Assessment of Student Performance in Online Interaction

1. Assessment of Student Performancein Online Interaction Stephen Tschudi NFLRC Summer Institute 2008

2. Assessment of Student Performance What role does assessment play for each group in the exchange? Or for the project overall? To help the designers reflect on and improve the exchange itself (formative) e.g., poor performance might point to “bad” task design As data for research on the exchange looking ahead to next year’s Symposium…? As data for grading student achievement …but not for non-academic participants

3. Assessment of Student Performance What to assess? Data in the Café Student postings, on and off task Interview / reflective data How do they think they did? How well do they think the exchange worked? Consultation with your project partner What are your observations?

4. Assessment of Student Performance How to assess? Data in the Café Assign point values to tasks, design task rubrics Interview / reflective data Check your hypotheses about why students performed the way they did Consultation with your project partner Compare your assessments

5. Assessment of Student Performance Sample speaking task rubric – could adapt to online voice-enabled forum task? Task Completion 1 Minimal completion ofthe task and/or responses frequently inappropriate. 2 Partial completion ofthe task; responses mostly appropriate yet undeveloped. 3 Completion ofthe task; responses appropriate and adequately developed. 4 Superior completion ofthe task; responses appropriate and with elaboration. Comprehensibility 1 Responses barely comprehensible. 2 Responses mostly comprehensible, requiring interpretation on the part ofthe listener. 3 Responses comprehensible, requiring minimal interpretation on the part of the listener. 4 Responses readily comprehensible, requiring no interpretation on the part of the listener. Fluency 1 Speech halting and uneven with long pauses… etc. (find entire rubric doc in Upload Folio, Unit: Discussion Area, Type: Public)

6. Assessment of Student Performance What’s different about online assessment? CMC may require distinct forms of assessment Kol & Schcolnik (2008) cite a variety of options Make your rubric match your task goal It helps if you mention the goal in the instructions! Use “signs”and “markers”? Word counts, connectors – match to task and rubric

7. Bibliography Kol, S., & Schcolnik, M. (2008). Asynchronous forums in EAP: Assessment issues. Language Learning & Technology, 12(2), 49-70. http://llt.msu.edu/vol12num2/kolschcolnik/ Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

8. Aloha!