MinerAlert
MinerAlert
Assessing learning is one of the most critical aspects of teaching, but carefully designed assessments can also contribute to student engagement and success.
Creating Assessments
Aligning Assessments with Learning Objectives
It is not enough to create a collection of activities and assessments students need to complete for a course. There should be a clear connection between an activity or assessment and how what they accomplish contributes to the realization of course outcomes and objectives. Consider the following resources:
How
Why
Higher-Order Thinking
Higher-order thinking includes critical and creative thinking, metacognition, problem-solving skills, and knowledge transfer. The goal is to teach students to investigate, analyze, and apply what they have learned in their everyday lives and in the workplace. Some resources to consider:
How
Why
Real-World Application
Applying knowledge and skills in the intended professional environment helps students retain both. Some resources to consider:
How
Why
Formative and Summative Assessment
Formative assessments are diagnostic learning activities that help faculty to determine students’ understanding of course materials and whether they are ready to move on to the next concept. They are generally low stakes or worth a small number of points and designed to help students assess their own level of learning rather than requiring them to prove mastery.
Summative assessments are evaluative learning activities that measure how well students have learned course materials and whether they are meeting course objectives. These are generally high-stakes activities provided at the end of important instructional periods (i.e., midterms or final projects).
Some resources to consider:
Evaluating Assessments
Using Rubrics
Evaluation by rubric allows students to clearly understand assessment expectations before they begin, while they are working, and after they have completed their work. To understand rubrics better:
How
Student Assessment
The best way to assess the success of teaching practices is to collect data and feedback from students. There are two types of assessment that help determine the success of a course or program.
Direct Assessments
Direct assessments are learning activities that measure student learning and how well they meet learning objectives in the course. Examples of direct assessment:
Indirect Assessments
Indirect assessments are self-assessments completed by students that allow them to reflect on their own progress, learning, and skills gained from the course. Examples of indirect assessment:
Continual analysis of these types of evidence indicates where and how to modify a course to improve student success. If students consistently perform poorly and reflect on difficulty with the content or activities, this is clearly shows a need to revisit curriculum choices.
Evaluation
Analysis of student performance in relation to learning objectives is just one angle of the overall assessment of teaching. Many programs have official teacher evaluation systems in place, but it is also a go od idea to include your students and colleagues in evaluating your courses.
Student Evaluation
Giving students a chance to provide feedback on the effectiveness of a course is a great way to make them feel more involved in the development of their learning, as well as give guidance for improving a course. Student evaluation should occur throughout the semester, not just at the end, to provide formative feedback on the effectiveness of the course as they complete it. Consider:
Peer Evaluation
Like with student work, peer evaluations provide an opportunity for both the evaluator and the evaluated to learn more about teaching and learning strategies and to provide feedback on how to improve a course. Consider:
For overall evaluation of an academic program, UTEP’s Provost office has an Assessment Plan Toolkit and resources to help improve overall success and accreditation.
