Classroom Assessment Techniques Online Workshop

In this two-week asynchronous online workshop, UCAT and participants explored formative assessment. Often times instructors may believe that they course is going well but how do you actually tell? How can we use assessment to gauge student learning during a class?

This workshop took place on a U.OSU platform and involved 4 discussion sessions. Discussion questions and topics included:

1. Introduction

How do you currently evaluate students’ learning progress in your class?

2. Classroom assessment techniques – also known as CATs

CATs = activities that help instructors obtain immediate feedback on what and how students are learning in their courses.

  • formative
  • regular basis
  • ungraded
  • anonymous

Examples of CATs discussed in the workshop include; One Minute Paper, Misconception/Preconception Check, Student Generated Test Questions, Documented Problem Solutions 

Participants shared if they had implemented any of these techniques in their courses before and what their experiences with them were.

3. Benefits

Using CATs in the classroom has benefits for both instructors and students:

Instructor benefits:

  • can obtain useful information about student learning with a much lower investment of time than other means of assessment (test, papers, etc).
  • can use the information obtained about day-to-day learning & teaching to make mid-course corrections, as needed
  • get a more consistent and thorough sense of student engagement with the course material and the instructor
  • help foster a good rapport with students, by giving them a voice in the learning process, encouraging the view that teaching is a formative process that can evolve over time with feedback

Student benefits:

  • give them opportunities to assess their own learning and become better monitors of their own learning
  • help them to feel less anonymous, especially in large classes
  • can point out the need for them to modify their study strategies
  • provide evidence that the instructor cares about their learning

Participants answered: Which of the benefits of using CATs do you find to be most relevant for yourself and for your students?  Please elaborate on your response.

4. Steps and Timing

  1. Plan: Figure out what you want to assess and then choose the appropriate CAT (there are 50 described in Angelo & Cross’s book). Choose the day, set aside the appropriate amount of class time for students to complete it, and make sure you have any materials that you need (e.g. blank note cards for a minute paper).  If you are new to CATs, you might choose one of the easier ones that only take a few minutes.
  2. Implement: explain to your students that you are using a CAT, explain your intended purpose for the CAT, and explain the procedure so that your students understand what to do. Collect responses and make time to review the results – ideally prior to the next class period.
  3. Respond: After you have reviewed the results, it is important to explain to students what you learned and how you will use the information. Reviewing the results shows students that you are using the information that they give you to help them learn the material and to improve the course.

Participants responded to: How often do you think you might use CATs in your course(s)?  And when in the course would you choose to use them? What is a reasonable balance between formative and summative assessment in an undergraduate class? How should this balance be altered depending on the nature of the course? What are the expectations of students in terms of both and how should these expectations be addressed?How can we know whether it is worth devoting part of the class to an assessment technique, especially in courses with a lot of material to cover? How can we recognize when excessive assessment takes place and what are the dangers of it?

Ohio Master Gardener Urban Farm Tour

I participated in the 2017 Ohio Master Gardener Volunteer Conference on September 29th through Ohio State Extension. Several garden and farm tours took place across Columbus during the day. The Big Lots Tour took participants to some of the most productive and progressive urban farms in the city. There were several different business models and approaches to urban farming and food system development that were explored during the tour. We also explored community garden projects within Columbus. We visited Over the Fence Urban Farm, Peace Love and Freedom Urban Farm, Clarfield Farm, had lunch at Franklin Park Conservatory, Franklinton Gardens, Highland Youth Garden and Big Lots Garden. Each farm or garden had a unique story and model that they followed. It was both inspiring and informative to see how these organization and individuals managed the land and resources.

Responding to Student Writing

I attended the Responding to Student Writing workshop presented by UCAT on September 26th. This workshop was designed to assist instructors in responding to and evaluating various forms of student writing. Staff from Writing Across the Curriculum facilitated exercises in which participants reviewed feedback that was provided by instructors on a student assignment. By reviewing these sample essays, I gained skills in evaluating both student writing and my review skills. We analyzed both positive and poor techniques to providing feedback and discussed goals for student learning.

Presentation Slides: Responding to Student Writing

Sample Essays: Workshop Sample Essays