Assessing Student Learning Dr. Andrea McCourt March 29 th, 2005 2 – 3:30 p.m. Texas Tech...

Assessing Student Learning

Dr. Andrea McCourtMarch 29th, 2005

2 – 3:30 p.m.Texas Tech University

Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center

Copyright McCourt (2005)

Outline of the Workshop

• Overview of Learning Assessment

• Discussion of Summative and Formative Assessment

• Benefits of Learning Assessment

• Establishing Learning Objectives

• Practical Tips and Tools

• Questions & Answers

Overview of Learning

Assessment


What is Assessment?

Assessment is the process of examining:

1. What your students have learned;

2. How well they have learned the information and/or skills; and

3. How student learning relates to the stated learning objectives for the course.


What is Involved in the Assessment Process?

STEP ONE

Establish learning outcomes (the knowledge and skills you wish your students to master) for each of the classes that you teach as well as the specific lessons/units within each course


The Assessment Process

STEP TWO

Systematically gather, analyze, and interpret evidence (exam scores, discussion responses, etc.) to determine how well student learning matches your expectations and the stated learning outcomes


The Assessment Process

STEP THREE

Use this assessment of student learning to:

1. Provide feedback to the students

2. Adjust your teaching methods and strategies to ensure greater student learning


What is the Difference Between Evaluation & Assessment?

• Evaluation typically focuses on making a judgment about student work to be used in assigning grades that express the level of student performance

• In evaluation, there is little or no focus on examining the process of learning or teaching

Summative & Formative

Assessment


Summative Assessment

• Summative assessment typically takes place after we believe student learning has taken place (e.g., final exams, research papers, etc.), when it is too late to make adjustments to teaching methods, etc.


Summative Assessment

• Summative assessment evaluates and/or grades the final outcome, rather than the process, of student learning


Formative Assessment

• Formative assessment occurs throughout a course or lesson and serves as a “check point” for student learning throughout the discussion of a topic

• It is often not graded and done anonymously



• Formative assessment helps us understand what is going on with our students

• Formative assessment allows us to re-group and address learning problems as they occur, which leads to a better learning process


Should You Use Summative or Formative Assessment?

• Formative assessment allows you to “test the learning waters”

• Summative assessment provides a final reading of how well learning outcomes were met

• Like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, these are “two great skills that go great together”

Benefits of Learning

Assessment


Benefits for Students

• Clear expectations and stated learning goals help students know what they need to do for assignments, etc. (e.g., grading rubrics)

• Assessment focuses on providing feedback, which helps students understand the strengths and weakness of their work


Benefits for Students

• Assessment information gives the students documentation of what they’ve learned that they can use to apply for jobs, awards, and programs of advanced study


Benefits for Faculty

• Assessment activities bring faculty together to discuss important issues such as their standards and expectations for different courses in their program


Benefits for Faculty

• Positive assessment results can be used as compelling evidence of the quality of their teaching when they apply for tenure, promotion, and salary increases


Benefits for Administrators

• Assessment documentation can be used to convince accrediting agencies, legislators, etc. of the worth of the program; and

• Assessment allows departments to focus on teaching and learning rather than just evaluation

Learning Outcomes


Let’s Start at the Beginning - Learning Outcomes

• For each course or unit that faculty teach, they should develop specific learning outcomes related to the exact knowledge and skills they want the students to know at the end of the lesson or course


Identify Your Teaching Goals Through the TGI

• The Teaching Goals Inventory (TGI) helps faculty to clarify their teaching goals (e.g., to teach critical thinking skills, to prepare students for their careers, etc.) http://www.uiowa.edu/~centeach/tgi/

• A related inventory can be found at http://www.teachingperspectives.com/

http://www.uiowa.edu/~centeach/tgi/

http://www.teachingperspectives.com/




Learning Outcomes

• Faculty should develop learning outcomes that encompass the cognitive and/or affective domains for:

A) the course in general; and

B) the sub-components

(chapter, unit, or major topic)

of each course


Teaching Goals & Learning Outcomes

• The stated learning outcomes should be a combination of your teaching goals and the important knowledge and skills the students are expected to master


Stating Learning Outcomes

A good learning outcome should:

• Specify an action by the learners that is observable

• Specify an action by the learners that is measurable

• Specify an action that is done by the learners


Action Words in Learning Outcomes

• Including action words in learning outcomes helps make them both observable and measurable.

Examples of action words:

compile, identify, create, plan, revise, analyze, design, select, analyze, utilize, apply, demonstrate, prepare, use, compute, discuss, explain, predict, assess, compare, rate, critique, outline, or evaluate


Examples of Good Learning Outcome Statements

• The student will design an experiment to test a hypothesis or theory.

• The student will present original interpretations of literary works.

• The student will analyze the surface geologic characteristics of land-forms.

Summative Assessment Techniques


Exams as Assessment Tools

• Exams can provide a good sense of whether or not the students learned the information from the chapter, lecture, course, unit, course, etc.

• Exam scores do not always allow us to assess either the process or the details of student learning


Strengths of Exams as Assessment Tools

• Flexible and versatile

• Can test many different levels of learning (memory, analysis, etc.)

• Many types of exam questions are objective and can be scored easily


Weaknesses of Exams as Assessment Tools

• Constructing a good, reliable exam is time consuming

• Other factors (e.g., confusing wording) may affect performance

• Can focus on specific “picky” items rather than global issues/concepts


Tips for Creating a Good Exam for Assessment

• Ask yourself how each exam relates to/evaluates the stated learning objectives

• Decide (before writing the exam) what essential knowledge and learning objectives should be assessed on this exam



• Create a list all related knowledge you feel you need to evaluate on this exam (names/dates/events, concepts, definitions, application items, etc.)

• Create test questions (T/F, multiple choice, matching, matching, essay, etc.) that appropriately test students’ understanding of this knowledge



• Keep a list of which test items are related to each learning objective and/or essential area of knowledge you wished to assess

• Use student exam responses to investigate the classes’ performance on each objective



• Always discuss the exam with the class and/or individual students so they understand where they made mistakes and how to correct them

• If there are areas of inadequate learning, follow up to enhance student learning/understanding


Rubrics

• A rubric is a template (usually in table form) that is used to assess the final product of student work

• Rubrics are commonly used for evaluating/assessing papers, essay exam questions, etc.


Rubrics

• Rubrics help make the grading of papers, etc. more objective and help keep the assessment of different students’ work more consistent

• Rubrics provide specific and detailed feedback for the students


Advantages of Rubrics

• When rubrics are made available to students prior to the due date, they assist students in understanding your expectations

• Rubrics contribute to consistency among multiple graders

Formative AssessmentTechniques



• These types of assessment are relatively easy to work into most class sessions

• They can be pre-planned or created on the spot, when you feel there is a need to clarify if your students “got it”


When Should You Use Formative Assessment?

• There is no exact answer for this, but here are some general guidelines:– At the end of a topic/lesson– Weekly or even daily– After absences from class (such

as Spring Break)– When your class has that “lost

look”


“Muddiest Point” Exercise

• “Muddiest Point” exercises are active learning activities typically conducted at the end of a topic, unit or class period

• In a “Muddiest Point” exercise, students are anonymously asked to report what idea, topic, etc. about the previous lesson was confusing/unclear


“Muddiest Point” Exercise

• After instructors have collected all “Muddiest Point” responses, these are read and analyzed to see what areas of the lesson or assignments students are unclear about


Debriefing a “Muddiest Point” Exercise

• It is important to provide follow-up and feedback regarding student responses. Here are some ways to do that:– Start off the next lecture by

clarifying confusing topics– Re-teach larger sections of

material as necessary– Provide simple explanations, etc.

on the course website


Non-Graded Quizzes

• Non-graded quizzes can provide great feedback on student learning

• These are non-threatening and non-punitive, so students tend to like them

• Non-graded quizzes can be given in a variety of formats (paper & pencil, questions in a PowerPoint presentation, etc.)


Non-Graded Quizzes

• Be sure to provide students with the correct answers to the quiz items, so they can learn from their mistakes


Student-Generated Exam Questions

• In this assessment activity, students (either alone, in pairs, or in groups) are asked to generate potential exam questions

• This helps you assess student learning as well as their expectations for an upcoming exam



• Having students create potential exam questions helps you assess:

1. If students can identify key concepts;

2. What your students see as fair or reasonable exam questions; and

3. How well the students can answer these questions



• Be sure to discuss the answers to each question with the class

• Also discuss with the class which questions are too easy, too hard, or reasonable questions similar to those that they will actually see on the upcoming exam


Application Cards

• This activity assists you in determining if students can apply the knowledge from your course, which is often a tricky endeavor


Application Cards

• After students have heard or read about an important concept, theory, or procedure, pass out note cards to each student or small groups of students

• Ask them to record 1-3 ways to apply the new information to a real-world situation


Debriefing Application Cards

Ideas for debriefing this activity:1. Call on students or small groups

to share their ideas; discuss these responses and list the applications on the board

2. Collect all responses, read through them, and share some of the best responses either immediately or at the start of the next class session


Personal Response Systems (PRS)

• Personal Response Systems use remote “clickers” to have students vote on T/F or multiple choice questions

• This provides instructors with instant information/feedback regarding student learning


PRS Sample

• The next slide depicts the data that PRS systems provide

• This graph can be projected on a screen in the classroom so that students can see the class response

• This data can also be downloaded so instructors can review students’ responses


Personal Response Systems (PRS)

A B C D

T/F Q#1


PRS Follow-Up

Ways to debrief PRS questions where there seems to be confusion include:– Having students turn to the person

next to them and discuss the question, then vote again

– Ask for volunteers to explain their answer to the class, then have the class re-vote


Old-Style PRS

• If you don’t have either the access or the desire to use this technology, you have other options!– Have students vote on an answer

with a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”– Pass out cards with A, B, C, or D

printed on them and have students use the cards to vote on answers


In Summary

• There are many different ways to assess student learning, so it is easy for faculty to find assessment tools that are a good fit for their discipline and/or classes

• By assessing student learning, we can create a better educational experience at the University, which is a great benefit for everyone involved


References

• American Association of Law Libraries http://www.aallnet.org/prodev/outcomes.asp

• Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

http://www.aallnet.org/prodev/outcomes.asp




References

• Bonwell, C.C. The Active Learning Site http://www.active-learning-site.com/work1.htm

• Hales, L.W. & Marshall, J.C. (2004). Developing effective assessments to improve teaching and learning. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.

• Palomba, C.A. & Banta, T.W. Eds. (2001). Assessing student competence in accredited disciplines: Pioneering approaches to assessment in higher education. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

http://www.active-learning-site.com/work1.htm


References

• Suskie, L. (ed) (2001). Assessment to promote deep learning: Insight from AAHE’s 2000 and 1999 Assessment Conferences.

• Suskie, L. (2004). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc.

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