Hi Kevin - thanks for your post to the forum and for sharing some good ideas for alternative assessments. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
There are many paths an instructor can use to assess students' progress such as: Q&A sessions, "jeopardy" type scenario, etc. Choose one that best fits your particular class.
I have to asses our students throught skills assesment for the objectives that are performed in the lab. through these assesments i am able to identify the students understanding of the procedure, the supplies required, the setup, the case specific if available.the preparedness of the student. also i am able assess the level of his or her needs for improvement before he or she goes out on externship. this documents are loged and shared with the student for feed back and skill development.
Hi Christal - Thanks for your post to the forum. I really like that you give your students the opportunity to demonstrate their competency through modes that fit them best! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Using an essay type assignment but allowing the use of any type method to deliver such as PowerPoint, Movies, interviews, or writing a song. All of these allow the students to express themselves.
Hi Ellen - Thanks for your post to the forum. i think that if we make the research really relevant to students' interests, they can really get excited about them! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Nancy- Thanks for your post to the forum. For courses that are skill based, I agree that practical/application assessments are a must! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I am interested to see what other instructors use as alternative to objective tests. In my field students must learn a combination of "book material" and hands-on material. I always feel as is the true measure of the hands-on work should not be from an objective test. I have given practical exams in the past, in which the students must perform what they have learned but I am always looking for new ways to evaluate this.
As a librarian, I'm an advocate of research papers for assessment. I think they could be utilized as an assessment tool much more. Students apply a level of critical thinking when collecting, analyzing and synthesizing data which creates a product that can assessing student's learning. I'm actually interested in doing some research regarding library research and assessment.
Hi James- Creating effective rubrics is a challenge buts gets easier with practice. Susan
While I find objective tests useful, I think subjective tests can show more of a students understanding. The difficulty is establishing a ruberic that makes grading uniform, and covers the major issues. I have been working on this skill and plan to introduce more within the programs I teach.
Some other ways of assessing students besides objective tests are through writting, demostrating, explaining, or constructing a project or an experiment of some sort. These are all ways in which I feel that as an instructor he or she is able to assess students besides objective tests.
assessing students on course reading asignments, group work and giving an oral report will reach a broader range of learning styles
I do not tolerate any things like "copying someone's work", which is nice way to describe "cheating". I make absolutely clear to my students on the very first class that we will follow the Code of Academic Integrity to the letter. My students know very well that they will be much better off by failing a test than being caught in "copying"...
Hi Jeff - Thanks for your post to the forum. Your strategy of having students work through the process of failed products is indeed a great learning opportunity. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I use a variety of assessment methods depending on the class content. I am currently instructing courses in Psychology & Sociology and find that class discussion is helpfeul in assessing their level of understanding. I also ask them to write short essays about the subject matter.
If the final product did not come out as expected, I like to have the student recite their step by step process to see where they went wrong, instead of me telling them where they went wrong.
Sometimes I'll give them what-if scenarios and ask them to problem solve on their feet. It's really difficult to teach critical thinking skills and this helps me better assess where they stand.
HI Shelly- Thanks for your post to the forum. Although it must take time to do individual skills assessments, it certainly must give you a clear picture of how your students are doing. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
