A good Assessment
Strategy need to provide a balance of group: individual assessed tasks, as well
as traditional and innovative strategies. I think it's healthy to keep some
kind of traditional assessment strategy to satisfy part of the students’
expectations. After all, there is a stereotype of the Teaching and Learning
process that shapes part of the students' expectations. of course, innovation
is expected, however, it should be a small component in the overall Assessment
strategy, not to threaten the stability of the process, while meeting the rest
of the students' expectations in having innovative assessments that answers
their own generation's calls.
Online multiple
choice quizzes, when designed well, can make an excellent assessment strategy.
I usually try to keep this kind of assessment long, to increase the challenge
level, and phrase the question well to accurately test the students’ level of
understanding. This method is also the most popular internationally among many
reputed organizations as a method to grant professional certification, which is
an integral part of the students’ continuing education in the future. Online multiple
choice quizzes can work really well as formative assessment strategy. Quizzes
can be based on big questions databases, configured to select random versions,
and allow multiple attempts with ongoing average. Students can take such
quizzes as they are revising as many times as they like and monitor their own
progress.
On the less
traditional end, Digital Narratives and Case Study based tests can make very
good assessment strategies. Digital Narratives allow students to express their
findings in a creative manner and help shaping their Independent Learning
activities as they are planning the production. They need to clarify their
understanding of basic concepts and research around topics to be able to
express them creatively, as a result get to a deeper level in their learning.
On the other hand,
Case Study based test, where a case study is shared with the students prior the
assessment date to familiarize themselves with the overall scenario and any
difficult terminology. Students then, in couple of days duration, come to the
assessment with all the useful resources they found in their research with
relevance to the assessed case ready to answer the Test questions. The test
questions are then shared for the first time at the beginning of the formal
assessment session. This method help guide the students readiness for assessed
tasks within specific context, which is similar to the situations they'll face
at work, where they need to use their problem solving skills to relate the
concepts they learned in their classes to particular real world scenarios.
You make a good point Baraa about the students' expectations of a 'proper' assessment which are often more formal than we might think. I completely agree that it's our role as educators though to create a balance between these expectations and much more modern, innovative forms of assessment like digital narratives and which allow them to apply their learning to real situations like the case studies you mention.
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