Classroom Assessment Examples - During Class Time
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The Assessment Process
All of the following examples reflect this assessment process. It is important to be aware of where we are in the process, what we need to do to prepare for the next step, and how those decisions and results can be used to improve our future use of classroom assessment. |
| Gather information | Assess student preparedness and comprehension of course reading by giving a short quiz before the class begins. |
| Analyze the information | Review the quiz results to identify weak areas. |
| Act on the analysis | In class, refer to the results of the quiz, identifying any troublesome areas. |
| Sample 1 | Ask students to list as many ideas as they can related to a particular term or concept from the reading. Repeat the assessment at the end of the class period.1 |
| Sample 2 | |
| Online | Plan ahead for attention-span issues and to avoid cognitive overload. Keep online presentations to 8-10 minutes and/or break up with online polls or, when using synchronous media, breakout groups. |
Resources and Notes
1See Angelo and Cross for a detailed description of the “focused listing” technique.
Available at the Office for Teaching, Learning and Assessment library.
| Gather information | Use i-clickers to evaluate understanding of sound wave creation and effects. Include questions that identify underlying misconceptions about the nature of waves. |
| Analyze the information | See results in the polling that show 25% of students believe sound waves are transverse, like light waves. |
| Act on the analysis | Identify and explain this difference, review the facts vs. the myths. |
| Sample 1 | To solidify their new understanding, have students do a “think-pair-share” exercise to come up with an example or analogy of their own. Discuss 2 or 3 examples before continuing. Re-take the i-clicker poll. |
| Sample 2 | Have small groups of students create a simulation that shows changes in sound waves. Re-take the clicker poll. |
| Online | Plan ahead to assess understanding of key concepts. Have students use an online animation to simulate the nature of sound waves. In discussion forum, have them provide their own analogies or describe an idea for their own simulation. |
| Gather information | Asking students to describe the most significant thing they learned not only gives you feedback on your teaching but also strengthens their learning. |
| Analyze the information | Scan the assessments to see what concepts you might need to address again in the next class. |
| Act on the analysis | Begin the next class by summarizing the assessment results. |
| Sample 1 | At the end of each class period, ask students to devote one minute to writing a paper describing the most important thing they learned. |
| Sample 2 | Alternatively, ask students to devote a minute to describing the “muddiest point” –that is, the idea that continues to confuse them.1 |
Resources and Notes
1See detailed descriptions of the minute paper and “muddiest point” exercise in Angelo and Cross
Available at the Office for Teaching, Learning and Assessment library.
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