Assessment: not just for grading!

Has my dog correctlyassessed the depth of the snow?

Jenny Knightknight@colorado.edu

Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

Science Education InitiativeUniversity of Colorado, Boulder

What is the difference between “Formative” and “Summative” Assessment?

ask yourself: “Can this assessment inform either me or the student about their progress or level of understanding?”

Does this difference matter?

(it probably matters most if you never do anything formative!)

What are some different types of formative assessments you have used (or would like to use) in your classes?

Active• Socratic questioning• Clickers/any form of in-class quizzing• One minute papers• Individual problem solving

Active and Cooperative• Clickers with peer discussion• Think-pair-share problem solving• Brainstorming• Constructing models/diagrams/graphs• Concept mapping

Active and Collaborative• Problem-based • Case-based • Jigsaw• Group projects/posters, etc.

All the active learning approaches we’ve discussed could be assessments

Possible goals of assessment

• Inform students and instructors about content understanding

• Provide a forum for discussion and reasoning

• Reveal misconceptions• Get students to identify what they do and

do not know: Metacognition

MetacognitionWhat do you already know about the structure of

DNA and how RNA and protein are ultimately coded for by a DNA sequence?

On your white board (or piece of paper) draw a line down the middle. Identify what you already know on one side. On the other side, write what kinds of things you still need to learn about or better understand. (Turn in your summary)

SkillsGenerate a graph showing the relative number of

bacteria in a person over time, after exposure to Salmonella Typhimurium. Label the time point at which symptoms arise, and when the adaptive immune system is likely to kick in. (Turn in your graph)

SynthesisConnect the following 10 terms to make a concept

map, using linking sentences to describe their relationship. When you are done, share your map with your neighbor (or neighboring group). Present your neighbor’s concept map to the class.

Encouraging student thinking through in-class assessment

Know your goal: what do you want to assess?

Practice

What is one specific objective you have for your students?

How do you usually assess this, and how could you assess it better?

Alignment is critical

Goals Assessment Instruction

Do your assessment items align with your stated goals?

Summative AssessmentsExams (obviously)Concept Assessments or Inventories

Concept Assessments• Intended to measure conceptual, rather than purely

factual, knowledge.• Often designed to measure change over time (pre-

post)• Diagnose areas of persistent difficulty• Provide information to drive curricular/programmatic

change

Other types of assessments

Although exams can do some of these things, their most common use is grading (differentiating among students)

Concept assessment development process

Created using extensive student interviews and faculty input Incorrect answers are derived from

students through open-response interviews.

Often specifically target misconceptions

Assayed for evidence of validity through statistical analyses

Develop learning goals that address core concepts (Vision and Change) and are valued by faculty

Write questions that test learning goals and use students’

incorrect ideas

Interviews: Determine if students interpret the question correctly

Measure student performance

Use output as feedback and to drive change

Surveys: Ensure that faculty value the question content

Question formats provide different types of information

Oral interview

Essay response

Short answer

Multiple T/F

Multiple choice

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Multiple T/F

Benefits:- Detects students with correct and incorrect

ideas, “mixed models” (Nehm & Reilly, 2007)- More equivalent to free response item

difficulties. (Kubinger & Gottschall, 2007)

- Allows greater flexibility in question design.

Question Stem:a) T/F

Statement b) T/F

Statement c) T/F

Statement d) T/F

Statement

Question Stem:a) Statementb) Statement c) Statement d) Statement

Multiple Choice

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Percent of Possible Points

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Advanced students show a range of overall performances

Fractional ScoringMean = 65%Chronbach’s α = 0.81

All-or-NothingMean = 23%Chronbach’s α = 0.70

n=583 upper division students from 7 institutions

Some difficulties persist from intro to advanced students

How molecules arrive at their targets. Garvin-Doxas & Klymkowsky (2008)

Pathways and Transformations of Energy and Matter

Information Flow, Exchange, and Storage

Evolution

How chromosomes partition during meiosis. Smith & Knight (2012)

How mutations affect mechanisms of central dogma.

Smith & Knight (2012)

How receptor topology is maintained during trafficking.

How genetic variation arises. Nehm & Riley (2007)

Longitudinal studies are required to fully understand outcomes that are important to science education (Vision and Change 2011)

Develop assessment(s) designed to be administered at multiple points in the biology curriculum, and integrate

across the curriculum

Bio-MAPS Assessments (Biology-Measuring Achievement and Progress in Science)

Smith, Knight, Crowe, Freeman Brownell, Couch5 institutions

NSF TUES II

List of Biology CIs

http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/CRMSE/files/Concept_Inventories_in_Biology_20110325.pdf

Thank you!

AcknowledgementsBrian CouchMichelle SmithSara BrownellAlison CroweScott FreemanBill WoodMy family (pictured)