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Assessment Resources
Assessment Resources
This page collects some various ways of connecting with assessment including faculty-authored
assessment success stories,
more information about some of the institution's assessment professionals and practices,
and
links to external resources.
Fall 2019 Assessment Workshop Series
Registration for the workshops will open in early August.
Assessment Essentials #1: Getting Started with Assessment
What is it we’re assessing and why?
Robynn Shannon (Assistant Director of Assessment in the Teaching and Learning Commons)
and Lou Slimak (Director of Academic Excellence and Assessment) will introduce
workshop participants to the fundamentals of assessing student learning and dispel
common misconceptions about assessment before moving on to an interactive, hands-on
activity. The short introductory presentation will cover assessment at course,
program, and institutional levels, assessment as a key step in backward, integrated
course design, and how to use assessment results to improve learning.
Friday, September 6, 10:00-12:00, Downtown Library Room 104
Thursday, September 12, 2:00-4:00, AER 120
Assessment Essentials #2: Building Better Courses
How can I improve student learning in my courses?
This workshop will begin with a short exploration of how courses can become more
“learning-centered” through the principles of alignment of learning outcomes, activities,
and assessment. Participants will be invited to contribute their own experiences
to a discussion of using assessment results to improve learning. The workshop
will conclude with interactive, hands-on activities for which participants are
encouraged to bring a syllabus. Presented by Robynn Shannon (Assistant Director
of Assessment in the Teaching and Learning Commons) and Lou Slimak (Director of
Academic Excellence and Assessment).
Friday, October 18, 10:00-12:00, Downtown Library Room 104
Thursday, October 24, 2:00-4:00, AER 120
Assessment Essentials #3: Refining Your Course-Level Assessments
How can I improve my assessment of student learning?
Why can’t I just use grades as assessments?
Incorporating authentic, embedded assessments of student learning into your
courses can be challenging. In this interactive workshop, participants will
be introduced to some assessment practices that start them on the road to creating
their own embedded assessments. A brief introductory presentation will be
followed with a hands-on activity for which participants are encouraged to bring
a syllabus. Presenters are Robynn Shannon (Assistant Director of Assessment
in the Teaching and Learning Commons) and Lou Slimak (Director of Academic Excellence
and Assessment).
Friday, November 8, 10:00-12:00, Downtown Library Room 104
Thursday, November 14, 2:00-4:00, AER 120
Assessment Stories Around WVU
Assessment Success Stories from the Faculty
I teach several fully online courses in political science. Three require a final paper (POLS230 Intro to Pubic Policy Analysis, POLS240 Intro to Public Administration, POLS317 Interest Groups & Democracy). Two of these (POLS230 and POLS240) are Eberly College SpeakWrite certified (see https://speakwrite.wvu.edu/faculty/course-certification )
I used to give students the instructions for the paper at mid-semester and I offered to review a draft by request on a case-by-case basis. Unfortunately, only the best students requested a draft review. The others clearly waited until the last minute to write the paper and I found myself disappointed and frustrated by the poor quality. In retrospect, the paper taught the students little. I strongly suspect many were tempted to finish using any means they could just to turn in something.
I’ve since scaffolded the paper assignment into multiple parts:
- Write a paragraph describing what you want to study, explaining why it interests you, and asking one question you want to answer (very low value –10 out of 150 points).
- Provide a detailed outline (low but a bit higher value – 15 out of 150 points).
- Provide an annotated bibliography (25 out of 150 points).
- Provide a draft paper/report (25 out of 150 points). As a bonus, submit it to ThinkingStorm for comments and earn an additional 15 bonus points (the equivalent of one letter grade on the entire 150-point series of paper assignments).
- Provide a final paper/report (75 out of 150 points).
Dueling Perspectives