Hi Margie:
Well, what an unexpected compliment.
Good teaching really uses just basic ideas and common sense. But it's work, no matter how you cut it.And theat work will pay off dividends in current student learning and future worker satisfaction and success!
Regards, Barry
Hey Barry -
Your criteria are the litmus test of evaluation methods. It is difficult to answer some of these questions without a little trial and error. Certainly, collaborating with other instructors streamlines that process. I always check in with students to see if they feel that tests are a fair measure of what we've covered AND to see if they felt the evaluation method gave them a good opportunity to demonstrate their learning.
Best Wishes,
Margie
Hi Margie:
Wll, you've provided somethig that apprenhtly works well for you and youyr particular class topc.
In general, the question teachers need to ask about evaluation methods is:
1. Are they fair?
2. Do they measure the degree of learning a student has achieved?
3. Are they aligned with the course objectives and student learning outcomes.
4. Will the students feel they have been assessed well?
The more we can come closer to these attributes the better our evaluations will be.
Regards, Barry
Hi Diego:
The question teacher has to ask is "do my assessments and test measure the learning the student has achieved?" For skill-oriented classes, that an easier question to answer, more difficult for academic classs.
Regards, Barry
Hi Mo:
For me, the key is to match the kind of learning to the type of assessment (such as your Q&A for testing verbal expression). Balancing these differnt component is also a big factor. Too much weight in one area that has little to do with the actual career or is disproportionate to the rest of the learning is really not fair, and the teacher and student are denied a trure measure of their performance.
Regards Barry
I want to be sure students: are grasping the basic terminology and concepts; understand how they apply to real life situations; are able to work with the material in applying and synthesizing what they are learning; and are motivated to be punctual, present and engaged.
* 10 point chapter quizzes before each chapter discussion are a motivator for students to come to class prepared for the discussion and gives them and me a clear indication of what they didn't "get" in the chapter. The quizzes focus on the terminology and basic concepts of the chapter.
* Chapter assignments have point values based on how much time/work I would expect a student to put into the assignment. They range from 10-25 points. Not every chapter has an assignment, so this component has about the same weight as their quizzes. Chapter assignments focus on identifying concepts in real life situations.
* Essays/Papers are 100 point assignments and there are usually 2 or 3 spread out through the term. That means they have about the same weight as the quizzes and assignments combined. These are opportunities for students to work with and synthesize information from the class pulling concepts from multiple chapters and demonstrating their understanding of how the material all comes together.
* The Midterm and Final are essay questions that are worth less than 20% of the over all grade. They give the student an opportunity to discuss what they have learned and how it applies to their experience.
* Participation points are based on class discussion. Basically, if a student is there and participates, they get the points. They are worth less than 10% of the student grade and are there to encourage attendance and contribution to the discussion. They are not enough to make or break the student, but if a student is really close to the next grade level, it could be the boost they need.
I teach a practical class; I have a weekly homework assignment and daily quick topic review; I have a few clinical studies and a final case study report which contain all the class’s subjects of the class; all of these evaluation are describe in the class syllabus.
I teach Culinary Arts so practicals are typical. We also use short quizzes to find out if they are retaining information. I like the combination but since they want to be chefs one day and manage others I also add a verbal response segment during preparation time. We start with a general Q & A and then I canvas individuals during prep time, especially those to shy to speak up in Q&A.
Hi Maria:
You've described your class set-up well.
When selecting evaluation methods or processes, I think a key question to ask, whatever method is used, is will it measure the learning that should have occured up to that point? And since many students learn differently and at diiferent speeds, this can be a challenge for some classes if we want to be really accurate and fair.
No absolute rules here, just the the point careful consideration should be planned, more than just using the "same-old, same-old".
Regards, Barry
In the written format I use assignments, quizes, tests, and projects. Projects include a presentation to the class in the which different aspect are evaluated for a total project grade. Additionally, verbal quizes to assess retention of information and finally a written final exam.
Hi David:
You've oulined your system very nicely. Thank you for sharing.
The challenge of two teachers is interesting. Interrater reliabilty (the degree to which two or more teachers will arrive at the same grade would be an interesting survey. You could compose one using a likert scale, based on a rating of 1-5. Yo might want to look into this methodolog since you are practicing it based on school policy. You might be surprised what you'd find.
Regards, Barry
Hi Shelly:
Great. Variety does good for for students in a number of ways. For instance, students will test better under one type of test better than another. Another benefit, is it helps students study or do assignments in different ways, which stimulates learning better. The more variety that the students are exposed to, I think the better they'll perform. And as you say, if we can tailor it for the individual student, that's a great help.
Have you ever tried this? As I'm discussing a topic, I'll stop every 5-10 minutes and ask a student to summarize the past bit of information. What happens is:
* Students hear the information a second time
* I can correct or clarify immediately
* Students anticipate they'll be called on so they pay attention
* When students verbalize, they tend to retain more information
Just something you might find useful I thought I'd add to the forum.
Regards, Barry
Most of my classes involve 2 instructors, 2 rosters. By teaching with other instructors, I have been able to see the different ways people approach the subject of evaluation approach.
The first thing is to make sure the other instructor and I are on the same page. If not, then I will most likely be defending my grading system to students because my students most definately talk to the other students. The two of us instructors must be consistent with eachother.
Otherwise, my school dictates the percentage spread for each category of grading and is prescribed in the syllabus that each instructor shares. After that, it is my decision how many points each assignment can be worth.
The easiest thing for me is to base their daily grade out of 100% for performance and 100% for work habits, separately, then average them at the end of the week.
Each weekly graded is averaged again at the end of the term and applied to the percentage each category is worth.
Quizzes get a weekly grade with an average at the end of the term and ,again, applied to the alloted percentage for that category.
For homework assigments I use the cummalitive points systen. If there are 12 assignments and a students does 11. 11 divided by 12 is aabout 91% or 92%, which might only give the student 9.2 points toward their final grade because of the weight this particular category holds.
Just like we are encouraged to use a variety of media (power point, models, audio-visual) to present material & a variety of senses (sight, hearing, touch) for information processing, I try to use a variety of evaluation methods. I collect student homework which requires them to read & write. I do demonstrations (sight, hearing, smell, touch & taste), that the students are then required to duplicate. I circulate amoung the students while they are in production & give feed back. I give written tests & practical tests. I try to cover a variety of ways to present material for whatever method is comfortable for the student & base my tests & practicals on what the student will need when they enter the industry.
Hi Thomas:
Ultimately, we need to demonstrate that students have learned the material. How that's assessed is as varied as there are topics. My criteria would be that it has to be fair, applicable to all, performed roughly at the same time, uniform in construction, and assess only material that has been covered or assigned (we can't expect students to be mindreaders). If all these criteria are met, then it's only up to the teachers imgination as to best assess learning.
Regards, Barry
I try to use a balanced mix of methods in which all students can be successful. This would include within tests different types of questions, and among evaluations, different channels of communication. Write it, show it, and so on if at all possible, including group efforts. Students are individuals, and like in the workplace, talent will be assessed in many different ways. So I try to duplicate some of that.
Hi Rachel:
Well, this is quite a laundry list of evaluation categories. I think many of these most instructors probably use to some extent. The one area that some may or may not assess an actual grade would be in professionalism. Although this is extremely important, some institutions don't allow these "soft skills" to be included in the grade.
Personally, I feel they are quite worthwhile and I put a lot of importance on them. And my institution allows up to 10% of a course grade (can be less) to be weighted on professional development. But this kind of policy varies by institution.
Regards, Barry
Based on several categories:
Professionalism: includes class participation, attendance, following of schools policies more specifically for dress code
Tests
Quizzes
Homework assignments
Speech/Paper or other creative methods for students on a per module basis ( i use a rubrix)
clinical competencies (step by step check lists)
Final exams (written and practicals)
percentages change per module depending on where the topic focuses are. final exams always bear the heaviest weights as they are a final assessment of the students overall knowledge of the modules instruction.
Hi Scott:
Course diffuculty really does make a difference in the type of assessments a teacher gives. We need students that are critical thinkers, and the only way I know how to teach and perfect that skill is through practice, trial and error, and positive reinforcement when students err. Being patient, and instilling confidence seems to encourage students to be willing to "step out" of their comfort zone and take risks with assessments.
Regards, Barry
It is based on content complexity/difficulty and the application of that content. Lower level classes may have multiple choice and short answer tests only. Higher level classes (especially in the sciences) need short answer and even essay exams in order for the instructor to get a clear picture of the students understanding. Classes with more "application" may use a practium of some kind for evaluation. In the "real/professional world" when someone asks you a question they dont give you four answers to choose from, so why train/teach your students think/respond that way?
