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Contents

Acknowledgements
Foreword
Using This Resource

I. Preparing to Teach
Planning a course
--Defining Instructional Objectives
--Teaching and Learning Styles: The   Academic Culture
--Choosing and Using Instructional   Materials
--Writing a Syllabus
--Syllabus Checklist
--Using the Syllabus in Class
--Summary of Course Planning
Addressing Students' Needs
--Importance of Knowing Your   Students
--Planning Considerations
--Getting to Know Your Students
--Students of Different Backgrounds
--Students with Disabilities
--Teaching Strategies: Non-Native   Speakers of English
--Creating a Learning Environment
--Dealing with Disruptive Behavior in   the Classroom
--Common Disruptive Student   Behaviors and Possible Responses
--Dealing with Apathetic Students
--Cultural Differences for International   Instructors
--Summary of Addressing Students’   Needs
Teaching Tips
--Organizing Class
--Ways to Be Accessible Outside the   Classroom
--Six Common Non-Facilitating   Teaching Behaviors
--Wireless in the Classroom: Advice   for Faculty
--Summary of Teaching Tips

II. Teaching Methods
The First Day of Class
--When the Class Meets You
--When You Meet the Class
--Diversity the Instructor Brings to the   Classroom
--Conversing with Students with   Disabilities
--Moving Forward
--Summary of the First Day of Class
Lecturing
--Strategies for Effective Learning
--Advantages and Disadvantages of   the Traditional Lecture Method
--Enhancing Learning in Large   Classes
--Chalkboard Technique
--Writing Assignments in the Lecture
--Engaging Women in Math and   Science Courses
--Formulating Effective Questions
--Summary of Lecturing
Discussion
--Brief Overview
--The “Nuts and Bolts” of Discussion
--Facilitating Discussion of Sensitive   Issues
--Encouraging Student Contributions
--Alternative Instructional Methods
--Potential Problems in Discussions
--Summary of Discussion
Expanding Teaching Strategies
--Practical Examples
--Show and Tell
--Case Studies
--Teaching with Case Studies
--Guided Design Projects
--Brainstorming
Group Work
--General Information about Using   Groups
--Group Work in an Introductory   Science Laboratory
Science Labs
--The Role of the Lab Instructor
--What Do the Students Need to   Know?
--The First Day
--Planning and Running a Laboratory
--Safety Procedures
--Summary of Science Labs
Teaching Outside the Classroom
--Tutoring
--Office Hours
--Teaching Students to Solve   Problems
--Advising and Extracurricular   Activities
--Summary of Teaching Outside the   Classroom
Overcoming Misconceptions
--Societal Attitudes and Science   Anxiety
--Misconceptions as Barriers to   Understanding Science
--Common Difficulties and   Misunderstandings

III. Teaching-as-Research
Assessing Student Performance
--Establishing Objectives for   Assessment
--Assessment Primer
--Formulating Effective Methods of   Assessment
--Helping Students Succeed on   Assignments and Exams
--The Why and How of Tests
--Grading Lab Reports, Problem Sets,   and Exam Questions
--Grading Checklist
--Grading Specific Activities
--Grading Writing
--Summary of Assessing Student   Performance
How to Evaluate Your Own Teaching
--Evaluating Your Own Teaching
--A Note on Teaching-as-Research

IV. Appendices
Inspirational Essays
--Mathematics: The Universal   Language of Science
--Transforming Quizzes into Teaching   and Learning Tools
--Teaching My Students to Fish
--Chemistry: The Other Foreign   Language
--Teaching to Different Modes of   Learning
--Notes from a Career in Teaching
Additional Resources
Websites
Graduate Assistant Handbook Outline
--Department- and Institution-Specific   Information
--18 Questions to Have Answered

Works Cited

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• What is assessment
• why do it?
• Why do it in a particular way?

This document addresses these important questions and provides an introduction to the basic concepts and terminology surrounding assessment. The discussion builds toward a generalized model for course development. Central to this discussion is the following key precept: Assessment drives student learning.

Assessment is more than grades.

To many, the word “assessment” simply means the process by which we assign students grades. Assessment is much more than this, however. Assessment is a mechanism for providing instructors with data for improving their teaching methods and for guiding and motivating students to be actively involved in their own learning. As such, assessment provides important feedback to both instructors and students.

Assessment is feedback for both instructors and students.

Assessment gives us essential information about what our students are learning and about the extent to which we are meeting our teaching goals. But the true power of assessment comes in also using it to give feedback to our students. Improving the quality of learning in our courses involves not just determining to what extent students have mastered course content at the end of the course; improving the quality of learning also involves determining to what extent students are mastering content throughout the course.

Thus, in addition to providing us with valuable information about our students’ learning, assessment should assist our students in diagnosing their own learning. That is, assessment should help students “become more effective, self-assessing, self-directed learners” (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p. 4). Various classroom assessment techniques (CATs) have been developed with this in mind.

Assessment drives student learning.

The types of assessment usually performed in first-year science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses – giving students tests – merely inform students about their grade, or ranking, after they have received instruction. In addition, these common testing techniques – which typically test for fact-based knowledge and algorithmic problem solving – tell our students that this is the type of knowledge we think is most important. That is, we appear to value the understanding of concepts at a relatively low level.

Given that this is the type of assessment STEM students most frequently encounter, and that it will eventually lead to their final course grades, students learn to study the course content in an expeditious way that allows them to succeed in passing many first-year STEM courses without necessarily developing deep understanding of concepts. It is assessment that drives students’ learning.

In fact, assessment drives student learning whether we want it to or not. The consequences of relying upon our “tried and true” assessment methods are profound; these assessment methods may actively promote superficial learning. If we wish to actively steer what our students learn, and how well they learn it, we must (1) actually decide what we want our students to take away from the course, and (2) choose our classroom assessment techniques appropriately (Anderson & Sosniak, 1994; National Research Council, 1996; Tobias & Raphael, 1997; Wiggins, 1998). The importance of setting course goals – articulating them and writing them down – cannot be overstated. Evaluating the extent to which we have attained our stated course goals is the primary motivation for why we “do assessment.” Furthermore, ensuring that our assessment techniques can measure our stated goals is the reason for why we “do assessment in a particular way.”

Why do assessment?

To evaluate attainment of course goals
For every course we teach, we make decisions about what we want our students to know and be able to do by the end of the semester. Though we might not always formalize these goals by writing them down, we still make decisions about the curriculum, the instructional methods, and the assessment techniques we will employ. In terms of curriculum, we decide which topics to cover, and how they connect with previous and forthcoming topics. We also decide which instructional methods we will use to deliver the curriculum – lectures, group activities, readings, homework assignments, etc. Similarly, we decide what assessment techniques we will use (e.g., multiple-choice tests). Thus, the decisions we make reflect our goals for the course whether we state them or not. It is important, therefore, to formalize course goals while the course is still in its planning stage.

Formalizing our goals is only the first step, however. We must also measure the extent to which we are attaining these goals. This is why we do assessment. Logically, we must choose classroom assessment techniques that are appropriately suited to measuring our particular goals. That is, we must align our assessment techniques with our stated goals.

Why do assessment in a particular way?

To align assessment with stated goals

The most commonly employed assessment technique in first-year STEM courses is the multiple-choice test. Such tests are usually most effective at measuring fact-based knowledge and ability to perform algorithmic problem-solving. If our stated goals are that students be able to recite facts and to solve simple algorithmic problems, then the chosen assessment technique is well aligned with the stated goals. However, if our goals include different student outcomes than these (e.g., an understanding of the scientific “process,” a lifelong interest in the subject, the ability to critically analyze science in popular media, etc.), then this assessment technique will not provide useful feedback about attainment of these goals.

Furthermore, misaligned assessment techniques convey to students the wrong message about what we want them to take from the course. As suggested previously, an instructor’s choice of assessment technique drives student learning (Anderson & Sosniak, 1994; National Research Council, 1996; Tobias & Raphael, 1997; Wiggins, 1998).

Concerns about assessment are not the only ones faced in the development and refinement of STEM courses; decisions about curriculum and instructional methods are equally important, and assessment plays a vital role in guiding these decisions.

Summary

Assessment is feedback for both students and instructors.

The perspective that has been advocated here is that we can use carefully constructed classroom assessment techniques as a means of determining whether or not we are meeting our stated course goals, not just for assigning our students grades.

For us, classroom assessment can help us answer the following questions:

• To what extent are my students achieving the stated course goals?
• How should I allocate class time for the current topic?
• Can I introduce this topic in a more effective way?
• What parts of this course are my students finding most valuable?
• How will I change this course the next time I teach it?
• Which grades do I assign my students?

For our students, classroom assessment answers a different set of questions:

• Do I know what my instructor thinks is most important?
• Am I mastering the course content?
• How can I improve the way I study in this course?
• What grade am I earning in this course?

Answering these questions and others can inform and improve the quality of student learning in our classes.

A Charge to Change

We can not emphasize enough how important it is to actually write down your course goals and share them with your students. Our goals are what bind the course together (Figure 1). Our choices of curriculum , instruction, and assessment are all guided by – and held together by – our goals. Once your course goals are set, questions about instruction, assessment, and grading will be much more focused. This is a small step beyond the assessment strategies that most faculty are already doing; yet with a small investment in planning, the data acquired can provide valuable feedback for improving the quality of student learning. And ultimately, our students are what course development is all about.