I like your idea. In some courses the paper may be a response to a case study or simply to a list of questions.
This method will work well for smaller groups... or for larger ones if you are a workaholic :)
Do you think that multiple-choice and true/false tests are less effective than your method in assessing what students have learned? Just wondering...
Jane
I teach massage therapy both online and in the classroom. Massage therapy can be taught online (re: previous response). Not only the anatomy and physiology but Massage theory also. The assessment methods include: discussion board assignments to be done after a chapter is read (whether that is draping, lubricants, sanitation, hygiene, physiological effects, therapeutic applications); online quizzes, online chat using powerpoint and the students come in for 4 weekends of hands-on training. There is a practical examination in which they demonstrate procedures and a multiple choice final. Most technical/hands-on skills are tested with a written test. As instuctors, we need to be able to write our questions and format our curriculum to reflect these licensure exams. None of which are hands on.
In other words, what is done with the hands needs to be verbalized!
Caroline,
As with massage therapy, there are so many courses being taught online today that no one ever imagined could be.
Is online learning optional for your students, or do they take the theory classes online and the hands-on classes onsite?
If required for theory classes, how well do your students respond to online learning? Are they fairly receptive to it?
I am interested in your experiences :)
Jane
I have taught business and psychology classes online and use a number of assessment methods to evaluate students progress and abilities. Understanding that a student's learning style is individual, I try to incorporate a number of learning tools and assessment methods in my courses. For instance, for psychology, there is often a written test and an essay paper, so that students who may not be as skilled in one area, could make up for it in the other. In my business class, there are resume projects and sometimes a written test, and also a final business plan that is completed. Additionally, students prepare a business card. By varying these assessment methods, students gain a more valuable learning experience and a broader scope of the course content.
John,
It seems that you are an instructor who cares very much that his students learn. You are sensitive to the learning styles of your students and you accommodate those learning styles by having a variety of assessment methods.
My guess is that you are one of the favorites at your campus.
Enjoy your holidays,
Jane
I teach massage therapy online and onsite. There are many assessment methods for online. Discussion boards offer students the ability to reply to individual assignments, share personal experience and receive feedback on assignments. Quizes are used to assess current understanding, comprehension and retention of material. And Q&A sessions provide community as well as potential for additional support. As with Touch For Health, the 4 weekends onsite are necessary to complete learning because an "educated touch" is a requirement.
Q & A sessions? Are these done using synchronous chat, where the responses are typed, or through some type of a live session? I like the idea!
Jane
I am glad to see someone else using worksheets as part of the assessment. I teach anatomy and physiology. The computer modules that students complete are are followed by quizzes. I currently use worksheets as an optional tool. This fill-in the blank worksheet allows students to recall info as oppose to the recognition factor. I offer these to my on-campus students as well ans the feedback is positive for the worksheets. Eventually I would like to see more fill in as part of the assessments on-line.
Hi Jane,
Yes, they are synchonous chat, responses can be typed or verbalized. Some courses offer Q&A more frequently based on the material, either once a week or once every 3-4 weeks.
Lisa
I am presently teaching Anatomy and Physiology classes both on-line and onsite. In both situations we use quizzes, Q and A sessions and final exams in order to assess the comprehension of the material. I find that the above combination works well for both situations.
Mary,
I agree with you about the usefulness of worksheets. These are something I have used for years on campus and will continue to use in my online classes. Students like them because they are useful tools for studying for exams.
Thanks for your input!!
Jane
Carrie,
It sounds like your combination of assessment methods is appropriate for the courses you are teaching.
Would you use the same methods if you were teaching a course in ethics?
Just wondering :)
Jane
I teach the same courses Carrie does and use the same assessment tools. They work well for both settings
Kevin,
You and Carrie are using assessment tools that are appropriate for the courses you are teaching.
I will pose the same question to you that I did to Carrie... Would you use the same tools if you were teaching a different type of course, such as Ethics?
I am interested in your thoughts :)
Jane
I probably would use different methods. Anatomy and Physiology are fact based subjects. I give you the information and I want to see what you understand and retained. So multiple choice questions work well for this and given time constraints they work well. Ethics I would use more of a posting /discussion format. You could use MC type assessments here but you want to get the students perspective more often in Ethics so I think discussion type assessments are more appropriate. I do feel you could get that from MC type questions.
Hi Kevin,
I agree with you that discussion is more appropriate to an Ethics course than multiple choice questions.
Thanks for your input!
Jane
I teach a medical coding class and it is designed for functional knowledge. I use a variety of components geared for the application I need from the student. I have a mixture of handouts and quesion combinations. I need my students to develop a cognitive ability. I am more concerned with application than straight knowledge. They do need to know facts, but interpretation and how to apply concepts is critical to what we do. They have parts of the course that is memorization such as Anatomy, but the main course content is cognitively applying what they do. So variety is key to my students learning..
John,
You make a good point about variety being an important learning tool for your students.
What are the various methods you would use to assess your students' knowledge about medical coding if the course were to be taught online.
I am interested in your ideas :)
Jane
In teaching medical coding in class I find that using quizzes as assessments for the theoretical aspects of the coding to be useful to the student but not necessarily helpful to the application of coding. My exams tend to be completion questions since they have to take a statement from a doctor and find a code that adequately reflects the documentation.
The goal of for the learner is to give the correct code. I like the idea that students can retake quizzes to get a perfect score on but that the actual examination is attempted and scored once.
