Dan Wolczuk, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Waterloo
"Assessing Assessment"
Ideas like assessments for learning, mastery grading, sustainable assessment, and ungrading have been around for decades. However, over the past few years there has been a great increase in the amount of discussion around these and other types of assessments. But where does this leave instructors? When I started teaching it was simple. Most courses had weekly or biweekly written homework assignments, one or two term tests, and a heavily weighted final exam. Nowadays, instructors have so many choices for assessing their students and it can be daunting to try to determine which ones to use to achieve the desired learning outcomes for their course.
In this session, we will examine current trends and thoughts about assessing students. By shining a light on the methods and the motivations behind them, participants will be able to make informed decisions about the assessment methods most suitable for their courses.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- compare and contrast formative and summative assessments;
- discuss pros and cons of various assessment methods; and
- identify how different types of assessments link with certain learning outcomes.