I use them to gauge participation in lab after we complete a group lab. I have certain evaluations that i administer that tell me who was a part of the group lab and who stood back and watched.
I believe that using CATs help break down each topic into smaller parts so the students can better absorb the information. As a Massage Therapy teacher it is the little things in a massage that will improve the massage. By using these assessment techniques i feel the students will grasp the information better and faster.
I agree. During lab the instructor has the opportunity to practice experiential education. As a lab assignment I have the students "role play" on how to assess a pathology or disease. The students than has to assess and apply the knowledge they have learned in lecture into lab. It prepares the students for a real life scenario and they well be prepared for externship and a career. It also gives me the opportunity to view how well the student knows the material and I am able to spend one on one time with the students who need it most compared to students who don’t.
One technique I have used is to divide the classroom into two groups and play a "Jeopardy" type game as a review prior to exams. The students enjoy the challange of group competition and it makes a review much more entertaining as well to hold their interest. This also allows me to identify any unanswered questions or areas which need clarification or expansion, to follow up with an explanation after the game.
I agree. I enjoy using CAT's as a way to engage my students in my lectures. Espesically, since I teach medical assisting. It is definately needed in that area.
CATs is an excellent way to gage student understanding. I like to give the student a minute paper at the end of class. I will tell the student to summarize everything then learned in that lecture or to write something that was an Aha moment for them where something came together for them they had been having difficulty comprehending. Most students are surprised at how much information they gained from one lecture.
as we utilize the CAT guideline..it gives the students the opportunity to give us instructors their honest opinion as we encourage them to a part of the team..
it also assist the instructors in grading the students fairly based on our observations and assessment..
I can use the Minute Paper to have students identify the most relevant or interesting points from class. It can also be used to pinpoint outstanding questions that students might have.
I already employ a version of punctuated lectures. When students look like they might be on a mental vacation, I ask them to write a relevant question about the material being covered.
CATS help us to see where the students are and what they are doing. We can give immediate feedback by responding to students' input.
Having students survey your teaching style is one way of getting student feedback about the material.
I will always give a practice open book quiz the day before a test. This reinforces the material and gives the students confidence in the knowledge that they have gained about the topics covered. It helps me to guage who has read the chapters and who hasn't. You can tell which students find the material to be familiar and which ones seemed stumped. Pop quizzes come in handy as well for guaging how the students are retaining knowledge from specific topics.
I find this technique very useful when teaching courses such as Accounting I. By asking students to "quiz themselves" on previous concepts that were covered in class, students become aware of areas in which they need to focus. I also discover areas in which I need to review or re-focus.
I use a series of relavent questions to the previously covered material in the firt 10 minutes of the next class meeting that gives me a way to assess what they learned in the previous day prior to moving into the new materials of the current day. I always include questions asking the student how this material ties in to the job functions they will have in their chosen profession, which makes it real to the student.
I feel that when you get the students working on projects in class it can really give you the assessment of how each person incorporates their knowledge of the information that they are given.
I can incorporate these techniques into my teaching periodically during my classes. Assessing the students' understanding of the material is very important to me. I need to make sure they can retain and use the information I give them and build on it in other courses or in life.
I can use them to gauge how well my students are learning the pertinent material and correct any misunderstandings.
I have never used CAT's before but found it interesting and a very good way to communicate with the class. It allows the class to express themselves without anyone knowing who they are and also gives the instructor some fed back on what is being digested and what needs help. I think that I will be adding this addition to my class to see what they are and where they are going and it will assist me in where to go from that point. I will be able to let the class know where they are and what we can do to improve matters or get better understanding. :)
CATs can serve as a real time indicator of any at large gaps in the day's lecture or activities. By example, you are teaching a math problem. The students appear to be comfortable with problem based on their white board work. At the end of class you give a one problem quiz and less than 50% of the students can set-up the problem. The reason is you changed the narrative in the end-of-day problem. This tells me they are fluid with the mechanics but are not grasping the concept or the importance of the end-metrics of this math problem. Time to re-load.
A non graded pop up quiz at he end of class non laboratory class and patient/medical assistant scenarios for lab classes help me to assess the understanding and short falls of my students.
Since we use a rotational program style where some of the students are more advanced in their studies applying a CAT helps the instructor style the instruction to the overall class knowledge
I personally like the use of instructor graded assessments in my classroom. Many times, assessments are electronically graded, allowing for minimal intervention from faculty; however, having short answer tests available, provides faculty the opportunity to fully assess, and understand, the knowledge base of their student population.
