Reflecting on Assessments
Here we are at week 3--it's a trilogy!
Yep. Tests. Exams. #2 pencils. Fill in the blank.
Some way of proving that the student learned what they were suppose to have learned.
So I have a confession. As an instructional designer I very seldom give any consideration to assessments. | It's not wicked and neglectful . I do know how to design assessments. I'm not lazy. Sometimes idle. But not lazy. So why do I fail to consider assessments? |
And you're thinking, blah, blah, what's she talking about?
Here's an example.
In the hurricane course I referenced in the first BlendKit post the final project is a personalized hurricane preparedness plan. The activities in the course build upon one another and get fitted together to create the plan, which is something that the student can practically use once the course is over.
It's a kind of portfolio-assessment.
If you are a teacher, you're thinking, "how can I possibly give a grade for that?!"
In some settings a grade is not important, like with my hurricane course, in others it is very relevant.
So when the grade is relevant the IDer must devise a system (rubric, maybe?) to give value to the portfolio-type assessment. Course contexts differ, which will affect the system of giving value to the portfolio. I could blabber on and on with ideas of how to give a grade to a project, but this is my most boring post yet so I won't blabber.
Well, I'll blabber a teeny bit.
Two things I think are important for portfolio/project assessments.
OneNot every student will start the course with the same ability, skills and knowledge. Therefore, it is not realistic to expect every student to leave the course with the same level of ability, skills and knowledge. In some settings (pre-med anatomy, say) it is imperative students achieve a certain level of mastery. In other settings (video production, say) there is a wide variety of subjectivity. Not every 'A' will look the same. While rubrics are controversial, I feel that they provide the instructor with a justifiably way to assign grades based on how the student met the requirements delineated by the objectives and ensure all students are held to the same standards. Ugh this is a boring post. So sorry. | TwoIn some contexts the portfolio is the point, not the grade. Many adult learning opportunities attract students who are interested in learning, not in grades. For these students the learning experience, the peer collaboration, the acquisition of skills and similar stuff like that there, is more motivating than a report card. The key in these situations is to ensure the same attention is given to students' mastery of course objectives, as when grades are given. |