The difference between these commonly confused measurements,
Eder explains, is that assessment is primarily diagnostic and
nonjudgmental, while grading is essentially a judgment about student
performance. Delve deeper into how they're different by going
to the SIU
web site on "Assessment vs. Grades".
Then, search the following list of commonly-used CATs and decide
which of these assessments would be the easiest for you to implement
in your online course. Study the CATs below for a quiz that you'll
be asked to complete shortly:
Twenty Commonly Used Assessment
Techniques: The SIU Site also contains summaries
of effective CATs can be found here, along with tips on how
they can yield immediate results in your classes. Another site,
hosted at Honolulu Community College, abstracts a few of the 50
commonly-used CATs found in a book prepared by Thomas A. Angelo
and K. Patricia Cross, entitled Classroom Assessment Techniques:
A Handbook for College Teachers.
Minute Papers: With this
CAT, students are asked to complete a simple online form, or
reply to an asynchronous bulletin board message, with an answer
to questions such as: "What was the most important fact
or idea you learned during class today?" and the follow-up
question, "What important question remains unanswered?"
Muddiest Point: About the
simplest way to assess your students' learning, this efficient
technique gives a high return of relevant and useful information
for a "low investment of time and energy," according
to Angelo and Cross. Again, students are asked to complete a
small online form or reply to a bulletin board message, prompting
them to reply to one question: "What was the muddiest point
about this lecture (or, discussion, homework assignment, etc.)?"
Background Knowledge Probe: A
typical assignment to ask students to do on the first day of
class is to give information about their level of preparation
for the course they're taking. This "probe" is a series
of open-ended questions or a handful of short-answer or multiple-choice
questions that probe the students' existing knowledge of a concept,
subject, or topic.
One-Sentence Summary: A simple
technique that directs students to answer the questions, "Who
does what to whom, when, where, how, and why?" about a given
topic. Write the initials WDWWWWHW? on the chalk board or in
an online discussion forum. Ask your students to answer the questions
succinctly. Then challenge students to synthesize those answers
into a simple informative (and grammatically correct) summary
sentence.
Many other CATs are explained on Eder's site, as well as on
the web site hosted by Honolulu Community College. They include: What's
the Principle? Primary Trait Analysis; Misconception/Preconception
Check; Documented Problems (showing the work and the reasoning
behind it); Categorizing Grid; along with many others.
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