Module 3 Overview

Overview

Welcome to Module 3: Assessments & Feedback

Traditionally, assessments have been thought of primarily as a way to hold students' feet to the fire—isolated, high-stakes, high-stress moments in time in which students have to prove what they have learned in order to have the work they put into the learning process for weeks or months "pay off" in terms of a sufficient grade.

This approach to assessments is problematic for a number of reasons. First, it fails to adequately engage or motivate a large population of learners. Secondly, it actively shuts down the learning process for many students due to stress and anxiety. Third, it exacerbates some common underlying disadvantages to learning and disparities in learning that some students struggle with. And finally, it doesn't afford a complete picture of student achievement, understanding, or ability.

So, is there a better way?

(YES!)

When conceived of in a different light, assessments can provide an opportunity to invite students into a learning experience. Even when our purpose for including an assessment is evaluative (i.e., summative) over practice (i.e., formative), we can build in opportunities for failure, rework, and acquisition of new information. In other words, rather than using assessments as tools of academic accountability and punishment, we can consider assessments as tools for learning as well as evaluation. The types of assessments you choose to use, the way you use them, the choices you make regarding when to use them, how you communicate your expectations of student work for those assessments, and how you give feedback on that work, are all core functions of teaching in an online classroom.

In this module, we’ll examine:

  • different types of assessments and their purposes
  • how to create and use rubrics in conjunction with your assessments
  • how to give feedback

We will also provide review materials that walk you through how to set up different types of assessments in Canvas. And at the end of this module, we'll ask you to create an assessment and feedback plan for your online course.

Estimated Time Commitment: You should estimate dedicating 5 hours for this module.


Objectives

  1. Select at least one alternative assessment that you could use in your course.
  2. Identify methods for providing feedback, using technologies supported by the university.
  3. Describe how and why to use rubrics for clarifying assessment expectations, grading efficiently, and providing feedback.
  4. Set up at least one assessment in your course.


Agenda

  1. Read the content provided in the module.

If you recall, in Module 1B we introduced you to the 5 Pillars of Effective Course Design rubric. Implementing the information and practices covered in Module 3 into your own course should put you on track to meeting several of the minimum quality expectations for online courses offered by the University of Missouri campuses, as identified in the 5 Pillars rubric:

  • Expectations for course activities are clearly communicated via a rubric or suitable alternative. [rubric item #30]
  • The course contains sufficient formative assessments to allow students to assess their progress, and to allow instructors to monitor student learning throughout the term. [rubric item #32]
  • Learning is evaluated through summative assessments at intervals which allow evaluation of student progress toward course goals (and learning objectives). [rubric item #33]