Topic
A6: Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
Introduction
How can I be sure
my students learn what I want them to? It's a question
any educator must ask.
To answer the question, we usually
rely on any number of assessments,
methods that help us understand what a student knows at any given time.
An assessment may
be done at the end of a course (summative assessment), or during a
course (formative assessment), depending on the type of information
an instructor needs to know. While summative assessment is more useful
for such activities as grade assignment, formative assessments play
a major role in helping students learn. Of course, as we study assessment,
we cannot forget how grading enters the picture. We need to consider
the relationship of assessment to grading to see how they're different
and what they have in common.
This topic will focus on informal
assessment techniques, "Classroom Assessment Techniques," or
CATs -- methods instructors can use in an online learning environment
to collect feedback, early and often, on how well their students are
learning what they are being taught.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of Topic A6, you
will:
- Define assessment and state how it differs from
grading.
- State the purpose of online Classroom Assessment
Techniques (CATs).
- Identify appropriate CATs for an online course.
- Construct an assessment to be used in an online
course and post this assessment to the bulletin board.
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