How do we know when our students are learning?Assessment of student learning is necessary to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses so that we can determine if students have learned the objectives and developed their skills. During the next year we will be providing faculty with resources to help them develop meaningful formative assessments to enhance their instruction. Faculty will be expected to include a formative assessment within each course and syllabus. Formative assessments help faculty determine how to modify their instruction from week to week to meet students’ needs. It is an assessment for learning. In contrast, summative assessments, such as course finals, are an assessment of learning. While both assessment approaches are necessary, our focus this year is to increase the use of formative assessments in our classes to improve learning. Fook & Sidhu (2010) succinctly captures the importance of assessment: “Many learning institutes have forgotten the ultimate purpose of the assessment actually is not only to prove but also to improve students’ learning” (p. 154).

1. How do we know when our students are learning? Richard Dettling Alexandra Escobar | January 26, 2012

6. The Garden Analogy

7. If we think of our students as plants … Summative assessment of the plants is the process of simply measuring them. It might be interesting to compare and analyze measurements but, in themselves, these do not affect the growth of the plants. Formative assessment , on the other hand, is the equivalent of feeding and watering the plants appropriate to their needs - directly affecting their growth.

9. Mastery Learning Process

13. Bloom’s Mastery Learning Process The Mastery Learning Instructional Process (Guskey, 2005) Objective 1 Formative Assessment A Correctives Enrichment Activities Formative Assessment B Objective 2

17. Objective 1 Formative Assessment A Enrichment Activities Formative Assessment B Objective 2 Correctives Use a Pretest/Post-test Approach to Formative Assessment Course: SCI/263 Environmental Science Objective 1: Understands energy transfer in the food chain Pre-test: administer a brief assessment based on the learning objective Post-Test covers the same concepts and skills as the first, but is composed of slightly different problems or questions First, it verifies whether or not the “correctives” were successful Second, it offers students a second chance at success Enrichment activities to broaden student-learning experiences. Students who mastered the content are asked to facilitate and lead the class in discussion Correctives: Give students immediate information, or “Just-in-time” feedback on their learning. Provide instruction on concepts and skills that students have not mastered.

22. Objective 1 Formative Assessment A Enrichment Activities Formative Assessment B Objective 2 Correctives Enrichment activities to broaden student-learning experiences. Compile topic related website list will be given to students to accelerate their understanding Using Quizzes as Formative Assessment Course: MGT/230 Management Theory Objective 1: Define the four functions of management. Objective 2: Explain how internal and external factors impact the four functions of management. Objective 3: Explain how managers use delegation Initial instruction on the weekly objectives Assessment A: At the end of class or as an assignment between classes, students will take a quiz on the Week 1 Objectives Quizstar will provide instant feedback on students incorrect answers Correctives: Match each question on the quiz additional sources of information, (page numbers in the textbook, websites, videos, workbook lessons, etc). Have students do a written activity on those concepts or skills not yet mastered. Assessment B covers the same concepts and skills as the first, but is composed of slightly different problems or questions First, it verifies whether or not the correctives were successful Second, it offers students a second chance at success

24. Using Concept Maps as Formative Assessments www.bubbl.us

25. Week 2: OBJECTIVE: Explain the job analysis. Outline a workforce planning system. OBJECTIVE: Explain the selection process for staffing

26. Objective 1 Formative Assessment A Enrichment Activities Formative Assessment B Objective 2 Correctives Using Concept Maps as Formative Assessment Correctives: Give students information, or feedback, on their learning by identifying course concepts that should not be connected. Have students explain (written or verbal) the their rationale of these relationships between course concepts from the page numbers in the textbook. Assessment B: Have students recreate the Concept Map First, it verifies whether or not the correctives were successful Second, it offers students a second chance at success Enrichment: Students who mastered the content were asked to partner with students who did not understand the objective to help facilitate the learning. Course: HRM/531 Human Capital Management Week 2 : OBJECTIVE: Explain the job analysis. Outline a workforce planning system. OBJECTIVE: Explain the selection process for staffing Initial instruction on Job Analysis and the Selection Process Assessment A: At the end of class or as an assignment between classes, students will create a concept map outlining a workforce planning system.

30. Objective 1 Formative Assessment A Enrichment Activities Formative Assessment B Objective 2 Correctives Using Reflective Exercises as Formative Assessment Course: LDR/531 Organizational Leadership Week 1 : OBJECTIVE: Compare and contrast management and leadership Initial instruction on Leadership in Organizations Assessment A: At the end of class or as an assignment between classes, individual students or learning team their major “takeaways” from the weeks instruction and readings. Students are assessed on their understanding of their takeaway concepts Assessment B: Have students complete a written reflection on only the misunderstood concepts First, it verifies whether or not the correctives were successful Second, it offers students a second chance at success Enrichment: Students who grasped the weekly course concepts mastered were asked to partner with students who did not understand the objective to help facilitate the learning. Correctives: Provide students with individualized feedback. Engage students asking Socratic Questions in order to uncover the student’s accurate understanding of the concepts

31. Other Formative Assessment Ideas

36. Questions?