Classroom Assessment
Techniques
Heartland Community College
IDC
CATs
 Describe an issue you had in class?
 What would you like to have known from
your students?
CATs
 What are they?
– Mechanisms by which instructors can obtain
useful feedback on what, how much and how
well their students are learning
 Adapted from Angelo and Cross, 1993
CATs
How do CATs compare to “Typical Testing?”
“Typical Testing”
“CATs”
Assess Achievement
Feedback for Learning
Evaluates Outcomes
Evaluates Process
Summative (one shot)
Formative (ongoing)
Not Anonymous
Anonymous
Longer/Involved
Quick and Easy
Graded
Not Graded
Adapted from Parkland College Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
CATs
Areas we can explore with CATs:
Background Knowledge
Content/Material
Process
Application
What have you learned?
What are you learning?
How are you learning?
How do you use it?
Barriers
Study Skills
Attitudes
What’s hindering you?
Do you have the tools?
What do you think?
Adapted from Parkland College Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
CATs
RESPOND
Adapt
PLAN
IMPLEMENT
Teach
Assess
Analyze
Adapted from Angelo and Cross, 1993 and Parkland College
CATs
Self Awareness:
SELF
Prestage Stage 1
Concern Not good
Content
Students
Can I?
Stage 2
Stage 3
Control
Partner
Imposed Primary Learning
Big Pix
????
Enemy
No
Clueless
Fix it
Analysis
Methods
Others?
Basic
Reflect
Choose
Comm.
Enough? Correct
Effects
Message
Evals.
Monkeys Partners
Adapted from Svinicki, Sullivan, Greer, and Diaz, 1991.
CATs
 Background
– Misconception/Preconception Check
 What % of US Population is African-American?
CATs
 Content
– One Sentence Summary
– Who Does What to Whom, When, Where, How
and Why? (WDWWWWHW)
 Relationship between the founders and slaves.
 Founders kept AA enslaved by not clearly addressing
it in the Constitution in order to forge a compromise
and pass the document.
CATs
 Content
– Pro/Con Grid
 What are the reasons pro and con for passing the
Constitution?
CATs
 Application
– Invented Dialogue
 Assume the role of an Anti-Federalist arguing against
the passage of the Constitution with James Madison.
CATs
 On and On and On……..
CATs
 References
– Angelo and Cross (1993). Classroom
Assessment Techniques, 2nd ed.
– Richlin, L. (1998). “Using CATs to Help New
Instructors Develop as Teachers”, New
Directions For Teaching and Learning.
– Parkland College Center for Excellence in
Teaching and Learning (2004) “Classroom
Assessment Techniques (CATs)” Workshop
CATs
 Sources
– http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/F
acDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/assess-1.htm
– http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/F
acDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/assess-2.htm
– http://www.assessment.ilstu.edu/cats/minute_pa
per.htm
CATs
 Sources (Continued)
– http://www.assessment.ilstu.edu/cats/muddiest_
point.htm
– http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/catmain.htm
l
– http://www.sinclair.edu/about/assessment/resou
rces/index.cfm