Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2016, Volume 37
Susan Purdy & Christine Petersen
Abstract
Traditional examination-type, end-of-semester tests are seen by educators as a necessary part of the education process. We need to assess what the student knows and if they have met the learning outcomes for the course or the lab (or both), and this provides the basis for assigning the final grade (summative assessment). There is, however, another purpose for assessment, and that is to assist in learning (formative assessment). This type of assessments can assist student learning in a number of ways. The Instructor can gain valuable insight into the students' strengths and difficulties in mastering a topic/skill/concept and make adjustments to their teaching. It can allow the student to assess their learning, and what they still need to master and what adjustments they need to make to reach their learning goals (metacognition). The type of assessments that we give students can have a real, and improved, impact on their learning. By using assessment tools that are engaging, and also testing for skills higher up in Bloom's taxonomy of learning, such as evaluation, synthesis and analysis, we can emulate the competencies that our students will need in the modern day world. In this hands-on workshop we will describe and then practice some of the different types of assessment tools that we have used to engage students in the lecture and the lab, and then we will discuss their impacts.
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