Anna,
Nice! This is such an interesting strategy of assessment. You are assessing the group as a community. Interesting. . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Anthony,
I love this! You really have used case studies in an interesting way that gives an "authentic" learning of math. So many students can't make the connection with math and the real world. This would be a perfect way to do it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Everyone,
I use performance task items in my classes for students based on the objective of the lesson that was taught. When students attend the live chat sessions, I create an inviting environment that fosters a learning community. As a result, I have them to solve the problems and present to the others students. I do not use portfolios in my course. I do use observation a lot in the online course. I use it to ensure that my students are active and I am not boring them for one hour.
Anna
Dr. Wilkinson,
We use authentic assessment in Calculus to pose a “softly†worded Discussion Board thread for students to work with, develop, and then draw conclusions from. This often takes them into a totally new and different world from what they had ever thought mathematics was all about.
The problem posed is given as an equation to predict the percentage of population movement from town to town within a country given exponential models for the transitions. This enables students to first think about what causes populations to shift from “old towns†to “new townsâ€, and what conditions must exist in the “new town†for the moves to occur. In an extreme case, several towns may become total “ghost towns†with the entire population of the country moving to “new townsâ€.
Students can then explore what the role of housing, job prospects, and “quality of life’ actually mean and what would cause families to move or not. Detroit is often quoted as a town where the population mostly left due to economic factors and resulted in a general population unable to support the government workforce and promised benefits. The result has been a population shift to other cities and states distant from Detroit.
The mathematics comes back as the asymptotic limits of the equations are investigated and calculated under various scenarios. This is also an excellent “education†in what the future of the United States will look like under current policies. Since all the students I deal with are working adults, it becomes very relevant to them, and they are their own “case studies†as has been noted in this forum!
These “essays†provide for very good authentic assessment of both the mathematics itself, but also in how and where mathematics is applied and used, and how much the students are learning in the process!
Comments?
Anthony
Samantha,
Could you see how you could benefit using authentic assessment within a course?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Professor
To be honest in all the pre-developed online courses I have developed there are no authentic assessments. Everything included in these classes are typical assessments, including exams and essays.
Professor S. Carlo
Dr. Vicki,
I am with you. It does have students to transfer their knowledge to a real world scenarios.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Penelope,
Me too. How do you evaluate them?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Penelope,
You are so right! You don't want to lead them but you have to provide them with options for answers.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Heather,
That is so true. Students need to see when and how they improve and must be able to view their work ( and others) critically.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nicole,
Interesting your term "smaller" learning objectives. I agree with you. There are content students have to know. Incorporating that content is important but you have to know what to incorporate!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi Kelly: I read somewhere that Harvard uses case studies exclusively for one of their business programs. I don't recall if it was undergrad or grad but I know they've developed a whole bunch of case studies. I guess if they're good enough for Harvard, then the rest of us should also join the fray!
I have used authentic assessments in several courses as students have had to create their own invitations to evens and flyers.
Yes I have. Discussion board questions are better if they are open ended. Students will choose yes or no answers if given the choice :-)
I teach graphic design classes, so the portfolio and observational critique are essential. They are both part of the design process that help validate and improve the students work, and ultimately, will help get them a job as a professional!
At my school, we have programs that are about 50% online and 50% in class. The majority of our authentic assessments are considered to be in class. However, many of the them are performance assessments that start in the classroom and finish online. When there are "small" objectives that we want students to learn the assessments are less authentic but may be tied to their performance ultimately. I would like to incorporate more authentic assessment for the "smaller" learning objectives in the future.
Karen,
True, your students need to make the connection between the content and real work!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Authentic assessment is necessary for healthcare professionals. Clinical simulations, case studies, and role playing are teaching/learning methods that are frequently used in my school.
samia,
True, It is also a great way to educate students regarding their own critical decisions about what they do well.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. W
I have used all 3 of the one you mention in my authentic assessments as an online facilitator. Certain courses do lend themselved to portfolios but in all perfornce was assessed and rubrics utilized. Observations were possible in the group project effort and on the discussion boards.
Samia
