EVALUATING YOUR STUDENTS
I like to give weekly quizzes just to see if the information that was presented that week was absorbed.
Hi Patricia:
What some instructors use for daily evaluation is writing out the expected outcomes from a lesson, then reviewing after the class period is nearly complete to make sure the students got it.
Regards, Barry
Hi Hannah:
Great technique and a touch of motivation!
Regards, Barry
Daily verbal quizzing/feedback without grading has been a tremendous indicator. Of course, I take note on my grade sheet who may need more attention. In addition, I allow for questions. We also do end of the week journals. These are for grading.
Barry, I think it's a great idea to do a verbal quiz of the class, requiring everyone to participate. Those students who feel embarassed because they did not study the material will likely try harder to make sure they are ready to answer the question correctly on the next time they are called upon. Plus, it will force the 'sleepers' to wake up and join the classroom activities.
Hi Natalie:
Weekly quizzes are probably grequent enough depending on how frequent your class meets and for how long.
Besides formal methods, just visiting with students can give a teacher an idea where a student is performing. Often, they'll volunteer how they're feeling.
Another method is to prepare review questions, ask a single student to answer, then ask the class for feedback. Every student has to participate by getting asked a question. This kind of participation also involves and engages students, which will contribute to better student outcomes.
Regards, Barry
weekly quizzes assist me in determining if my way of presenting material is getting accross to the students.
Hi LaTonya:
Weekly quizzes seems like a good frequency. If classes are meeting daily, then even more frequently may be in order.
Studies show students students retention begins to drop dramatically over the first 24 hours. So unless there is some activity that reinforces the pertinent content, or foirces reviewing, practice, and rehearsing, students are likely to suffer some memory loss.
Of course our goal is to transfer needed information from short term memory into longterm memory.
Regards, Barry
