Evidence of Student Learning

1. Evidence of Student Learning Effective Teaching and Learning Department

2. “Teaching without learning is just talking” “Learning can and often does take place without the benefit of teaching-and sometimes even in spite of it- but there is no such thing as effective teaching in the absence of learning.” - Angelo & Cross, 1988, p. 3

3. Objectives • Practice questioning techniques • Identify the role of formative and summative assessments in the classroom • Determine how to use the results from a formative assessment to change your teaching • Identify the purpose & placement of student self-assessment • Discuss assessment-frequency vs. timeliness and duration • Differentiate among assessment types • Begin a self-reflective journal

4. Small Group Discussions • What role do questions play in your class? • How much time do you spend preparing your questions for class? • When is the best time to ask questions of your class? • Be prepared to report on your answers.

5. Good Questions Should • Drive student learning • When a student is interested in a topic, he/she will ask questions • Lead to more questions, which stimulates critical thinking • Include a mix of question types and designs • Open and closed • Lower level to higher level

6. Bloom and Questions • Bloom’s Taxonomy was created in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom and other Educational Psychologists • Level I – Knowledge • Level II – Comprehension • Level III – Application • Level IV – Analysis • Level V – Synthesis • Level VI – Evaluation

7. Types of Questions • Closed • One in which there is a fixed or limited number of answers • Open • One in which there can be an unlimited number of answers • Most question types can be created at any level of Bloom’s Taxonomy

8. Question Practice Modeling • Level I – Knowledge • label, recall, list, tell • Level II – Comprehension • explain, paraphrase, restate, compare, contrast • Level III – Application • solve, build, model, utilize, construct, apply • Level IV – Analysis • categorize, classify, distinguish, test for, investigate • Level V – Synthesis • combine, role-play, hypothesize, design, invent • Level VI – Evaluation • compare and contrast, recommend, critique, relate

9. Activity • Use the worksheet provided by the facilitator and practice creating questions for your course. • Try to include multiple questions at every level for use in your course. • Identify with an O or C whether the question is an open or closed question. • Be prepared to share your best question with the group.

10. Question Pitfalls • Asking too many of the same type of questions • Not allowing enough wait time between the question and student response • Students need 20-30 seconds to process the question and formulate a response • Asking questions in the same format all the time • Vary between writing, small group, and oral responses

11. Assessment: Formative vs. Summative Formative • Performed before, during, and after the learning process to facilitate the development of student learning • Aimed at improving what and how our students learn • Not graded by the instructor as it is often anonymous Summative • Performed at the end of the learning process (chapter, unit, course) to assess the results of the entire learning process • Measured against a pre-determined standard • Graded

12. Formative Assessment • Also known as classroom assessment • Instructors know what students know before summative assessment process • Allows for corrective interventions • Students know what they know (or don’t know) before summative assessment • Facilitates self-monitoring of learning process • Enhances self-esteem and student self-efficacy • Increases student satisfaction and active learning • Promotes metacognition in students

13. Quick and Easy Assessments • Minute paper • Allows students to write what they know about a topic or concept in 1-2 minutes • Muddiest point • Gives students the chance to explain what don’t they know or what is still unclear • Empty Outline • Helps students recall facts from readings or lectures

14. Assessments of Critical Thinking • Pro and Con Grid • Provides both perspectives on the grid • Gives the student practice in critical thinking • Invented dialogue • Uses knowledge of the topic and writing skill • Invents a dialog between two figures in a realistic context • Concept map • Illustrates how items relate to one another from a central concept – relationships important

15. Now What? • Give yourself time to review the results privately. • Determine the next stepsfor the class. Should you • Review difficult material again? • Create an activity so that students can work on a difficult concept in a different way? • Move forward with new material? • Share the results with the class.

16. Student Self-Assessment • Different from instructor assessments • Not graded • Instructor created • Students can use these to set future learning goals • Can also see where they are deficient • Can also be used to aid in meta-cognitive skills • Helps make students responsible for their learning

17. Examples of Self-Assessment • Comparing work over time (portfolio) • Working with a team to create an evaluation for a final project • Creating a rubric for final evaluation • Answering questions about a project as it is handed in • Writing reflection papers • Learning log or learning journal • Learning contract

18. Activity • Use the handout provided by the facilitator • Design a student self-assessment that could be used in your class • NOT a review for a test • Answer the following questions: • What will it tell students about themselves? • What will it tell students about their thinking? • When will it be given in your course?

19. Summative Assessment • Measures student knowledge or skills against the pre-determined standard • Uses multiple methods for multiple learning styles • Tests • Demonstrations • Oral exams • Papers

20. Developing a Good Assessment • Determine an appropriate method • Demonstration, essay, oral, multiple choice • Create a “test blueprint” (Suskie, 2004) to ensure that you are testing to all important areas of the course or unit • Try to avoid using publisher test banks if possible • Take your time in developing the test questions

21. Testing, Testing… Multiple choice tests are often used because they are: • Fast to administer (especially if using a publisher’s test bank) • Easy to score • Pull data about many learning points in a short time frame Suskie, 2004

22. Multiple Choice Tests Rarely… • Check for real-world understanding • Most bosses will rarely, if ever, give a 4-part multiple-choice option when asking for an opinion or answer in a real-life situation • Measure critical thinking skills • Improve writing skill • Develop higher order thinking skills

23. Using Essay and Oral Exams • Essay tests take longer to grade but can be more comprehensive • Oral exams take longer to conduct but are faster to grade • No take home grading! • Can be conducted privately or in a group setting • Both are comprehensive tests of student knowledge • Both require student preparation • For the exam and student anxiety

24. Other Methods to Measure • There are other methods by which to measure student achievement • Portfolios of student work over a course • Role-play encompassing management techniques in a high-level course • It is important to match the Student Learning Outcome being measured to the skill or activity

25. Activity • Select a Student Learning Outcome from your course (as close as you can remember). • Review the Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel from St. Edward’s University and select a higher level outcome (Application-Evaluation). • Design a measurement for your course. • No tests or papers. • Be prepared to explain how your measurement fits your course to the group.

26. Assessing the Assessment • Review your assessments regularly • Important the first time you give a major test or assessment in a class • Regular review is also important to determine if an assessment is still useful • Teaching that goes into the assessment

27. Reflection • Reflection is important for both instructors and students • Student reflection can be built into assignments and courses • Instructor reflection needs to become a habit • At the end of professional development sessions • At the end of each class session • At the end of each course delivery

28. Course Journal • Your challenge for this quarter is to keep a course journal • Use your faculty guide or syllabus and keep detailed notes on: • What worked well each class session • What didn’t work • What will you change going forward the next time you teach this course • Bring this to the Phase III Reflecting session

29. Questions