Karen,
You are using a very successful technique for learning and assessment. It really does "force" students to use the technology in a realistic setting.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I mostly use rubrics. Most of my students are working professionals who are in an environment that provides them with real life examples and discussion opportunities that they can share in class. We use the discussion board as a place for students to share what they have seen in their organizations and use the DB as a sounding-board type environment. This allows a 360-feedback system.
Thank you,
Dawn
Taking into consideration instructor descretion,all instructor should have the ability to asses the student knowledge base. What are some alternatives assessments that you have given to your students?
I use problems. I ask questions real life based and the students have to resolve the problems.
I teach an elective which requires our students to maintain a certain level grade throughout their basic classes. Then we use online webs they need to pass to perform their skill assessment. During their skill assessment they may need to be specific on achieving their goal through completion of fixing a fault on the task or being useful with using a specific tool correctly.
My classes do not use authentic assessments currently. What I do is encourage the students to bring their real-world experience into their discussions on our discussion board. I have a rubric that I grade the discussion board by, but I feel that many of my students have varied experiences and could really learn from each other by using their real-world examples. My classes are mostly made up of adult learners who have full time jobs and families. They always have so much to offer.
Authentic assessment is used at our University, but is be more easily used in the students' major program courses, or in applied courses.
I teach non-major natural science classes, and we do try to provide a real world slant to our assessments and assignments. In our science labs, there are tasks to complete, so that would include performance based evaluation.
We also try to word research paper assignments with objectives that might be useful in real world settings, such as evaluating alternative energy choices for their homes or businesses or discussing how biotechnology can be applied for individual health issues. Lyn Hoffmann
I have had students measure their bedrooms in area and volume, then calculate the percentage of the building they live in. They also have calculated the volume of their building by using trigonometry, Geometry, and arithmetic. Then, they had to find bags of concreate at a store, and calculate how many bags, and the cost, to build all concreate slabs not covered by their building - - sch as a driveway or patio.
It was a really good real-life project for my students!
Did any of you do something similar to this project with your students?
Sincerely,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
Authentic assessments focus on asking students to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills. I have applied authentic assessments by offering students opportunities to apply what they have learned to solve real world problems found in case studies and other materials. This drives critical thought and offers the students the opportunity to apply their knowledge and find new solutions.
Thank you,
Dwayne Roark
Hello Kelly,
I teach business courses. We currently use case studies as our primary authentic assessment tool. However, our CMS has the ability to create and use a portfolio. I believe that it would be beneficial to combine these two assessments. Our students can use the case study to create a series of professional documents which can be combined into a portfolio.
Sincerely
Jim
Nicole,
Thank you very much for your post. My university is currently using case studies as an authentic assessment. In my post, I recommended combining the use of a case study with a portfolio. I feel that the case study should be designed in such a way that it generates articles which can be collected in a portfolio.
Sincerely
Jim
