Student want to know and need to know where they stand in class in relationship to the material covered. They want to know how they doing and what they need to work on to improved. Evaluation provide the instructor opportunities to inform the student as to where they stand and help the instructor guide the students in the direction they need to go to improve.
Mary,
It's true, even though we are evaluating students, sometimes the scores can be a reflection or indication of the teachers ability to convey needed information. But mainly, we need to determine to what degree did learning occur.
Barry Westling
To find out where they need the most help and maybe add to my lecture based on the need of the class
I evalaute students just to makesure thier learning the material i teach
Paul,
These are good reasons. I think students desire to hear what their instructor has to say about their performance since we are the ones giving the assignments and issuing the grades. Also, this gives us an oppotunity to offer encouagement, show support, give advice, and listen to what students have to say. This helps build stronger student/teacher relationships as well.
Barry Westling
1. To see how the students are performing individual and as a class.
2. Helps in determining if the material you are presenting is being learned by the students.
3. Helps to reinforces course standards and objectives.
Eduard,
Great. These modules do share a lot of different ideas, some catch on others don't but they are always worth reading for the benefit of teacher improvement.
Barry Westling
Thanks for the discussion notes I got many good ideas for solving the problem of evaluation
Kevin,
Any sort of evaluation definitely requires objectivity. Getting students to repeat recall-level questions is one thing. But, as you suggest, getting students to formulate rational conclusion (critical thinking) is somethong different. This takes an environment that encourages exploration, little penalty for guessing, application, and a of course, a solid theorectical foundation. Lot's of activities that can be introduced to the class to get to these desired results.
Barry Westling
Hi Barry,
Without evaluating our students we have no objective way to ascertain whether the material we are giving to them is truly being understood. Students can learn and repeat “buzz" words that they have heard us use in class to describe certain processes, and when called upon can sometimes logically take what we are lecturing on and derive the right answer, but is this just a question of a “blind squirrel finding a nut†or is the student actually able to think outside the box and demonstrate critical thinking to come up with a viable solution to the question?
Without formal evaluations which measure the student against a set standard there is no tangible way to know if in fact a particular student is struggling with the material, or perhaps all students are struggling? Evaluations tell both the student and I how the “communication†is going during the education process. Does the student need to seek tutoring, or better study skill methods to grasp the material, or am I just not delivering the material in a way that students are able to grasp. By gathering this feedback either the students or I can make changes in order to make this a more successful experience for both of us.
Edward,
If we could just sit and chat with a student and determine, "yeah, they got it it", or "wow, they really missed the point here", that'd be just as satisfactory as some formalized examination. Unfortunately due to time limitations, questions of objectivity and fairness, and our educational system's legal formalities, assessing learning by questioning seems not to be favored much these days. But it could. Much of clinical instruction in medicine still occurs this way. So I'd say, if it works for physicians, it out to work in other areas (end of Barry's rant!).
Barry Westling
Without evaluation there is no way to determine the quality of the product. With a broad spectrum of evaluation the students ability is challenged and his responses can be evaluated. Based on the evaluation, his ability can be determined, measured and reported.
Yes true. I was thinking more of the long term and not what was going on now. Of course the students at hand are first and foremost.
Dennis,
Student success is partly related to knowledge of current performance. This should not be an optional activity.
Barry Westling
without the evaluation of students, they do not know how they are doing. Also, it will not tell you how your teaching method is working. Evaluating the evaluation of the students will make you a better teacher and that will help the students out.
William,
Great. If we could just ask questions and contemplate the answers, that would be OK. But we need to be objective and fair, so we need to formalize our assessments. But I think the basic point is the same: to what degree did our student learn (or not learn) the needed material.
Barry Westling
I very much appreciate the 4 reasons given in this module for evaluating students. It helped me to refocus on why we give quizzes/exams/homework, etc. I can sometimes get hung up on the administrative importance and miss the "it lets you know what your students do and do not know about the area being studied." Also appreciate the information as to how important the assessment is in the their being able to demonstrate content mastery.
anthony,
Sure. Students need advice and information about their performance from their instructor. They look to us for the pathway to successfulness in the course. So we need to be there frequently to share both course performance and also offer support, encourage, and convey we care about their success.
Barry Westling
The number one reason for evaluating students is for them to know how they are doing as they advance toward the end of a course.
Hi Eleftherios,
This is a terrific idea and shows effort to maximise the students learning experience. Students should appreciate what you are doing, and probably as a result will build improved trust and perhaps, respect.
Barry Westling
