1. Nuts and Bolts: Functional Variations of Assessment and Evaluation Barbara Hornum, PhD Director, Drexel Center for Academic Excellence Associate Professor, Department of Culture and Communications hornumbg@drexel.edu

2. ASSESSMENT FOR WHAT? This is the key question that should be driving discussion and formulation of course management and design. Assessment is a tool that must be related to the course and program goals. It is also a useful process that may help us understand whether we as faculty and our students have achieved expected outcomes. | 2

3. THE TEACHING/LEARNING NEXUS Faculty and students are part of a mutual, collaborative learning process. Active learning requires practice which engages students in using careful guidance toward self-directed knowledge acquisition. Assessment is an instrumental means to the attainment of learning goals. The syllabus should provide a coherent and well communicated road map. | 3

4. ESTABLISH AND CLARIFY LEARNING GOALS Before class starts, know your learning goals and expectations. These should include the course as a whole and each aspect of it. You should be clear in your own mind how course material interrelates. Once this is done, you are ready to convey it to students. | 4

5. MAXIMIZING STUDENT RESPONSE Students Need to Know What You See As Important and Why. Highlight This on Syllabus and Reinforce In Class. Goals, objectives and assignments should be connected. Be As Concrete as Possible. Vagueness and Ambiguity Won’t Work. This is Connected to Both Class management and Assessment. | 5

6. TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF ASSESSMENT There are two basic types of assessment: summative and formative. Summative functions to alert you and the students to what they know and what they don’t. It needs to be done early and often to allow you to see strengths and weaknesses and to guide student studying. | 6

7. TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF ASSESSMENT (continued) Be careful to give learning feedback based on summative assessment. Linking summative assessment to formative is beneficial. Formative assessment may or may not be graded. A primary function for such assessment is to assist students in reaching knowledge about what they need to improve. | 7

8. TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF ASSESSMENT (continued) There are a variety of techniques for formative assessment ranging from low to high technology. Select some you feel comfortable using, that take minimal class time and can be assessed by both you and students quickly and in timely manner. | 8

9. CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES CATs can be “no stakes” as exemplified by the 2 minute response to what did you learn you did not know. They can be “low stakes” requesting an application, e.g. using what they just learned. They can be “high stakes” at the end of a learning unit with 4-5 questions with applications as a quiz. | 9

10. BENEFITS For the instructor, CATs provide a quick way to get a sense of how individual students grasp materials and also of any patterns for the class and to respond early and often. For students, it requires them to think about what they have heard, read, seen, and both reflect and apply this. Follow-up group discussions may provide useful comparisons. | 10

11. DEFINITIONAL ASPECTS OF TERMS While some use assessment and evaluation interchangeably, the following quotes may clarify and differentiate. Web page on student learning at Cal State-Channel Islands. http://www.csuci.edu/assessment/index.htm for assessment of student learning. I find these definitions useful but they may legitimately resonate differently to others. They may also be used to meet a variety of disciplines, programs and courses. http://www.csuci.edu/assessment/index.htm | 11

12. DEFINITIONAL ASPECTS OF TERMS (continued) “ Assessment of student learning is a reflective, ongoing, formative process for the purpose of improving student learning success. It involves: (1) creating and refining appropriate criteria and standards for learning, (2) defining and making explicit methods for compiling, analyzing, and interpreting this aggregate evidence of students’ learning, (3) collecting, compiling and interpreting aggregate evidence about students’ learning, in relation to the criteria and standards, and (4) using these interpretations to improve the design of curricula and instruction.” | 12

13. DEFINITIONAL ASPECTS OF TERMS (continued) “Evaluation of student learning is the employment of measures made for the purpose of making summative decisions about individuals. Examples of evaluation tools include graded tests, papers, performances and projects, course grades and grade point averages of students. While the process of evaluation may be explicit and public to the extent reasonable, the measurements and summative ratings of individuals are confidential and are not publicly disclosed. In short, we evaluate individuals but we assess learning in aggregate at the levels of classes, programs, etc.” | 13

14. EXERCISES 1. Please think of a course goal and linked student learning outcome. 2. What CAT might you use to measure the pertinent and formative student learning outcome or outcomes that connect to that goal? This can be for the course, a particular topical unit, or an assignment. 3. Reflect on this and turn to your neighbor and each spend 5-8 minutes sharing and discussing. | 14

15. EXERCISES (continued) 1.Please think of a course goal and linked student learning outcome. 2. What measurements for summative decisions would you use? 3. How would you connect these in your course design to the formative aspects of the course and assignments. Reflect, share and discuss with your neighbor. If time allows, we can have a more general discussion. | 15

16. CONCLUDING COMMENTS Share your learning assessments and evaluations with your students. Explain the differences but also the connections. Doing this tells them that you actually care about what they are learning and its applications. Use these as well, to let you know what areas of material you may need to expand, review or modify during a course and as you plan for its next iteration. | 16