester… the first day of class. The first day of class sets the tone for the entire semester. While most of us plan to simply go over the syllabus, there are other things that we can […]
Continue Reading January 9th, 2009
Michael Nelson is a political science professor at Rhodes College. As a “guest blogger” for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nelson recently wrote a short blog post that shares a different way for instructors to grade papers. Nelson writes that he intends to break a habit that he (and many other instructors) tend to have […]
Continue Reading October 15th, 2008
It was less than a decade ago that students had to actually get in line at the registrars office at a prescribed time and date in order to add or drop a course. It was even less than a decade ago that note-taking usually meant writing by hand in a notebook. Today, as evident here […]
Continue Reading October 8th, 2008
Developed by Thomas Angelo & K. Patricia Cross, the Teaching Goals Inventory (TGI) allows faculty to examine the needs, outcomes, and goals of their course(s) in a quantifiable fashion. The results of your highest ranking goals can then be used to determine the most appropriate formative assessment strategies for your students or as a framework […]
Continue Reading July 17th, 2008
How do you decide how you will assess your students and their learning? Angelo and Cross (1993), suggest a Classroom Assessment Project Cycle. In Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers, they outline a three-phase, three-step process by which you can design such a cycle. Phase I Planning a Classroom Assessment Project Choosing the […]
Continue Reading June 19th, 2008
