Bettina Brockerhoff-Macdonald, M.A.
Senior Program Manager
&
Moira Morrison, M.A. ODE
Instructional Designer
Centre for Continuing Education
May 28, 2015
Please note that permission has been granted by the student authors/artists whose work appears
in this slideshow to use the material for educational purposes. If you would like to share the
presentation with colleagues we ask that you do so on an individual basis rather than posting in
open forums…….Thanks!
Institutional Overview
• Online/DE is administered by the Centre for Continuing
Education within a tricultural and bilingual mandate
• Over 400 credit courses (English and French) in
inventory, supporting 15 undergraduate degree
programs
• 2014FW total number of course registrations was 7789
• Faculty of Management administers their own online
programming and have just launched new BBA and
MBA programs
Why are we looking at evaluation schemes?
Are our current evaluation scheme practices really
inclusive of differing teaching and learning styles and
cultural sensitivities?
How can we provide assignment
options for students without
overwhelming faculty?
Are students and faculty satisfied
with the assignments they have now?
What have we tried so far?
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Including different types of assignments
Adding more creative options
Giving students options to submit in different multimedia formats
Assessments currently range from the mundane…..
Write a 1200 word essay on one of the two
topics listed below. Essay must be typed,
double-spaced, 12-point font. Use at least 8
references, and cite everything using APA.
You will be marked on spelling, grammar and
content.
a) The Rise of the Roman Empire
b) The Fall of the Roman Empire
to the inspiring…
Assignment 1: Creative Project for ISWK 2006EL 12
“Indigenous Social Welfare Issues”, Susan Manitowabi
Submit a creative project that captures your feelings and reactions to some of the
issues that are explored throughout this course. Often times, this is the first time that you have been exposed to
what has happened in residential schools or become aware of the impacts of various policies and legislation on the
lives of Aboriginal peoples. This can be a very eye-opening experience for some of you.
You are asked to explore
an issue that has impacted you in some way and that
has some meaning for you. For example, you might hear some stories about what people have
endured while attending residential school and how they have been able to or not able to deal with this experience
in their lives. Another example could be about the feelings and reactions to finding out about the impact of the
Indian Act on the lives of Aboriginal peoples.
Once you have chosen a specific topic area, you are asked to put together a creative project which can be in the
form of a piece of art (painting, sculpture, song, music, collage, etc.), a display, a videotape, storytelling (book), etc.
The possibilities are endless and are only hindered by a lack of imagination.
This creative project must be accompanied by an audiotape or written
clearly explains how this creative project reflects the feelings and reactions to the subject.
explanation
that
Addiction
Karry Anne Daye
Lynn Desjardins
Stolen Children – The Journey of Hope
Patricia Longo
Ashley Lynn Trent
Visiting the Past/Healing the Future
Poem
Today I got a haircut
I should have told you
I didn’t know
I was so proud
I felt so pretty
I should have asked
I didn’t know
I
I
I
I
cut it short
added colour
didn’t know
didn’t know
I came home you turned away
Grandma why?
I didn’t know
You sat me down
You told me stories
While you stared upon our floor
When I knew my heart was shattered
I didn’t feel pretty anymore
I know now why your hair is long and grey
braided to your knees
I know why the tears are streaming down your face
Grandma forgive me please
I know why you always pile my plate
with food for two or three
I know why you always squeeze me tight
and say that you love me
I know why you keep the heat up high
Why your bodies always sore
They burned you, beat you, starved you
I don’t feel pretty anymore
I didn’t know you haven’t cut your hair
since you left that dreadful place
I didn’t know you loved my hair so much
Until I saw it in your face
You shared your pain your story
your naked and your raw
And now I feel the pain and weight
of things I never saw
Today I got a haircut
I didn’t know
I didn’t know
I was so proud
I felt so pretty
I should have asked
I didn’t know
I cut it short
I added colour
I didn’t know
I didn’t know
Each strand that fell from my head
Held a memory for you
now neither of us feels pretty
I’m sorry Grandma
I never knew
Anonymous
Teaching and Keeping
Aboriginal Culture Alive
Sarah Culin
Children’s Activity
Book
April Raftis
Poster on
Residential Schools
Hailey Lunn
Allysha King-Huggett
Birch Bark Book
Colleen Moreau
Laureen
Pizzale
Encourage imagination….
SOCI 2087 EL 12 “Crime and Punishment II: Police, Courts, Prisons and
Rehabilitation”:
Robert (Hobb) Beckett Course Developer and Supervisor
describing multiple generations
of a fictional family whose primary occupation has been
policing. Your essay should start in Great Britain (including Ireland) in the first half of the
Write a minimum six page (1500 word) essay
1800s and describe this family’s relationship to policing over the next 200 years as the profession is
taken up by each generation. At some point in your narrative the family should
to Canada.
immigrate
…The strict code of discipline along with the duties they had to uphold
caused more angst between them and their family back home. The duties set
before them included forcible seizure of tithes also know as taxes from
agrarian poor, and they were to protect the bailiffs whom were executing
warrants and evicting tenants for unpaid debts. Both of these duties made
the Kirkland men uncomfortable because they too were from a poor family
indebted to their landlords. They constantly faced violent interactions with the
Irish agrarian poor and had to be on constant alert for terrorist acts from the
Ribbonmen….
Heather Chapman
Before I started the assignment I was very intimidated…After writing the
essay I felt like I had a greater understanding of the course work than I would
have if we were given a more specific topic.
In 1837, Robert Jones was approached by a friend of his father’s, a sergeant of
the Metropolitan Police in Britain, to join the force and become a constable.
Robert was a single, twenty-three year old man, who had been working in a local
factory, but didn’t enjoy his job. He was 5’10” tall, physically fit, and a good
character, which made him an ideal candidate for the job. He happily accepted
the position of police constable and began his duties by lighting streetlights,
regulating traffic, watching for unsafe buildings and looking for missing persons.
Beckett, Module 1.1 page 13
In his crisp blue uniform, shiny boots, buckles and badge, Robert was drilled in
military style acts on a regular basis reshaping him into the image of a neutral,
objective, machine like figure. Beckett, Module 2.1 page 2
Judith Bothwright
…my initial reaction to finding out I was going to have to write an essay was
being terrified…then excited to begin creating. I feel that the experience
helped me connect and synthesize the course content better…
…As a member for the Winnipeg Police Association, George had to decide if he
wanted to be part of the revolution in solidarity with his co-workers, or to retain his
position on the police force. He decided to remain in solidarity much like the vast
majority of his coworkers, with a total of 22 officers who signed the oath, while
252 were dismissed from their position. To regain a police force with the absence
of unions, the British government passed legislation that declared all police
officers who were part of a workers union be subject to immediate dismissal. In
contrast, they doubled the wages of officers to entice new recruits…
Maria Bouffard
I enjoyed this assignment because it granted me the opportunity to use the
names of my ancestors as the main characters in the story. Although they were
not in the policing career, it told a similar story of their voyage to Canada from
England.
Creative Digital Options…
Term Project for MUSC 1021 EL 12 & MUSC 1022 EL 12
“Music Appreciation”
You will create a term project (slide
show, video, etc., using
Tumblr, WordPress, Slideshare, Prezi, YouTube, or
another presentation platform of your choice) on one of the
suggested topics (see below).
Your project should involve work and research equivalent to a 2000-word
essay.
The term project will be submitted and graded in two stages…
What the literature says…
Assessment is “a process by which educators use students’ responses to
specially created or naturally occurring stimuli in order to make inference
about student knowledge, skills or affective status.” (Popham, 2005)
“Since the core content of each discipline cluster is different, so, too, should
the e-learning solutions and instructional design be different...Each discipline
cluster has different type of content, with different pedagogical content
knowledge that interacts with the e-learning modality” (Smith et al, 2008)
The Issue…
How best to accommodate differing learning styles and
differing teaching styles in online course assessments
What do students and faculty think?
Our Action Plan…ask…
• Students in courses in completely online courses in the
2014F, 2015W and 2015FW academic sessions
• Faculty members supervising the online courses in the
2014F, 2015W and 2015FW academic sessions
The survey was sent to students and faculty after final grades
were posted – January 2015 and May 2015.
Student Questionnaire Results
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Was the amount of work equivalent to an on-campus course?
Same
13
More
7
Less
1
Did assessments match your learning style/preference and allow you to
demonstrate/express your learning in an appropriate way?
Yes
15
No
7
Did the assessments fairly evaluate the skills and knowledge you had
acquired?
Yes
14
No
8
Faculty Questionnaire Responses
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Was the amount of work equivalent to an on-campus course?
Same
7
More
3
Less
0
Did the assessments match your teaching style?
Yes
10
No
4
Did the assessments fairly evaluate the skills and knowledge your students
had acquired?
Yes
7
No
5
What we discovered…
Students’ responses
 Students all have different ideas of a fair and effective evaluation scheme some want many, smaller assignments to keep them engaged, some want
more substantial assignments that require them to immerse themselves in
research.
 Some want to utilize digital media and social networking, some want to
write in traditional forms.
“Options for assignments being able to apply ourselves differently online,
someone may be more comfortable doing a specific assignment and another
may understand the content but may not be able to properly apply themselves
in the accepted assessment.”
Faculty responses
 There is more work in an online course because of the time needed to
monitor the course website on a regular basis. Marking Discussion
forum postings takes up disproportionate amount of time.
 Assessment with a “blend of developmental, narrative and testing” was
fair and effective because it allowed different types of students to
express themselves
 Important to use team approach and update as new knowledge and
experience is acquired
Question arising out of survey….
If everyone needs something different from the
assessments, can we provide a choice which will
provide some ownership and flexibility?
A proposed response to identified need…..
Proposed Flexible Weighting
Student-Centred, Inclusive Evaluation
● Create interesting, thoughtful assignments which demonstrate
learning outcomes and encourage students to become immersed in
the course content. Use 2 to 4 different assessment types.
● Provide careful, comprehensive instructions for each assignment
using a rubric if possible.
● Decide on value for final exam. Assign weighting that you think is
most appropriate for each assignment in incremental steps.
● If an element is essential or the main focus of the course, it can be
locked into its weighting.
Proposed Flexible Weighting...
● Assuming 4 assignments, decide how many can be flexed (2, 3, or
4).
● With submission of first assignment, students have the option to
change the weighting of their assignments.
● Course Supervisor will mark all assignments using the same grading
scheme. The mark achieved will then be given the weighting
requested by the student.
● Marks can be exported to excel spreadsheet sheet and at the same
time any flexible weighting requests can be entered in order to
calculate grades.
Assessment Elements (default scheme)
Discussion Forum postings
10%
2 tests
15%
Creative Project
20%
Essay
25%
Final Exam
30%
Student 1
2
Course resources
Textbook, videos,
websites, audio
etc.
3
1
4
DF
Postings
10%
Course
Supervisor
2 Tests
20%
6
Creative
Project
5
25%
Essay
15%
Final Exam
30%
Student 2
1
2
Course resources
Textbook, videos,
websites, audio
etc.
3
7
2
4
6
Course
Supervisor
DF
Postings
25%
2 Tests
15%
5
Creative
Project
10%
Essay
20%
Final Exam
30%
Potential Benefits
For Students…
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provides choice about how they will be evaluated
alleviates stress over difficult elements
encourages them to learn about their individual learning preferences
and to use them to their advantage
removes stigma attached to accommodation for learning preferences
For Course Supervisors/Faculty…
 Marking schemes/rubrics can remain the same to ensure consistency in
evaluation
 Only addition to faculty workload would be in initial creation of different
types of assessments and entering the flexible weighting
Pilot project proposed for September…
Questions for you? We need your feedback!!
 Have you done anything similar at your institution? What were the
results?
 Can you foresee any issues arising from this approach? For students?
For faculty?
 If a student made the wrong choice, could they go back to the default
marking scheme at the discretion of the course supervisor?
 Would this work for you - as a student? as a faculty member?
Thank you!!!
Moira Morrison
mmorrison@laurentian.ca
Bettina Brockerhoff-Macdonald
bbrockerhoff@laurentian.ca