Assessment Terminology Flashcards
Backward Design
The idea of Backward Design comes from Wiggins & McTighe and suggests that learning experiences should be planned with the final assessment in mind
One starts with the end - the desired results (goals or standards) - and then derives the curriculum from the evidence of learning (performances) called for by the standard and the teaching needed to equip students to perform' (Wiggins and McTighe, 2000, page 8)
By beginning with the end in mind, teachers are able to avoid the common problem of planning forward from unit to another, only to find that in the end some students are prepared for the final assessment and others are not.
There are three stages to backward design:
Stage 1: Identify Desired Results Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence of Learning Stage 3: Design Learning Experiences & Instruction
Constructive alignment
Constructive alignment is a principle used for devising teaching and learning activities, and assessment tasks, that directly address the learning outcomes intended in a way not typically achieved in traditional lectures, tutorial classes and examinations (Biggs and Tang, 2011)
Surface, strategic, and deep learning approaches
Surface, deep and strategic learning
One of the most basic characteristics of any learning process is the depth of study that it involves, the two extremes in the spectrum being surface learning, deep learning, and strategic learning.
Surface learning (as its name implies) involves simply ‘scraping the surface’ of the material being studied, without carrying out any deep processing of the material. Students who adopt such a surface approach tend to work according to the following general pattern:
concentrating purely on assessment requirements accepting information and ideas passively memorising facts and procedures routinely ignoring guiding principles or patterns failing to reflect on underlying purpose or strategy.
Students who adopt a deep approach, on the other hand, make a serious attempt to turn other people’s ideas into their own personalised structure of knowledge. They tend to work according to the following general pattern:
endeavouring to understand material for themselves interacting vigorously and critically with content relating ideas to previous knowledge and experience using organising principles to integrate ideas relating evidence to conclusions examining the logic of arguments.
Students who adopt a strategic approach to learning consciously set out to achieve the highest possible grades. They tend to work according to the following general pattern:
putting steady effort into study seeking out the right conditions and materials contriving to put time and effort to maximum effect knowing the requirements and criteria of assessment relating work to the preferences of lecturers
Clearly, all good teachers should try to give their students the opportunity to become deep rather than surface learners. Effective teachers also encourage students to be strategic when the occasion warrants
Surface, deep and strategic learning
One of the most basic characteristics of any learning process is the depth of study that it involves, the two extremes in the spectrum being surface learning, deep learning, and strategic learning.
Surface learning (as its name implies) involves simply ‘scraping the surface’ of the material being studied, without carrying out any deep processing of the material. Students who adopt such a surface approach tend to work according to the following general pattern:
concentrating purely on assessment requirements accepting information and ideas passively memorising facts and procedures routinely ignoring guiding principles or patterns failing to reflect on underlying purpose or strategy.
Students who adopt a deep approach, on the other hand, make a serious attempt to turn other people’s ideas into their own personalised structure of knowledge. They tend to work according to the following general pattern:
endeavouring to understand material for themselves interacting vigorously and critically with content relating ideas to previous knowledge and experience using organising principles to integrate ideas relating evidence to conclusions examining the logic of arguments.
Students who adopt a strategic approach to learning consciously set out to achieve the highest possible grades. They tend to work according to the following general pattern:
putting steady effort into study seeking out the right conditions and materials contriving to put time and effort to maximum effect knowing the requirements and criteria of assessment relating work to the preferences of lecturers
Clearly, all good teachers should try to give their students the opportunity to become deep rather than surface learners. Effective teachers also encourage students to be strategic when the occasion warrants
High-Impact Practices
High-Impact Practices (HIPs) are techniques and designs for teaching and learning that have proven to be beneficial for student engagement and successful learning among students from many backgrounds. Through intentional program design and advanced pedagogy, these types of practices can enhance student learning and work to narrow gaps in achievement across student populations.
Performance task
A performance task is a goal-directed assessment exercise. It consists of an activity or assignment that is completed by the student and then judged by the teacher or other evaluator on the basis of specific performance criteria.
Cognitive load
In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory. Cognitive load theory was developed out of the study of problem solving by John Sweller in the late 1980s.[1] Sweller argued that instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load in learners. Cognitive load theory differentiates cognitive load into three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. Intrinsic cognitive load is the effort associated with a specific topic. Extraneous cognitive load refers to the way information or tasks are presented to a learner. And germane cognitive load refers to the work put into creating a permanent store of knowledge, or a schema. Researchers Paas and Van Merriënboer developed a way to measure perceived mental effort which is indicative of cognitive load.[2] Task-invoked pupillary response is a reliable and sensitive measurement of cognitive load that is directly related to working memory.[3] Heavy cognitive load can have negative effects on task completion, and it is important to note that the experience of cognitive load is not the same in everyone. The elderly, students, and children experience different, and more often higher, amounts of cognitive load. High cognitive load in the elderly has been shown to affect their center of balance.[4] With increased distractions and cell phone use students are more prone to experiencing high cognitive load which can reduce academic success.[5] Children have less general knowledge than adults which increases their cognitive load.[citation needed].
Cognition and Meta-cognition
It is often difficult to distinguish the difference between cognition and metacognition. They are closely related and can often overlap. Flavell described an example such as “Asking yourself questions about the chapter might function either to improve your knowledge (a cognitive function) or to monitor it (a metacognitive function).” This quote shows how different, yet similar these two concepts can be.
Metacognition is a subdivision of cognition, or a type of cognition. Metacogition is defined as the scientific study of an individual’s cognitions about his or her own cognitions.
Cognition is a mental process that include memory, attention, producing and understanding language, reasoning, learning, problem-solving and decision making. It is often referred to as information processing, applying knowledge, and changing preferences.
It is often difficult to distinguish the difference between cognition and metacognition. They are closely related and can often overlap. Flavell described an example such as “Asking yourself questions about the chapter might function either to improve your knowledge (a cognitive function) or to monitor it (a metacognitive function).” This quote shows how different, yet similar these two concepts can be.
Metacognition is a subdivision of cognition, or a type of cognition. Metacogition is defined as the scientific study of an individual’s cognitions about his or her own cognitions.
The Dance Floor and The Balcony
In their fine book, “Leadership on the Line,” authors Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky offer a practical and wise solution: get off the dance floor (daily operations), and up on the “balcony.” Managers and leaders have to take themselves out of the fray to understand what’s really going on. You can’t affect action up on the balcony; to have an impact, you must return to the dance floor. But the perspective is clearest on the balcony; that’s where an assessment can best be done. The authors suggest that managers and leaders continually move back and forth between the dance floor and balcony.
Deliberate Practice
In the book Talent is Overrated, Fortune Magazine editor Geoff Colvin highlights recent studies that show that greatness can be developed by any man, in any field, through the process of deliberate practice. How does one practice deliberately? Colvin proposes five elements that allow a man to practice deliberately and thus achieve greatness.
- Deliberate practice is an activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher’s help. Most people practice by mindlessly repeating an activity over and over without any clear goal of what they want to accomplish. For example, let’s say a man wants to improve his golf game. If he’s like most men, he’ll just go to the driving range and hit a couple of buckets of balls without thinking much about specific ways he can improve his swing. Three hundred balls later, this man hasn’t improved at all. In fact, he may have gotten worse.
Deliberate practice, on the other hand, is designed with clear objectives and goals. When top performers practice, they break down their skill into sharply defined elements. After
Novice-Expert differences
Differences Experts and Novices Cognitive Training Psychology
July 24, 2013 by Cognitive Performance Group 0 Comments
The cognitive psychology and naturalistic decision making communities have developed an extensive amount of literature documenting the differences between novice and expert performance. Why is it important to compare the knowledge structure of experts with the knowledge structure of novices? By comparing experts with novices, we are able to specify how experts and novices differ in understanding, storing, recalling, and manipulating knowledge of a given domain (Bruer, 2010).
This is important because as learning professionals, we need to be aware that expert and novice learners demand different instructional approaches. Individuals learn by building on what they know. Therefore, developing “learning events for novices using the same instructional strategies as you do for someone who has a high level of knowledge in a content area” will not be as effective (Knapp, 2012). In order to design training that supports the learning process, it is essential to define these two levels of proficiency and understand the differences between them.
What exactly is an expert or a novice?
Differences Experts and Novices Training Performance Measures
Experts are individuals who know a great deal about a domain and understand how the discipline is organized. This includes an ability to comprehend and contribute to the language and methodology of the discipline. As an expert, performance becomes more intuitive and automatic. At this level of mastery, an individual immediately understands the critical aspects of a given situation and does not focus on the less significant attributes.
Novices are individuals who have limited or no experience in situations characteristic of their domain (as summarized by Ross, Phillips, Klein, & Cohn, 2005). A novice’s understanding of the discipline is based largely on rules. At this level, novice learners rely on facts and features of the domain to guide their behavior. Because of this, performance is quite inflexible and limited.
Concept Inventories and Concept Tests (also spelled Concep Tests)
Concept testing involves testing the “idea” of something, rather than the actual thing itself. The concept is communicated with a rough illustration or photograph, along with a written description. Think of a concept as a rough print ad, although concepts can be presented in storyboard or video form.
Concept testing is widely used to evaluate new product ideas, so that potentially successful new products can be identified early on. Then limited research and development resources (and limited marketing resources) can be focused on the new product concepts with the greatest probability of consumer acceptance in the marketplace. Concept testing can also be used to help evaluate advertising concepts, promotional concepts, packaging concepts, and strategy concepts.
Threshold Concepts & Skills
“A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress.”
Read more: Introduction to Threshold Concepts http://www.doceo.co.uk/tools/threshold_3.htm#ixzz3g6uCGM7T
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
“A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress.”
Read more: Introduction to Threshold Concepts http://www.doceo.co.uk/tools/threshold_3.htm#ixzz3g6uCGM7T
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
Examples of High Impact Practices (HIPs)
First-Year Seminars and Experiences Common Intellectual Experiences Learning Communities Writing-Intensive Courses Collaborative Assignments and Projects Undergraduate Research Diversity/Global Learning Service Learning/Community Based Learning/Internships Capstone Courses and Projects
7 Transformative Guidelines for Doing Assessment as if Teaching and Learning Matter Most
- Building shared trust
- Build shared language and concepts - develop a collective understanding of the key concepts (mental models) needed for transformation
- Build shared goals and motivation
- Design backward and work forward
- Think and act systematically
- Take a scholarly approach
- Don’t assume , ask
Six Dimensions of HIgher Learning Outcomes
Factual Learning - learning facts and principles
Conceptual Learning - learning concepts and theories
Procedural Learning - learning skills and procedures
Conditional Learning - learning applications
Metacognition - learning how to learn
Reflective Learning - developing self-knowledge, cultural awareness, ethics, etc.
