Objective
Soemtimes writing a course so that it correctly reflects what a student should learn is challening. That is why it is crucial that tasks associated with courses are not just items created for the purpose of assigning grades. They must directly reflect of what students should have gained understanding.
Samantha,
You make a great point. Good assessment is not easily done. You do want it to reflect what students know, not how well they can take a test.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Samantha
This is so true. I think that it takes a good couple of months to really put together a good course with appropriate assessments. Unfortunately, sometimes course developers are rushed to get a class ready to roll out and it then needs to be revised as the flaws are noticed.
Samantha Carlo
Samantha,
Sometimes longer. Course design is so important. It can be frustrating when the assessments and the objectives don't match.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I agree. There is so much talk about assessments and test taking these days. That is why we need to be creative with how we judge and analyze what the students have grasped and learned. Making learning fun, not just filling in the dots of a standardized test.
yes agreed. What is everyone's best practices on this topic?
Dawn,
I am not fan of the standardized test. It negates creativity and stifles problem solving. You want to know what and how students use what they are learning in the context of the real world. The students we are getting don't understand complex assessment activities. Employers are seeing this in the workplace.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dawn,
I am not fan of the standardized test. It negates creativity and stifles problem solving. You want to know what and how students use what they are learning in the context of the real world. The students we are getting don't understand complex assessment activities. Employers are seeing this in the workplace.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dawn,
I have used journaling to "encourage" students to take constructive feedback and tell me how they are going to fix their next paper. I have them create videos that explain a complex economic term to a 3rd grader. These are a couple of ways I use technology to facilitate different types of assessment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
i agree with this but also think that students perception needs to be exactly in line with what you are saying. Clearly stated objectives help in this regard. I personally spend a lot of time in class talking about objectives every week.
Gary,
I think you have to constantly remind students whether f2f or online about the objectives. Students seem to forget why they are there. I am actually going to focus on understanding course objectives in all of my courses next year. (That may be my new year's resolution).
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I broke the cardinal rule of objective assessment when taking this silly quiz. I seconded guessed myself and changed an answer allowing me to miss one...that is just dumb.
The point is part of giving objective assessments is making sure students know how to take them. I managed to teach students how to take tests when they first attend school because many of them make the same bone-head mistake I just made. This improves scores and sharpens them up for the objective test they must take to get licensed in the field.
Paul
