Learning Upside Down:

1. Learning Upside Down: Mark Burris Director of Scholarly Technology and Resources (STaR) Using CE6 Assessments and Grading Form Tools

2. Common Online Course Design Reading assignment(s) Discussion assignment(s) Module/Unit exam

3. Common Online Course Design • Discussion assignment (formative) • Low points • Participation • Module/Unit exam (summative) • High points • One attempt

4. Common Online Course Design • Problem: • High point exams inadvertently emphasized lower end of Bloom’s taxonomy at module conclusion • Summative exam failed to promote mastery of terms and concepts early in the learning process • Summative exam failed to scaffold higher order learning processes • Discussion postings did not demonstrate the desired learning outcome

5. Upside Down Online Course Design • Solution: Invert the process • Module/Unit exam (formative) • Low points • Multiple (unlimited) attempts • Large database • Discussion assignment (summative) • High points • Detailed grading rubric

6. Upside Down Course Design • Exam and Reading Assignments (formative) • Low points on lower end of Bloom’s taxonomy establishes proper learning emphasis • Large database reduces memorization effects • Exam reinforces reading; reading reinforces exam • Multiple (unlimited) attempts promotes mastery learning outcomes • Multiple (unlimited) attempts scaffolds higher order learning exercises (discussions)

7. Upside Down Course Design • Discussion assignment (summative) • High points on higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy establishes proper learning emphasis • Detailed grading rubric communicates high expectations and scaffolds quality discussions • Students learn to use terms and concepts correctly in meaningful academic conversations • Collaborative learning results from applying concepts to real-world problems/experiences

8. Upside Down Course Design • Student response: • Poor first assignment outcomes • Vocal outcry against rubric and instructor • Kuebler-Ross Grief Stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance • Better second assignment outcomes • Better yet subsequent assignment outcomes • Meaningful academic conversations • Expressed enjoyment of the learning process

9. Upside Down Course Design • Problem: • Student expectations must be reformulated • Multiple attempts on exams requires large question database and thoughtful settings • Discussions are not easy to grade! • That’s a lot of discussion grading! • That’s a lot of discussion grading!!!!!

10. Upside Down Course Design • Solution: Bb’s Grading Form Tool • Customizable Learning Rubric(s) • Available to students on each assignment prior to submission • Provides standard and customized feedback • Easy to grade and automatically updates to the Bb Grade Book tool • Feedback available to students as a button on their MyGrades tool

11. Step #1: Create a Grading Form

12. Step #1: Create a Grading Form

13. Step #1: Create a Grading Form

14. Step #2: Grade Discussions

15. Step #2: Grade Discussions

16. Step #2: Grade Discussions

17. Step #2: Grade Discussions Recommendation: Open two windows, one for your course and one for a file containing commonly used feedback comments.

18. Step #2: Grade Discussions

19. Step #2: Grade Discussions

20. Step #3: Student Feedback

21. Step #3: Student Feedback

22. Learning Upside Down Wrap-up • Bb’s Grading Form tool benefits: • Ease of grading encourages instructors to use more discussions and collaborative learning • Rubrics scaffold student learning process throughout the learning exercise • Student feedback communicates high expectations and customized instructions • Courses are easily redesigned to promote interaction between low and higher order learning

23. Learning Upside Down Wrap-up • Questions? • Contact Information: Mark Burris Director of Scholarly Technology and Resources (STaR) University of Arkansas at Little Rock mfburris@ualr.edu 501.683.7440