Christina,
That is great that you use the discussion board in that manner. I think it is genus to utilize Blooms Taxonomy in that way.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Deborah,
You make a great point. One of the important aspects of evaluation is the feedback. You have to provide it in a timely manner. The number of students you have in a class does make a difference.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Avis,
You make a great point. Students need to understand what is expected of them on an exam. Good post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Deborah,
I prefer using more essay type questions as it seems to promote acdemic integrity. Good post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Joseph,
I like them also. I also think it helps with the integrity of the test taking.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
James,
You are right! It is important to develop a rubric to create a framework of fair grading.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Kimberly,
You make great points. Checking for APA is objective. There are finite ways to format a paper.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Alfred,
Nice post. I do think for some grading; the grading itself is more complex when it comes to assignment. When I grade writing, I am looking objectively regarding grammar and structure. The organization of concepts may be more subjective.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Alfred,
Great post. The rubric does provide a more objective framework for grading.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Cecil,
No but I do us SMS rules for writing economically. Using 140 characters make student think about the words they use to get their point across.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Cecil,
What a great post. You make a great point regarding your subject matter.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kimberly,
I think you are right. Many times, it takes both types of evaluations to give a complete pictures.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I only utilize subjective evaluations at the online institution where I teach to align with the policies set forth by the school. Students submit weekly individual projects and participate on the discussion board. All of the assignments are adopted from real word scenarios and are accompanied by rubrics so that students have the opportunity to see how their work will be evaluated.
I have used both types of evaluation. I primarily teach math. The subject matter lends itself to multiple choice assessments. The students prefer multiple choice. There is something so reassuring about seeing the answer that you got as one of the choices. (I just finished several graduate math classes on-line. Trust me: I know the feeling well.)
But I also design projects instead of tests for the students. The projects make the students apply the math concepts that we have learned. This includes open-ended questions. For example, after I teach the statistics unit on normal distributions, I have the students calculate all the necessary data and have them explain if I should "grade of the curve." They have to preform the calculations correctly, interpret their results and show that they understand what a normal distribution is all about. I believe this is a far better form of evaluation than asking the students to solve arbitrary questions.
I have used objective evaluations to assess students understanding of the concepts covered during online lectures. For example, using one of the collaborative tools, I prompt students to respond to different questions (true/false, multiple choice) about the concepts and topics covered during the discussion. It helps me to determine if the students are grasping the information conveyed. Next, subjective assessments are used in the class to measure the students understanding and application of the concepts covered at different intervals of the class. For example, students are challenged to use critical thinking skills when answering open-ended questions about the concepts and topics. The students are prompted to address the theoretical aspect of the concepts as well as demonstrate his/her understanding and knowledge on how the concepts/topics apply in a real world setting.
For True / False we give the page where the question – answer is from, so the student can look up the answer for him/herself.
We also use forum discussions with a grading rubric that is included in the syllabus. I find even with the rubric students don’t always follow it.
I have used objective in quizzes, tests which are usually multiple choice. Subjective evaluations are used in discussions in which students discuss their opinion of a certain topic.
The class is designed to use subjective evaluation in the forum of essays and forum discussion postings.
As I teach an online course that is set by the University, my selection is limited to the University's design. In all the course there is a subjective assessment made up of essays on various topics each week which asscesses whether the student has understood the weekly content in such a way as to be able to analyze and explain them. There is also a discussion section which requires students to research, analyze and explain other topics each week. Both of these are subjective assessments. In other schools that I have taught I have used essays and exams with short answers for a subjective assessment. the exam short answers are set up as problem solving in which a problem has been submitted and the student must find the solution to it such as a crime scene is provided to the student and they must determine what laws have been violated. Exams also contain multiple choice questions for factual information in an objective assessment.
The hallmark of online courses is the participation and development of thought by students on the discussion board. The discussion board is my favorite place in the class. It allows me to directly interact with my students and engage in philosophical contemplation. Moreover, it allows me to utilize Bloom's Taxonomy and truly challenge my students to apply and create their own ideas.
The development of my students' discussions provides both an objective and subjective evaluation format. It is objective in the respect that if they post, they get credit. The subjective is that I can critique the development of their learning throughout the module and even guide them on how to improve.
