Authentic Assessment: between a rock and a hard place

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Authentic Assessment between a rock and a hard
place

• Alison Morrison-Shetlar
• aims_at_mail.ucf.edu

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Adapted from

• The miniature guide for those who teach
• By Drs. Richard Paul and Linda Elder

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Developing goals and assesssments
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1 First day of class

• The first 10 minutes set the tone
• Find out from them how they see how the course
  may impact them
• Let them about
• You and your teaching style
• How they will be assessed
• Your expectations (thinking, participation etc)
• Ask them about their expectations

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2 What, think?

• Students need to know your definition of thinking
• Find out what their definition is
• Help them practice thinking
• Case studies
• Their own experiences

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4 Engage the students

• Ask them questions
• Dont let them be passive
• Make it an expectation of the course
• Methods
• Flip cards with names
• Seating chart
• Randomly call on students

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6 Sage on the Stage? I dont think so!

• Be a facilitator not a dictator
• Let them talk but control it
• Listen to your students
• Guide the conversation so that it covers the
  concepts you need to
• Give the students time to think and practice
  thinking (8)

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9 You cant do it here let me help you

• Do not do the work for the student
• Help the student see the relevance by asking them
  to relate the concept to their own
  lives/work/research (10)
• Doing it for them doesnt help them learn
• I dont need biology Im a business major
• Let them be active thinkers, collaborators

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11 Check up on their learning

• Ask them
• what did you learn?
• What impact does that have on you/family/world?
• Get them to write, verbalize, think, apply
• Repeat until cured ?

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12 13 Apply, apply, apply

• Apply
• Apply
• Apply
• Get the students to do it, help them when you see
  the need.

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16 Model what you want from the students

• Work through a problem with them, let them hear
  you process
• Lubricate the squeaky wheels of their brains
• Give them coverage but also depth of the concepts
  that are important to you.
• They cant learn everything you know share your
  wisdom only (how do you still learn?).

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19 To write or not too right!

• Different ways to do this
• Individual
• Think pair share (see Teaching Creatively
  workshop)
• Team of 3 4
• Whole class

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22 Self assessment I was here, I deserve an A

• Give guidelines on what self assessment is
• Even better get them to provide the guidelines
  (often harder on themselves)
• Peer readers/listeners better prepared and more
  critical

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24 Syllabi oh, I lost that ages ago

• Must have meaning
• Get them to sign off on it add a pre-test and
  get them to hand it in.
• Certain elements should stay the same, the rest
  can be dynamic
• Set you standards here and dont give way to
  student pressure.

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27 Test with meaning

• Authentic testing essential
• Memorization
• Understanding
• Application
• Synthesis
• What is an A paper/test?

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28 Socratic Approach just give me the right
answer

• Goals
• Questions
• Information
• Interpretation
• Concepts
• Assumptions
• Point of view

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Who cares?

• You do
• Your students do (or will later ?)
• Your evaluators do
• Your department does
• Your university does