Assesment in Large ClassesThe ProblemAssessment in large classes can be extremely problematic. It's next to impossible to grade hundreds of students' reports or essays, so most instructors rely on multiple choice, matching, and true/false types of questions that can be graded quickly by scantron or in WebCT Vista. Another problem with MC/TC type questions is that it is somewhat difficult (but not impossible!) to construct questions that require critical thinking. Though quick grading techniques seem to be the norm, there are ways to promote group and collaborative work in large classes. Clear GuidelinesProviding explicitly clear guidelines to students helps them focus on what you expect them to do and know before assessments. Guidelines can take the form of checklists, rubrics, or examples, and models of what you expect them to do. If you use checklists and rubrics, they serve to guide the students' studying, and they standardize the grading process if you use teaching/grading assistants. Read more about guidelines here. Purpose of ExamsThink about WHY you give exams. Do you give them to get a grade for reporting? What if you used some exams with low weight as practice tests or to get students to read the material? With this approach, you are using exams to promote LEARNING rather than for the endpoint of a grade. For example, you could give an exam for each chapter (or topic or whatever) to cover the basic material, which would mean frequent exams. Exams could be short (10 questions?) and low weight (1 point per question?). A midterm and final could be done face-to-face and based on the "learning exams." Or... the midterm or final could be a project that they do in groups: 100 students, 10 or 20 groups, and one group report per group, which would significantly cut down on the number of reports to be graded. For more on group projects and collaborative learning in large groups, see the "Group Work and Collaboration" section of this site. Exams (Quizzes) in WebCT Vista.There are three types of exams in Vista: quizzes, self-tests, and surveys. QuizzesQuizzes are for a grade. If you use quizzes in Vista, you have the following control:
If you're using the quiz function to promote learning, you might allow them to see the grade, but not the answers. There are other strategies, too, but we'll leave it at that just to get you thinkng. Self-Tests (Practice tests)Self-tests do not have a grade. Self-tests are for practice only. If you use self-tests in Vista, you have the following control:
SurveysSurveys are created exactly like quizzes. Surveys are not for a grade, they are for data collection. If you use surveys in Vista, you have the following control:
Formative Feedback (Evaluation)Formative feedback is a way of assessing student learning or a way of assessing your course and teaching so that you can identify challenge areas for students and make modifications in your course as you go. Assessing Student Knowledge for Instructor Feedback Assessing Student Knowledge for Student Feedback Assessing the Course, Teaching, and Materials Constructing Multiple Choice Questions for Critical ThinkingBloom's TaxonomyBenjamin Bloom was a learning theorist. He devised a six-level scale (taxonomy) for the different levels of learning:
In his research, he discovered that most college testing focused on lower order thinking, i.e., the first three levels: knowledge, comprehension and application. His taxonomy offered a way to think about the types of teaching, learning, and testing that takes place in the classroom. The following links show examples of how the taxonomy works.
Other Resources for Assessment in Large ClassesAssessing Large Classes - Australian Universities Teaching Committee Comments or Suggestions?
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