Now is the time we turn our attention to, or perhaps brace ourselves for, upcoming final exams, term papers, portfolios, critiques and other means of assessing our students’ cumulative semester achievements. We also turn our attention at this time to our spring semester syllabi. As we reflect on our own cumulative semester achievements or failures and ponder change, areas to consider are our classroom assessment techniques and the influence they have on student success in our courses.

Penn State’s John Low asserts that the first day of class is the best time to begin the assessment process. Lowe’s students complete a survey on their first day. This survey alerts them to his course goals and study expectations, as well as draws their attention to the comments on grading practices within his syllabus. The survey is also of great benefit to John, as it provides him an initial assessment of his student’s prior knowledge in major course content areas.

In their book Classroom Assessment Techniques, Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross write “if a teacher’s goal is to help students learn points A through Z during the course, then that teacher needs to know whether all students are really staring at point A and, as the course proceeds, whether they have reached intermediate points B, L, R, W, and so on.” Knowing students’ entry points helps us understand how to best teach our courses, and provides us, as we conduct further assessments throughout the semester, with a gauge of our own teaching effectiveness. As Angelo and Cross conclude, “the central purpose of Classroom Assessment is to empower both teachers and their students to improve the quality of learning in the classroom.”

-Martin Springborg

Angelo, Thomas A. and Cross, Patricia K. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lowe, John P. (2004). Assessment that Promotes Learning. Retrieved December 01, 2006, from Penn State University Web site: http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/Resources/Assessment-Learning.asp

MAR 16-17: ENGLISH COMPOSITION: CROSSING LINES, FORGING CONNECTIONS & EXTENDING OPPORTUNITIES
Century College.
Discipline Workshop Information

MAR 25-26: CHINA SYMPOSIUM 2007
St. Cloud State University..
Discipline Workshop Information

APR 2: PROMOTING HEALTHY BEHAVIORS
Inver Hills Community College.
Discipline Workshop Information

APR 21: WHAT NEW SIGN LANGUAGES CAN TEACH US ABOUT ASL
Location: North Star Academy, St. Paul.
Discipline Workshop Information

APR 27-28: MATHEMATICS: SHARPEN THE FOCUS
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Discipline Workshop Information

MAY 1: LIBRARY REFERENCE AND INFORMATION LITERACY SERVICES IN THE DIGITAL AGE
North Hennepin Community College.
Discipline Workshop Information

Teaching Tip of the Week

The Grade's The Thing!

As the semester closes, we as faculty turn our attention to the importance of giving the final grade. And by now, most of our students are tuned into it as well! After professionally adjudicating for 25 years now, let me share some of my insights that I now find helpful.

1. Each student is unique, with sets of skills that may or may not have been used in your course. Do students who score high always deserve the A? Do students of lower ability need to be compared directly to those with much more experience? Focusing on individual improvement versus a comparison with classmates helps each student achieve.

2. Using communicated criteria on assignments helps students know your expectations which make the final grades easier to assign. Offer students a checklist of what goes into an assignment to help them achieve what you deem important about the assignment.

3. Do you make the end of the course assignments worth more than at the beginning? Do you create benchmark assignments that lead to the larger assignments? Have you weighted the most important assignments so those drive the final grade?

4. Students can grade themselves on the same set of criteria you use in determining the final grade and turn their assessment into you. Many of them are honest and it can help you identify those who may be coming back to ask you for a grade change. Discussing the grading criteria in your syllabus at the beginning of the course is also valuable.

In closing, keep in mind the importance of the final grade. This will stick with students for a long time to come. Even though you may post hundreds of grades for this course over the year, this will hopefully be the only one they get. Give them what they earn. It is your honest assessment of them showing you their evidence of thinking, while meeting your expectations.

-Zala Fashant

CTL Report

Spring Discipline Workshops Announced!

This week, CTL announced to the planners of 6 discipline workshops that their funding was approved. Here is a preview of spring semester workshops:

English: English Composition: Crossing Lines, Forging Connections & Extending Opportunities
Interdisciplinary: China Symposium 2007
ASL: What New Sign Languages Can Teach Us About ASL
Math: Mathematics: Sharpen the Focus
Faculty Librarians: Library Reference and Information Literacy Services in the Digital Age
Health, Physical Education, and Exercise Science: Promoting Healthy Behaviors

Interested in applying for funds for your own discipline workshop? Visit the Discipline Workshop section of the CTL Web site for a description of the program, an application for funds, planner’s management guidelines, and information on upcoming workshops.

Watch for a call for Summer and Fall 2007 Discipline and Program Workshop proposals to come out in January, 2007.