Assessment should enable students to demonstrate capacities relative to the learning objectives. Learning objectives are typically effects and competencies we seek to instill in our learners using the course content as the tool. The facts and figures matter greatly. Students cannot demonstrate higher-order thinking before they remember and understand the material to be manipulated. The effects and competencies may be broad and demonstrable in several different types of assessments. When thinking about types of assessments to include in your course, always start by clarifying your learning objectives.
Feedback is integral in helping students understand their shortcomings and gauge their understanding and skill level. By being conscious about when and what feedback you offer, you can greatly enhance the learning experience. Watch this video to learn more about what constitutes effective feedback and how you can use it as a powerful teaching tool.
We should not assess what we do not teach. The verbs that lead your learning objectives will be measurable outcomes. Not everything we teach is measurable, but that which we hold the students accountable for should be. How we mark the assessments, the grading process is a challenging aspect of being an educator. Approaching student work with rigor, compassion, and consistency makes for impactful learning.
The NYU Remote Instruction Support Website, Remote Assessment Methods, and Practices covers in detail technology tools that can help you assess student learning.
One thing to keep in mind when crafting online assessment and discussion prompts is to be as clear and specific as possible.
These tips from Writing Better Questions for Online Assessment can help you with writing better questions for your online assessment.
You can also seek guidance from the Writing Center to craft impactful assignment prompts.
Source: Writing Better Questions for Online Assessment. fas-edtech-group@nyu.edu
A rubric is an assessment tool that lays out specific components and performance expectations for an assignment. It clearly indicates achievement criteria across all the components of any kind of student work, from written to oral to visual, and can be used for marking assignments, class participation, or overall grades. Rubrics can ease anxiety about the grading process for both faculty and students as they help stay focused and consistent on expectations. Creating rubrics does require a substantial time investment upfront, but this process will result in reduced time spent grading or explaining assignment criteria down the road.
When crafting assessment descriptions, and discussion prompts you want to be as clear as possible.
Source: Dartmouth College, Writing Center
There is not a simple answer to whether quizzes are good or bad. However, quizzing has proven to hold many benefits, and using innovative quiz design can help overcome quiz-related concerns.
Cognitive psychology research documents the positive effects of repeated testing on improved academic performance as well as both short-term and long-term retention (Brame & Biel, 2015; Smith & Karpicke 2014). This testing effect is further enhanced by feedback on low-confident correct answers and incorrect answers and can solidify students' understanding of concepts (Butler & Roediger, 2008; Butler et al., 2008). The main advantage of regular quizzes is that they provide ongoing opportunities for retrieval practice.
There are concerns regarding repeated testing, including increased test anxiety, reliance on low-level thinking where the right answer is memorized, and the punitive aspect of quizzing. These, however, can be addressed by innovative quiz design. Some ideas include:
Assessment is an important part of teaching and learning where we determine whether students have succeeded in reaching the course’s learning objectives. This video will explore some alternative assessments that you can use in your classroom.
More ideas can be found in this special report: Designing Better Quizzes: Ideas for Rethinking Your Quiz Practices by Faculty Focus.