formative assessment

Engagement Activities for Blended and Online Learning

Informal Assessment Activities for Blended and Online Courses

Chances are you have a Learning Management System (LMS) like Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, or Moodle at your school. But how do you use it? The findings from a recent survey by Pomerantz, Brown, and Brooks (2018) of U.S. learning institutions are rather alarming. Despite the

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group reading quizzes

The Daily Quiz

I use a daily quiz that has a two-fold purpose: first, it tests the students’ knowledge of the day’s reading material; and second, it provides a focus for the lecture and activities scheduled that day in class. Whether attendance is required or just encouraged, a

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using specs grading

Using Specifications Grading to Deepen Student Thinking

Do you use auto-graded multiple-choice and true-false quizzes and exams? If so, why?

Is it because you’re convinced that these forms of assessment are rigorous and authentic instruments for measuring student learning? Or is it because, given that you are teaching larger enrollment classes

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Checking for Understanding

Checking for Understanding

Research shows that checking for understanding is perhaps one of the most important components of a teaching sequence. Most teachers provide instruction on a topic and follow up with some questions. On a good day, 4–5 students may volunteer and respond with the correct answers.

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grading and feedback

A Grade Nudge

A lot of students are terribly optimistic about the grade they’ll be getting in a course. They start out imagining that they’re going to do very well, especially if they’ve decided it’s an easy course. And when they miss an early assignment or get a

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Formative Assessments

Doing More with Formative Assessments

Authors Kulasegaram and Rangachari propose moving beyond our understanding of formative assessments as “interim measures” that lead to the real, final assessments—the ones that generate the all-important grades. They suggest we stop calling them formative assessments and start thinking about them as assessments for learning.

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teaching with technology

Clicker Questions: Does It Matter What Kind?

The use of clickers, especially in large classes, has made participation a reality for a lot more students. It’s a safe way to offer an answer and an equally constructive way to find out whether yours is the correct answer. Research on clickers and learning

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students taking test

A Challenge to Current Grading Practices

There’s a lot to be gained from considering ideas and arguments at odds with current practice. In higher education, many instructional practices are accepted and replicated with little thought. Fortunately, there are a few scholars who keep asking tough questions and challenging conventional thinking. Australian

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online student on laptop

Five Classroom Assessment Techniques for the Online Classroom

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) are valuable tools for helping faculty find out what students are learning and how well they’re learning it. Since the 1988 release of Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers by Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross, college teachers have been

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