Diagnostic
I totally agree that feedback needs to be given with diagnostic testing. In the English Department we give a pre-grammar test. This test gives the students a general idea of their strengths and weaknesses. I go over the answers in class and give a study sheet that reviews those areas of weakness. It is a great assessment for the students.
Darlene,
I think the feedback given with diagnostic testing could be a very important part of both the teaching and learning aspects of Online classes. We don’t really do this very well, however.
In particular, my online students learning content for their various allied health fields at the junior college level range from American-borne to foreign-ESL, from just out of high school, to 10 years out, to 30 years out of high school.
It is interesting the misconceptions students have on both ends – unduly afraid they have minimal skills to outright cockiness about abilities about which they are oblivious to their absence.
Letting students know where they stand OBJECTIVELY (in a private venue of course) would be beneficial to all, but especially to both extremes.
The caveat, however, is it depends so much on the validity and reliability of the diagnostic assessment tool. I really don’t know what is available, what they purport to accurately assess, whether or not they are field-tested, how expensive they are, and so on. A huge concern I have is how such tool could stand up to the question, “Valid for WHO?â€
For example, the widely used Denver Developmental Assessment for young children was validated using several thousand white Anglo-Saxon kids from Denver, Colorado. It may be valid as such, but what about immigrant children, ESL families, differing socioeconomic status groups, and so on. The same concept can be applied to pre-grammar or whatever.
I would especially love to have a good tool to diagnostically assess a student’s writing ability (spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, etc.) as well as reasoning/problem solving ability (I’m talking basic level).
Many seem unaware there is a problem and produce output that should be embarrassing for an online COLLEGE-level course. (Students have complained about to me about peers with atrocious, unprofessional language skills) unprofessional Some objective diagnostic assessment BEFORE online classes begin could be of great help.
I would love to see the results of your English Department Pre-grammar test for my students…but I want so much more! Right now, much teaching time now seems diverted to deciphering partially done, poorly organized, ambiguously worded student posts that it is takes away from content. But if a diagnostic tool showed them it was a problem compared to other college-level students even before they began online classes, just maybe they would see the importance and accept help. – John Bohn
