Module 01: Connecting Assessment Uses to Assessment Techniques

In his article on alternative assessment Buhagiar article (2007) enumerates six uses of assessment created by Caroline Gipps and Gordon Stobart in 1993. The list that follows equates each of those uses to a technique that was used in Module One of our class:

1. Screening: Screening was utilized by determining which of us could use the tools that were required for the course and which could not use them without assistance from the instructor or classmates. The module incorporated a variety of tools that required finding outside Web sites, checking and responding to e-mail, finding tools that allowed editing of a page, finding, completing and submitting a survey, locating and reading on-line materials, demonstrating understanding by reviewing the materials, and responding to others using course tools. I am certain I missed some. Regardless, the introductory activities should surface where attention may be required.
2. Diagnosis: Similar to above, the diagnosis portion could determine how assistance was received by the learner who needed it, who waited until the last minute (like me), who was quick to offer assistance, and who needed that assistance most often.
3. Record-keeping: Record keeping assures that students completing this program have actually completed the required coursework, which supports the objectives of the course. There needs to be some assurance to stakeholders that the certification or diploma received was the result of meeting the objectives and not simply buying a degree. Creating activities that learners complete allows the instructor to have some degree of assurance that objectives are being met.
4. Feedback: The feedback in this module came in many forms. How easily were the learners able to follow the instructions? Was additional instruction or clarification required? Are the peers providing quality feedback to one another or do they need to be assisted in understanding the nature of quality feedback? The survey completed provided information to the instructor and, ultimately, to the institution about the demographics and interests of the students. The survey also provided information to the instructor that could strengthen the feedback he provides to students by understanding more about who they are.
5. Certification: Learners certify by demonstrating mastery of certain objectives. In Module One learners are asked to address the objectives of 1) Define, compare and contrast standardized and alternative assessment techniques, 2) Illustrate the role of formative and summative assessment in an online course and program, 3) Interpret and practice the use of a wiki as an online assessment tool, and 4) Practice and demonstrate use of a discussion as an informal assessment technique. Activities were created addressing each objective, each had an outcome, and each could be assessed for level of completion.
6. Selection: Selection was used in a variety of ways. The movie discussion allowed students to self-select into discussions that were of interest to them. The assessment discussion allowed for the same outcome. The survey and other assessment techniques explored here can allow for the instructor to select certain groups. For example, the instructor may pair technically stronger learners with technically weaker learners, or learners with common or disparate interests to try to stimulate conversation, or place late posters with early posters to use peer pressure to stimulate earlier response to questions.

• Which tool did you like best and why?  I liked the survey best, then the movie discussion, and finally the wiki.
  
• What assessment advantages does it offer to your own course design plans? I like to know where my learners are coming from. Sometimes I have a group of technically skilled students and I can introduce challenging discussion items that prepare them for future classes. Sometimes I have technically challenged learners and our discussions, tips, and tools are intended to make them better prepared for the requirements of the current class. Additionally, I may have a whole group of Accounting majors or Medical IT majors. When I have students all in one field, I can address the materials more directly to the nature of the work these students will likely be doing.

---

I had some difficulty determining that these were the six techniques that we were to discuss, because I expected them to refer specifically to alternative assessment. I decided to go with them anyway as several were clearly used in the three opening techniques of the ice-breaker, wiki, and survey.

I seem to be survey-challenged. I took the survey the first day or two after the class opened and really liked it. Then I discovered I had not taken the survey. I was thinking that I had just forgotten to click "Save" again. Been there, done that. But no; it was a different survey. I looked all over the site for the first survey I had taken and never did find it. I had to change my comments in the discussion, because I didn't like this survey as well.

I recall writing in the first survey about two things that are meaningful to me: 1) meeting Conrad Anker in a restaurant in Tingri, Tibet in 2007, and 2) journeying to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, in Belize. The comments I made said something about my interests. The second survey did not leave me with the same feeling of having expressed something about myself.

Resources:
Buckman, Ken. "What Counts as Assessment in the 21st Century." Thought & Action 23 (2007): 29-37.
Buhagiar, Michael A. "Classroom assessment within the alternative assessment paragdigm: revisiting the territory." the Curriculum Journal (2007): 39-56.