Blending Assessments for
Optimizing Learning
Patricia McGee
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 License.
To view a copy of this license,
visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/
1
Agenda
•
•
•
•
•
•
Feedback
Placing Assessment
Authentic Blended Assessments
Rubrics for Assessment
Assessment Techniques in the Classroom
Aligning Strategy with Map
2
Feedback
3
Student reported tech preferences
The Student View of Blended Learning
4
Learning cycle
Receive
information
Assess
Process/practice
Apply
Self-assess
5
1. Lecturecast
Confirmatio
n of Learning
Practice
5.
Present/tes
t
Active
Learning
Most
important
tool for
students
4. Complete
Assignment
–complete
rubric
2.
Discussion Homework
Metacognition
3. Plan w/
rubric
6
Example: Distributed Feedback
• Podcast
• Text
• Video
Introduce
Interact
• Chat
• Discussion
• Office Hours
Demonstrate
• Technology
• Peer Critique
• Report
• Present
• Document
• Produce
Practice
7
Activity: Where’s your feedback?
Classroom?
• Written?
• Oral?
• Peer?
Online?
• Synchronous?
• Asynchronous?
In Between?
• Just-in-time?
• Just-in-need?
8
Overview Overview
Placing Assessment
9
•
•
•
•
One to many
Just in time assessment
Immediacy
Focus on methods
•
•
•
•
One to one
Just in need assessment
Ambiguity
Focus on strategies
10
Where, what and how
• Institutional policy
• Most assessments
occur online
– Exceptions: proctored
exams
– Classroom exams
(typically include
performance)
Online typically…
– Low stake
– Reinforce content
learning
– Serve as a bridge
11
Starting with Objectives
• Formative: 1-2
objectives
• Summative: multiple
objectives
• Practice vs. assessment
(ex)
• Classroom, online,
independent levels of
Bloom’s
From http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom's+Digital+Taxonomy
12
Formal
Informal
Quizzes
Homework
Tests
Classroom
Assessment
Projects
SelfAssessment
Presentations
13
What is your approach?
Learnercentered
SelfMonitored
Instructordirected
14
Learner-centered: Open Wiki Exam
• Questions, based on the week's topic, are
devised by the students—not the lecturer.
• During the first six weeks of the semester, 10
students are required to post one question
each week on the wiki in response to the
lectures
• Approximately 60 questions resulted, from
which the final questions for the exam were
selected.
From http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=103-1
15
Self-Monitored (Hyflex)
Self-paced
Benchmarks
Assignment/Quizzes
Final exam
Pre-test
Instructor as Consultant
Completed
Assignments/Quizzes/Projects
Team-based
Final Exam
16
Discussion: Assessment
• What are highest priorities for assessment?
• What are greatest concerns?
• Write on index card and exchange with other
group.
17
http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/Feedback_Grading/learning.html
AUTHENTIC BLENDED ASSESSMENT
18
Authentic Assessments
Characteristics
Situated Cognition
• Typically performancebased
• Embedded tasks that are
similar to those performed
by professionals as they do
their jobs
• Usually associated with
inquiry, hands-on and
performance-based
activities
• Measure both knowledge
and ability
19
Goals of Situated Cognition
• Allow learner to
apply knowledge to
day-to-day situations
• Retrieve knowledge
when needed
• Brings together
individual and
environment
Brown, Collins, Duguid
20
https://sites.google.com/site/conceptlearninginstruction/
21
Examples of “authentic assessments”?
• Model building
• Measurement taking
• Narrative/Investigating
reporting
• Lab reporting
• Debates
• Documentation
• Portfolios
• Science
notebook/journals
• Demonstrations
• Simulations
• Other???
http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/
22
Informal Example: Week Overview
23
Sample Map
Informal
24
Sample Map
Informal
25
Sample Map
Informal
26
Activity
Consider strategies for assessment:
– Your approach?
– Location?
– Frequency?
– Feedback to learner?
Challenge: How can you turn an objective assessment
into an authentic assessment using the advantage of
blended?
27
RUBRICS FOR ASSESSMENT
28
Rubrics
http://wiki.bssd.org/images_up/d/d0/BSSD_Presentation_Rubric.png
29
Rubric Evaluation Checklist
• Does it assess what you think it assesses?
• Does it really reflect what the students
were actually doing?
• Is it fair and is it doable?
• Does it heavily assess prior knowledge?
• Do the students know about it ahead of
time? (first day of unit?)
30
Development Steps
1. Identify: excepted and exemplary category
2. Describe the worst acceptable product using
these characteristics: lowest category of what
you are assessing (e.g., critical thinking,
writing, process, participation)
3. Identify the characteristics/behavior of what
you are assessing (e.g., presenting, problemsolving)
4. Decide what kind of scales you will use to
score the rubric (e.g. numerical, qualitative, or
numerical-qualitative)
31
Then…
5.Develop descriptions of intermediate-level
products and assign them to intermediate
categories:
– 1-5: unacceptable, marginal, acceptable, good,
outstanding
– 1-5: novice, competent, exemplary
– Other meaningful set
6.Test it out with colleagues or students by
applying it to some products or behaviors and
revise as needed to eliminate ambiguities
32
Rubric Tips
• Consider developing a rubric with
students in class
• Use examples to share with
students, so they can begin to
understand what excellent, good,
and poor work looks like
• Have students grade sample
products using a rubric to help
them understand how they are
applied
• In a peer-review process, have
students apply the rubric to each
other’s work before submitting it
for official grading
• Provide rubric to students when
assignment is given
33
ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES IN THE
CLASSROOM : BLENDED?
34
Applications in the class…
• High stakes
• Clarify
– Online quizzes/tests
– Muddy points
• Control context
– Security
– Academic integrity
• Expand options
–
–
–
–
Performance
Peer assessment
Timing
Tools/materials (e.g., lab)
35
Classroom Assessment Techniques
Quick snapshots of learner’s progress
Informal
Ungraded
Low threat and no risk
Inform instructor about student learning
Inform learner about learning progress
From Classroom Assessment Techniques
36
CAT: Chain Notes
Description
What do to with the data
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.
Time Required
Prep: Low
In class: Low
Analysis: Low
√ Survey/poll: online
√ Envelope: class
Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm
37
CAT: One Minute Paper
Description
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.
What do to with the data
Review responses and
note any useful
comments. During the
next class periods
emphasize the issues
illuminated by your
students' comments.
Time Required
Prep: Low
In class: Low
Analysis: Low
Google Forms: online
Discussion: class/online
Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm
38
CAT: Memory Matrix
Description
What do to with the
data
Students fill in cells of a twodimensional 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).
Time Required
Prep: Med
In class: Med
Analysis: Med
 Concept Map: class/online
 Clickers: class
 Google Spreadsheet: online
Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm
39
CAT: Prior Knowledge
Description
What do to with the
data
Probe for background
knowledge with short,
simple questionnaires
prepared by instructors for
use at the beginning of a
course or at the start of new
units or topics; can serve as
a pretest
Summarize and
present to class or
have students use for
goal setting. Used to
determine what to
review or focus on in
course.
Time Required
Prep: Low
In class: Low
Analysis: Low
Survey/Polls: class/online
Clickers: class
Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm
40
CAT: Empty Outlines
Description
In a limited amount of time
students complete an empty
or partially completed outline
of an in-class presentation or
homework assignment.
What do to with the
data
Time Required
Analyze to identify gaps Prep: Low
or misconceptions
In class: Low
Have students identify Analysis: Low
or correct errors
Shared Notetaking:
class/online
Concept Mapping;
class/online
Bubblus™ Mind42™
Mindomo™ Wordle™
Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm
41
Self-Assessment & Reflection
• Relates to accountability
• Provides a mirror of progress to student
• Instills satisfaction and supports goalachievement
• EXAMPLE: Electronic Personal Development
Planning ePDP as a strategy increases learner’s
awareness of themselves
University of Wolverhampton
42
ALIGNING ACTIVITY WITH MAP
43
Activity: Where is feedback & assessment?
Part 1
Part 2
Consider: When, where, how?
• Communicating progress
• Communicating
achievement
• Self-reflection
• Acknowledgement
• Accountability
• Go to wiki
• Click on Assessment
Scavenger Hunt (Google
Doc)
• Optional – share tech you
use for assessment and add
to doc
44
Take-Aways
• Have you built in feedback and assessment
points?
• Where and how does formal and informal
assessment provide information to the learner?
• Does assessment reflect all modes:F2F, online,
blended?
• In what ways are students provide
opportunities to reflect upon their learning?
45
Patricia McGee, PhD
Patricia.mcgee@utsa.edu
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 License. To view a copy
of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/
46