The document outlines various assessment techniques aimed at enhancing student engagement, motivation, and critical thinking skills in educational settings. It includes descriptions of 39 different methods, their applications, and the issues they address relating to student learning. These techniques range from active learning strategies like the '3-2-1' technique to collaborative approaches such as jigsaw and team problem-solving.

1. Optional Assessment Tools
S.No. Technique Activity Type Solves the Problem of Learning Taxonomic Dimensions Description
1
3-2-1
Technique /
minute paper /
Exit slips
Active/Engaged
Learning, Graphic
Organizing, Reflecting
Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Learning How to Learn
students write about 3 things they learned in the lecture,
2 things they found particularly interesting from the
lecture, and 1 question they still have about the
lecture content.
2
3-Minute
Message
Learning Assessment,
Presentation,
Reciprocal Teaching
Lack of Participation, Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Creative Thinking,
Application: Problem
Solving, Caring
modeled on the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT)
competition, students have three minutes to present a
compelling argument and to support it with convincing
details and examples.
3
Active
Reading
Documents
(ARDs)
Active/Engaged
Learning, Learning
Assessment, Reading
Insufficient Class
Preparation, Surface
Learning
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Learning How to Learn
ARDs are incomplete documents that students have to
complete on their own before a lecture. In order to finish
the document, students must locate and comprehend the
new data. Different degrees of understanding and critical
analysis may be reached by ARDs since they support
tasks which foster readers at many levels.
4
Advance
Organizers
Active/Engaged
Learning,
Graphic Organizing
Insufficient Class
Preparation, Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Poor Attention/Listening
Foundational Knowledge, Caring,
Learning How to Learn
An advance organizer is a tool used to introduce the
lesson topic and illustrate the relationship between what
the students are about to learn and the information they
have already learned. This tool helps students understand,
retain & remember information even with overload.
5
Affinity
Grouping
Graphic Organizing,
Reciprocal Teaching
Lack of Participation,
Low Motivation/Engagement
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Human Dimension
In Affinity Grouping, individual students generate ideas
and identify common themes. Then, students form groups
to sort and organize the ideas accordingly.
6
Application
Article
Active/Engaged
Learning, Learning
Assessment, Writing
Poor Attention/Listening
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Creative
Thinking, Application: Problem
Solving, Learning How to Learn
During last 15 minutes of class, ask students to write a
short news article about how a major point applies to a
real-world situation. An alternative is to have students
write a short article about how the point applies to their
major.
7
Analytic
Teams
Reciprocal Teaching Poor Attention/Listening
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Creative
Thinking, Application: Problem
Solving, Learning How to Learn
each team member assumes a different role with specific
responsibilities to perform while listening to a lecture or
watching a video.

2. S.No. Technique Activity Type Solves the Problem of Learning Taxonomic Dimensions Description
8
Background
Knowledge
Probe
Active/Engaged
Learning, Learning
Assessment, Writing
Insufficient Class
Preparation,
Low Motivation/Engagement
Foundational Knowledge, Caring
questionnaire that students fill out at the beginning of a
course or start of a new unit that helps teachers identify
the best starting point for the class as a whole.
9
Briefing
Paper
Active/Engaged
Learning, Writing
Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Caring
students research a current problem of their choice,
summarize the main issues, and present solutions to a
specific audience.
10 Chain Notes
Active/Engaged
Learning, Writing
Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Caring
a strategy that begins with a question printed at the top of
a paper. The paper is circulated from student to student.
Each student responds with one or two sentences related
to the question and passes it on to the next student. Upon
receiving the previous “chain of responses,” a student
adds a new thought or builds on a prior statement.
11 Class Book
Active/Engaged
Learning, Writing
Low Motivation/Engagement
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Creative Thinking,
Integration and Synthesis, Caring
individual students work together to plan and ultimately
submit a scholarly essay or research paper. Then all
students’ papers are published together.
12
Contemporary
Issues Journal
Active/Engaged
Learning, Group
Work, Learning
Assessment, Project
Learning, Writing
Lack of Participation, Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Problem
Solving, Integration and Synthesis,
Human Dimension, Caring
Students look for recent events or developments in the
real world that are related to their coursework, then
analyze these current affairs to identify the connections to
course material in entries that they write in a journal.
13 Crib Cards
Active/Engaged
Learning
Cheating, Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and
Critical Thinking
three-by-five inch index cards that students create to use
during preparation for exams, on which they write
whatever information they believe will be useful to them
from a particular lecture.
14
Digital
Storytelling
Active/Engaged
Learning, Learning
Assessment,
Presentation, Project
Learning, Reflecting
Low Motivation/Engagement
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Creative
Thinking, Caring
Students use computer-based tools, such as video, audio,
graphics, and web publishing, to tell personal or academic
stories about life experiences relevant to course themes.
15
Dyadic
Essays
Active/Engaged
Learning, Writing
Surface Learning
Foundational Knowledge,
Integration and Synthesis, Learning
How to Learn
students: 1). complete a content unit, identify a central
question, and draft an answer to that question, 2).
exchange questions with a peer and prepare responses,
and 3). pairs read and compare the model and in-
class answers.

3. S.No. Technique Activity Type Solves the Problem of Learning Taxonomic Dimensions Description
16
Dyadic
Interviews
Active/Engaged
Learning,
Reciprocal Teaching
Low Motivation/Engagement
Foundational Knowledge,
Integration and Synthesis, Human
Dimension, Caring
student pairs take turns asking each other questions that
tap into values, attitudes, beliefs, and prior experiences
that are relevant to course content or learning goals.
17 Frame
Active/Engaged
Learning, Group
Work, Writing
Cheating, Insufficient Class
Preparation,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Integration and Synthesis,
Learning How to Learn
Frame is a template of sentence stems that provides the
shape of a short essay, but not the content. Students
complete the sentences, expressing their ideas in their
own words, but doing so within a clear and
organized framework.
18 Group Grid
Graphic Organizing,
Group Work,
Learning Assessment
Insufficient Class
Preparation, Lack of
Participation,
Surface Learning
Foundational Knowledge,
Integration and Synthesis, Learning
How to Learn
group members are given pieces of information and asked
to place them in the blank cells of a grid according to
category rubrics, which helps them clarify conceptual
categories and develop sorting skills.
19 Guided Notes
Active/Engaged
Learning, Note Taking
Poor Attention/Listening,
Poor Note-Taking
Foundational Knowledge, Learning
How to Learn
the instructor provides a set of partial notes that students
complete during the lecture, focusing their attention on
key points.
20
Invent the
Quiz
Active/Engaged
Learning,
Problem Solving
Cheating, Surface Learning
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Caring, Learning How
to Learn
students write a limited number of test questions related
to a recent learning module and then create an answer
sheet, or alternately a model answer and scoring sheet, to
accompany the test questions.
23 IRAs
Active/Engaged
Learning, Writing
Surface Learning
Foundational Knowledge, Caring,
Learning How to Learn
students complete a written response to a reading
assignment that includes three components: 1) Insights,
2) Resources, and 3) Application.
23 Jigsaw
Active/Engaged
Learning, Group
Work,
Reciprocal Teaching
Lack of Participation,
Low Motivation/Engagement
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Caring, Learning How
to Learn
students work in small groups to develop knowledge
about a given topic before teaching what they have
learned to another group.
23
Online
Resource
Scavenger
Hunt
Active/Engaged
Learning, Games
Low Motivation/Engagement
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Problem
Solving, Caring
students use the Internet to engage in fact-finding and
information processing exercises using instructor-
specified library and Internet sources.

4. S.No. Technique Activity Type Solves the Problem of Learning Taxonomic Dimensions Description
24
Personal
Learning
Environment
Active/Engaged
Learning, Graphic
Organizing, Learning
Assessment, Project
Learning, Reflecting
Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Integration and Synthesis, Caring,
Learning How to Learn
set of people and digital resources an individual can
access for the specific intent of learning something.
Students illustrate the potential connections through a
visible network of the set.
25
Punctuated
Lecture
Active/Engaged
Learning, Reflecting
Poor Attention/Listening Learning How to Learn
students listen to the lecture for approximately 15 to 20
minutes. At the end of the lecture segment, the teacher
pauses and asks students to answer a question about what
they are doing at that particular moment.
26 Role Play
Group Work,
Learning Assessment,
Presentation, Project
Learning,
Reciprocal Teaching
Lack of Participation, Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Creative Thinking,
Application: Problem Solving,
Integration and Synthesis, Human
Dimension, Caring
A created situation in which students deliberately act out
or assume characters or identities they would not
normally assume to explain /interpret things
27
Sentence
Stem
Predictions
(SSP)
Active/Engaged
Learning, Reflecting
Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Poor Attention/Listening,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Integration and Synthesis
the professor presents a partial sentence that is structured
to prompt students to predict select aspects of the
upcoming lecture.
28 Sketch Notes
Graphic Organizing,
Learning Assessment,
Note Taking
Poor Note-Taking,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Creative
Thinking, Integration and Synthesis
students use handwritten words and visual elements such
as drawings, boxes, lines, and arrows to illustrate the
main concepts from a lecture, as well as
their interrelations.
29
Support a
Statement
Active/Engaged
Learning, Writing
Poor Attention/Listening,
Poor Note-Taking,
Surface Learning
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Learning How to Learn
The instructor provides students with a provocative
statement and prompts them to locate details, examples,
or data in their lecture notes to support the statement.
30
Student-
generated test
questions
Active/Engaged
Learning,
Problem Solving
Cheating, Surface Learning
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Caring, Learning How
to Learn
Divide the class into groups and assign each group a topic
on which they are each to create a question they would
expect to be on exam and answer.
31
Team
Jeopardy
Games, Group Work,
Learning Assessment,
Reciprocal Teaching
Insufficient Class
Preparation, Lack of
Participation,
Low Motivation/Engagement
Foundational Knowledge, Caring
A game in which student teams take turns selecting a
square from a grid that is organized vertically by category
and horizontally by difficulty. Each square shows the
number of points the team can earn if they answer a

5. S.No. Technique Activity Type Solves the Problem of Learning Taxonomic Dimensions Description
question correctly, and more challenging questions have
the potential to earn more points.
32
Test-Taking
Teams
Active/Engaged
Learning,
Problem Solving
Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Problem
Solving, Integration and Synthesis,
Human Dimension, Caring,
Learning How to Learn
students work in groups to prepare for a test. They then
take the test, first individually and next as a group.
33
Think-Aloud-
Pair Problem
Solving
Active/Engaged
Learning, Group
Work,
Problem Solving
Lack of Participation, Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Problem Solving,
Learning How to Learn
students take turns solving problems aloud while a peer
listens and provides feedback.
34
Think-Pair-
Share
Active/Engaged
Learning, Discussion,
Group Work
Lack of Participation, Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Problem
Solving, Integration and Synthesis
the instructor poses a question, gives students a few
minutes to think about a response, and then asks students
to share their ideas with a partner. Hence Think-Pair-
Share.
35
Translate
That!
Active/Engaged
Learning,
Reciprocal Teaching
Poor Attention/Listening,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application:
Creative Thinking
pause your lecture and call on a student at random to
“translate” the information you just provided into plain
English for an imagined audience that you specify.
36 Triple Jump
Group Work,
Learning Assessment,
Presentation,
Project Learning
Low
Motivation/Engagement,
Poor Attention/Listening,
Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Problem
Solving, Integration and
Synthesis, Caring
The Triple Jump is a problem-solving technique that is
particularly effective in courses that are
practical in nature and are well-suited to real-world
problems. The three basic steps of the Triple Jump are:
Step 1: Students individually review the case/problem
and give a preliminary assessment
(e.g. what I know, what I need to know, how I can find it
out).
Step 2: Students individually conduct research to find the
information they need to
offer a solution.
Step 3: Students present a final analysis (e.g. here are the

6. S.No. Technique Activity Type Solves the Problem of Learning Taxonomic Dimensions Description
key issues of the case and here
is how I would solve it or here is the answer).
37
Update your
classmate
Active/Engaged
Learning, Writing
Insufficient Class
Preparation
Foundational Knowledge,
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Caring, Learning How
to Learn
Update Your Classmate is a short writing activity where
students explain what they learned in a previous class
session to set the stage for new learning.
38 Variations
Group Work,
Learning Assessment,
Project Learning
Cheating, Surface Learning
Application: Analysis and Critical
Thinking, Application: Creative
Thinking, Application:
Problem Solving
In Variations, students create an altered version of the
original, such as rewriting the ending of a story or
imagining the consequences of a changed event
in history.
39
What? So
What? Now
What?
Journals
Active/Engaged
Learning,
Reflecting, Writing
Surface Learning Caring, Learning How to Learn
In What? So What? Now What? Journals, students reflect
on their recent course-related activities as they respond to
each prompt in a journal entry.