Hi Elizabeth,
Good point. We've got to know our student population and their needs if an evaluation system is going to be accurate and effective.
Barry Westling
As a parent of a child with Attention Deficit Syndrome secondary to hyperactivity I have observed that teacher evaluation and assigning a grade could be improved. These are exceptionally intelligent people, but have been forced to feel inferior due to lack of certain skill sets.
I follow the school's policy.
Hi Zeina,
These are good and traditional methods. There are other ways as well. I guess the question a teacher has to ask is "do the methods I use measure student learning?". If yes, then we're all set. If the only provide grades, learning may not be occuring, and an assessment of the grading system may be needed.
Barry Westling
I normally evaluate students on their attendance, performance, in class participation, and tests scores.
Hi Jesse:
That's a great way to keep in touch with the students. One question - do you find there is time to meet the student outside of class time? Do you require the meeting, or leave it optional?
Regards, Barry
Hi Marlena,
I think rubrics are great because they offer an objectivity and both teacher and student understand the grading criteria from the outset of the course. What is available from the textbook publisher is good if it works in a given class - sometimes they don't. Teacher made rubrics are sometimes better because they are specific to the class being taught by the teacher who will be doing the grading.
Barry Westling
There are many resources with your textbook company that can help you to decide the method of evaluation. Often times a ruebric is available for lab classes to help evaluate students. This is a great way to show student compentency in a skill area.
Hi Mahnaz,
I think all evaluation tools need to be tied back to the daily subject topics and student learning objectives. If we are teaching something that is linked to these, the primary focus of the course and the degree to which the student did (or did not) learn can be evaluated.
Barry Westling
Most of the course content in my class is being delivered through lectures and PowerPoint presentations. Accordingly, I use 3 exams plus a final exam (cumulative). Since research is a part of my class, students are required to write a research paper on specific topis and present their findings to the class using powerpoint presentation. Their delviery method is evaluated as well.
Absolutely agree. I just believe that it is easier to spit back information but tougher to apply.
Dr. Richard,
I think however we decide on the various methods that exist to assess students, the guiding principle is obviously measuring "to what degree did the student learn (or not learn) the required information". Projects do allow for individuality and perhaps a bit more creativity. In the end, if essential information is not learned and retained by the student, we haven't helped as much as we might have.
Barry Westling
When selecting evaluation methods, I am also conscious of these methods creating experiences and skills. For example, although I am not a big fan of multiple choice tests, in criminal justice, most, if not all, civil service examinations are multiple choice design. Along with assessing a student's acquisition of memory for facts and information,cognitive ability to draw conclusions and make decisions, I am preparing students with test taking strategies and providing them experience in taking multiple choice tests.
Acknowledging that students have different strengths and weaknesses, writing deficiencies, test anxieties, etc., I have found that multiple assessment methodologies such as assigning authentic and realistic tasks to demonstrate mastery of subject matter are important. In this case, I am a huge proponent of projects and portfolios. Characteristics of portfolios include objectives that are determined jointly between the student and me, the focus is on student products as evidence of progress abd student portfolios coatin a definition of course objectives, student explanations of objectives, and evaluative comments by the student and me.
Hi Olmarys,
You're right in both assertions. All I would add is perhaps, assuring a student is job ready.
Barry Westling
You're right, we are being "evaluated" all the time in one way or another.
Academically, our society demands that some sort of objective measure that provides for standardized testing practices is in place to prevent lawsuits that could claim discrinimation or unfair practices. That's too bad, but it's a reality.
For me, the basic reason for evaluations is to determine to what degree a student has learned. I suppose a secondary reason would be to measure my successfulness in teaching, or measure the effectiveness of the curriculum, ass all of these occur when we do assessments.
Miriam,
Teachers in this situation still have two areas of control: Designing tests that measure learning (emphasis on essay and/or worked problems) and clear and specific guidelines for day of testing.
Regards, Barry
The course I teach was preset and so my evaluations are based on attendance and test scores.
Hi Ken:
These sound like great ideas. Others like to try a similar technique - ask a question to the whole group, then ask a random student what they think is the answer.
The key is asking a "random" student for this idea to be effective.
Regards, Barry
Hi Christopher:
Are you suggesting this would be an alternative to traditional testing models?
Regards, Barry
Hi Donald:
Interesting. Whatever way class is conducted, for me it seems the learning the student achieves is the main focus. Grades and evaluation systems are merely a method to objectively record and document progress. But as long as learning results, the evaluation system can be unique, and varied. It's not about points, it's about knowledge obtained.
Regards, Barry
