Hi John- Thanks for your post to the forum. You are using some creative assessments for your students. Great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I have used several methods for assessment. I have used students to write test questions. I have had students present weekly materials by having them pick a subject in the weekly reading to discuss in front of the class as an oral presentation and finally I have used oral presentations along with a PowerPoint presentation for a final exam. I find these methods enhance student learning and curiosity. I use a grading rubric developed by the instructors. The students get to see the rubric ahead of time so they know grading expectations.
It really depends on the class. In my math classes I use straightforward skill demonstrations--solve the equation type of questions. But I can put in a few mini-fill in the blank ones ("for 5/g-3,what can g not equal"--answer is 3 as they should know you can't divide by 0). In the statistics classes I give descriptive problems that require the application of formulas--notes are allowed but they must know which formulas to use, and how, so these are really skills tests. I use multiple choice, matching, and short essays in the basic earth science class just to make sure they understand the concepts and terms. So one size does not fit all.
dissection demo
dissection ID
T/F
Multiple Choice
Matching
Fill in the Blank
Short Essay (1 paragraph)
Label the picture
Hi Robert - Bravo and thanks for an excellent description of how and when to utilize the various assessment types! Best wishes for continued sucess in your teaching career. Susan
What are some of the assessment methods you have used with good success?
All of them.
I usually like to use true and false question in areas that are supportive of the main subject.
I like to use matching answers to question when the subject is more memorization; vocabulary, terms, dates and that sort of things.
I like to use multiple choices but I usually include commonly mistaken answers in the choices so the student cannot just take their best guess.
For subjects that require full comprehension, I will use short answer questions.
Mostly I use skills assessment tests using a rubrics.
As mentioned in this module, I do not like to give the choices ofâ€all of the aboveâ€, or such answers as “A & Bâ€. I believe they show a lack of preparation on the test maker’s part
a non graded short quiz given to students and follow up on their apprehensive of the material.
Hi Sean - Thanks for your post to the forum. Your
use of case studies is excellent and definitely requires your students to use critical thinking which, as you note, will be required in their future careers. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
One assessment method that is of particular value in the courses that I teach is the case study method. I assign a case and provide instructuions for students on the required elements of their deliverable, which is usually a 5-10 page paper and presentation that includes their analysis and recommendations. There are many tools that I teach them beforehand, that they then utilize in their analysis. They then are required to provide and support 3-5 recommendations to solve a particular problem(s) that are revealed through the analysis. I think this mirrors real-world problem solving techniques they will utilize later in their careers.
I have had students write questions, which they usually find challenging. I also have students test each other which they usually make the test so hard that no one would ever pass.
Hi Jill- Thanks for your post to the forum. Your assessments of your Literature students are quite comprehensive - great work! Do you give your students access to the grading rubrics when they get the assignments? Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I teach a literature course. I use short quizzes to help determine if students have done the reading assignment. I have found that students are more likely to do the reading if they know they will have to take a quiz. I also use journal assignments, or a type of essay, when students have to respond and evaluate the selection. Finally, students have a research project that they must complete, and we have a rubric that is used to assess the grading. The grading rubric helps assess specific criteria and helps to avoid too much subjectivity.
multiple choice test, true and false questions, practoca; dempnstration of skills, Essays and presentations with a Rubric outline of expectation
I have used multiple choice, matching and true/false on the same tests as well as independent of each other. I find that true/false does tend to confuse students and even those with knowledge of the answer get them wrong, so I limit their number. My preference is multiple choice which works well for me for the reasons stated in this course.
Hi Charles - Thanks for your post to the forum. You are using a very comprehensive system of assessment. Great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I use a varity of methods in my daily assessments and try to change them up everyday on different individuals.
The success is the student knowing without a doubt how to communicate their knowledge in a form that demonstrate successful understanding.
I have found no one method to be a solution to communicate to a group! The combination of presenting information in a balance way for effective assessment must include the different learning styles such as; Personal communication, Performance assessment, Extended written response, Selected response and short answer. Each one has the outcome result to assess the student progress and knowledge base. My succes has been to focus the student into understanding their strength to communicate and areas of differences to work on for a better foundation.
Hi Jennifer- Thanks for your post to the forum. You are really making some excellent choices in your assessments- great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
When I construct a test I try to include a variety of question types: Multiple choice, true/false, matching, and a few short answer questions. This allows me to test their recall of information as well as how they apply their knowledge. I also like to include senerio type questions in the form of multiple choice. This allows the students to see how the information they are studying will actually be applied in their field of practice.
