Blending Assessments for Optimizing Learning

1. 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/

2. Agenda • Feedback • Placing Assessment • Authentic Blended Assessments • Rubrics for Assessment • Assessment Techniques in the Classroom • Aligning Strategy with Map

3. Feedback

4. Student reported tech preferences The Student View of Blended Learning

5. Learning cycle

6. Most important tool for students Confirmation of Learning Practice Meta-cognition Active Learning

7. Example: Distributed Feedback

8. Activity: Where’s your feedback?

9. Overview Overview Placing Assessment

10. One to many • Just in time assessment • Immediacy • Focus on methods • One to one • Just in need assessment • Ambiguity • Focus on strategies

11. 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

12. 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

13. Are these different for blended?

14. What is your approach?

15. 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

16. Self-Monitored (Hyflex) Instructor as Consultant

17. Discussion: Assessment • What are highest priorities for assessment? • What are greatest concerns? • Write on index card and exchange with other group.

18. http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/Feedback_Grading/learning.htmlhttp://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/Feedback_Grading/learning.html Authentic Blended Assessment

19. Authentic Assessments Characteristics Situated Cognition • Typically performance-based • 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 • Measurebothknowledgeand ability

20. 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

21. https://sites.google.com/site/conceptlearninginstruction/

22. 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/

23. Informal Example: Week Overview

24. Sample Map Informal

25. Sample Map Informal

26. Sample Map Informal

27. 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?

28. Rubrics for assessment

29. Rubrics http://wiki.bssd.org/images_up/d/d0/BSSD_Presentation_Rubric.png

30. 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?)

31. Development Steps • Identify: excepted and exemplary category • Describe the worst acceptable product using these characteristics: lowest category of what you are assessing (e.g., critical thinking, writing, process, participation) • Identify the characteristics/behavior of what you are assessing (e.g., presenting, problem-solving) • Decide what kind of scales you will use to score the rubric (e.g. numerical, qualitative, or numerical-qualitative)

32. 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

33. 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

34. assessment techniques in the Classroom : Blended?

35. 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)

36. 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

37. CAT: Chain Notes Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm

38. CAT: One Minute Paper Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm

39. CAT: Memory Matrix Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm

40. CAT: Prior Knowledge Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm

41. CAT: Empty Outlines Taken verbatim from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm

42. Self-Assessment & Reflection • Relates to accountability • Provides a mirror of progress to student • Instills satisfaction and supports goal-achievement • EXAMPLE: Electronic Personal Development Planning ePDP as a strategy increases learner’s awareness of themselves University of Wolverhampton

43. Aligning activity with map

44. Activity: Where is feedback & assessment? Part 1 Part 2 Go to wiki Click on Assessment Scavenger Hunt (Google Doc) Optional – share tech you use for assessment and add to doc Consider: When, where, how? • Communicating progress • Communicating achievement • Self-reflection • Acknowledgement • Accountability

45. 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?

46. 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/