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 Nolan:
Great, I follow a similar pattern. We use electronic grading (electronic everything!) but still, I believe students benefit from the human touch. So although graded information is almost instantaneously available it shouldn't be a substitute for face to face time with each student. This also helps build trust, conveys support, and strengthens relationsips.
Regards, Barry
Hi Henry:
If we are teaching, we need to document and assess "did learning occur?". Also students want feedback about their progress. We can convey our care and offer encouragement if take time to discuss student progress.
Regards, Barry
Hi William:
As teachers, we naturally need to know to what degree the students did (or did not) learn from our instruction. Testing and assessment of learning therefore are necessary ingredients of this process. I think it's important to recognize the myriad of methods available to the contemporay teacher to assess performance, knowledge, and understanding of course material.
Regards, Barry
Hi Lori:
For me, I need to check for understanding frequent - I might even say continuously - in order to be assured all students are getting the information they need. I don't want to have to wait a day or two for a quiz or find out on an examination that many students missed important chuncks of information.
Regards, Barry
The reasons for evaluating students is two fold. Firstly, you are getting a feel for what the student has learned and if the student can effectively apply the knowledge learned. Secondly, you are getting an understanding of how effective your teaching methods have been.
Evaluating students is important to see how the student is progressing in the program.
Evaluating students on a regular basis helps me as well as the students. It allows me to know if I am using the correct methods and whether the students are grasping the concepts that I am presenting. The material at times is very in depth and lengthy.
Evaluations on a frequent basis with feedback either the same day or next class time helps the students know what they need to restudy or study harder on. This is important in my classes because evry lecture builds on the last one. It also promotes motivation in the students.
Assessment tools can range from tests and quizzes to observation and evaluation. As to when, I feel everything hinges on the instructional content and the students because the content may have milestones built in.
Hi William:
I believe assessing students all along the way, even mutiple times within a single lesson, gives me on running evaluation of where the students are. If they got, I move on. If they more, I give it. It's really as simple as that. Of course, I must comply with institutional grading instruments and policies, but my point has to do with when and how to assess.
Regards, Barry
Some in the field of education feel that the summative evaluation is the best indicator as success in teaching. However, I believe that the formative evaluation is just as or more important. I use a series of open ended questions designed at gauging the level of transfer with my students. As we proceed through each block of instruction, it allows me the flexibility of customizing my lesson plans to the their level. I believe in evaluation for another reason. I t also allows the student to know where they stand at any given moment in time.
Hi Paul:
Good point on reflection. For me, we evaluate to determine to what degree students learned. In some ways, we should already know that answer, if we've conducted an active, spirited class session all along where we're receiving continuous feedback from the students regarding their understanding.
Regards, Barry
After evaluating all students in one particular class, you can also reflect on the group performance to gauge your skill level as in instructor.
Hi Rene:
Good point. Test to the lesson material (which should be tied to the course objectives).
Regards, Barry
Hi Carolyn:
You're right. More basicically, we need to evaluate to determine to what degree the student has learned or mastered the material. How we go about that will vary, and there can barriers. Also, I think as we mostly teach adults, nobody likes to be told what to do or that they are wrong. I don't mean that we speak that blunt but I do believe this is a true factor when evaluating adults.
Regards, Barry
We evaluate students so the student and the instructor will have an idea how the student is progressing, but I do not believe that written evaluations are always accurate. There are several items that come into play with written evaluations; such as panic, lanuage barriors, missunderstanding the wording or not knowing the meaning of some words that are used to ask the questions.
Hi Quebec:
Evaluation and assessment are as important as instruction and application. Continuous improvemt for both student and teacher are greatly enhanced when there is an active assessment process in place in the classroom.
Students appreciate evaluations (even if they don't always care for the message) because they want to know where they stand in a given course.
Regards, Barry
Evaluating students is important for both the instructor and student. With evaluation tools, instructors can determine if their instructional delivery of the material is effective or if they need to improve on their techniques. As for the student, it helps them see how they are doing in that particular course. Students who are driven and push for excellence appreciate an instructor who takes the time to inform them of their academic progression in the course. Evaluation tools also help to target students who are struggling and require additional assistance in the course.
One can only test effectivitely if the exams are valid, reliable, and relevent to the course content. Another important factor has to do with testing at a level that is consistent with the depth of the material during the course.
The use of multiple/various evaluation methods will allow the student to learn how they are doing in each distinctive area that translates to a similar area in the work world.
