Summary
| Subject keyword(s) | Assessment of students, Astronomy, Cognitive gains, Education, Education (General), Educational theory and practice, Evaluation data analysis, Evaluation data collection, Evaluation data reporting, General evaluation information, Space Science, Space sciences |
|---|---|
| Grade level | Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Higher Education, Vocational/Professional Development Education |
| Intended audience | Educator |
| Resource type | Assessment Materials, Instructional Material, Reference Material |
| Resource format | text, text/html |
| Rights | Copyright 1996-2003. Published by James Rhem and Associates, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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Classroom Assessment Techniques Subscribe to NTLF Library Reference Materials What is classroom assessment? Classroom assessment is both a teaching approach and a set of techniques. The approach is that the more you know about what and how students are learning, the better you can plan learning activities to structure your teaching. The techniques are mostly simple, non-graded, anonymous, in-class activities that give both you and your students useful feedback on the teaching-learning process. How is classroom assessment different? Classroom assessment differs from tests and other forms of student assessment in that it is aimed at course improvement, rather than at assigning grades. The primary goal is to better understand your students' learning and so to improve your teaching. How do I use Classroom Assessment Techniques? Decide what you want to learn from a classroom assessment. Choose a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) that provides this feedback, is consistent with your teaching style, and can be easily implemented in your class. Explain the purpose of the activity to students, then conduct it. After class, review the results and decide what changes, if any, to make. Let your students know what you learned from the CAT and how you will use this information. Why should I use CATs? For faculty, more frequent use of CATs can: Provide short-term feedback about the day-to-day learning and teaching process at a time when it is still possible to make mid-course corrections. Provide useful information about student learning with a much lower investment of time compared to tests, papers, and other traditional means of learning assessment. Help to foster good rapport with students and increase the efficacy of teaching and learning. Encourage the view that teaching is a formative process that evolves over time with feedback. For students, more frequent use of CATs can: Help them become better monitors of their own learning. Help break down feelings of anonymity, especially in larger courses. Point out the need to alter study skills. Provide concrete evidence that the instructor cares about learning. Selected CATs for getting feedback on student learning and response to teaching[1] Name: Description: What to do with the data: Time required: Minute paper[2] During the last few minutes of the class period, ask students to answer on a half-sheet of paper: "What is the most important point you learned today?"; and, "What point remains least clear to you?". The purpose is to elicit data about students' comprehension of a particular class session. Review responses and note any useful comments. During the next class periods emphasize the issues illuminated by your students' comments. Prep: Low In class: Low Analysis: Low Chain Notes Students pass around an envelope on which the teacher has written one question about the class. When the envelope reaches a student he/she spends a moment to respond to the question and then places the response in the envelope. Go through the student responses and determine the best criteria for categorizing the data with the goal of detecting response patterns. Discussing the patterns of responses with students can lead to better teaching and learning. Prep: Low In class: Low Analysis: Low Memory matrix Students fill in cells of a two-dimensional diagram for which instructor has provided labels. For example, in a music course, labels might consist of periods (Baroque, Classical) by countries (Germany, France, Britain); students enter composers in cells to demonstrate their ability to remember and classify key concepts. Tally the numbers of correct and incorrect responses in each cell. Analyze differences both between and among the cells. Look for patterns among the incorrect responses and decide what might be the cause(s). Prep: Med In class: Med Analysis: Med Directed paraphrasing Ask students to write a laymans "translation" of something they have just learned -- geared to a specified individual or audience -- to assess their ability to comprehend and transfer concepts. Categorize student responses according to characteristics you feel are important. Analyze the responses both within and across categories, noting ways you could address student needs. Prep: Low In class: Med Analysis: Med One-sentence summary Students summarize knowledge of a topic by constructing a single sentence that answers the questions "Who does what to whom, when, where, how, and why?" The purpose is to require students to select only the defining features of an idea. Evaluate the quality of each summary quickly and holistically. Note whether students have identified the essential concepts of the class topic and their interrelationships. Share your observations with your students. Prep: Low In class: Med Analysis: Med Exam Evaluations Select a type of test that you are likely to give more than once or that has a significant impact on student performance. Create a few questions that evaluate the quality of the test. Add these questions to the exam or administer a separate, follow-up evaluation. Try to distinguish student comments that address the fairness of your grading from those that address the fairness of the test as an assessment instrument. Respond to the general ideas represented by student comments. Prep: Low In class: Low Analysis: Med Application cards After teaching about an important theory, principle, or procedure, ask students to write down at least one real-world application for what they have just learned to determine how well they can transfer their learning. Quickly read once through the applications and categorize them according to their quality. Pick out a broad range of examples and present them to the class. Prep: Low In class: Low Analysis: Med Student- generated test questions Allow students to write test questions and model answers for specified topics, in a format consistent with course exams. This will give students the opportunity to evaluate the course topics, reflect on what they understand, and what are good test items. Make a rough tally of the questions your students propose and the topics that they cover. Evaluate the questions and use the goods ones as prompts for discussion. You may also want to revise the questions and use them on the upcoming exam. Prep: Med In class: High Analysis: High (may be homework) [1] Details on these and others available from Angelo & Cross, Classroom Assessment techniques, 1993. [2] The Bureau of Evaluative Studies and Testing (BEST) can administer the Minute Paper electronically. Published Resources: Angelo, T.A. & Cross, P.K. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Davis, B.G. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [Home] [Site Map] [Search] [Subscribe] [About NTLF] [Current Issue] [Previous Issues] [Discussion Forum] [Special Features] [Library] [Sweepstakes] © Copyright 1996-2003. Published by James Rhem & Associates, LLC. (ISSN 1057-2880) All rights reserved worldwide. Web Weaving™ By InfoStreet, Inc.