Module 6: Assessment Process

Module 6: Assessment Process

            The economics course includes a variety of assessments:

1.  Weekly discussions – Students are given a prompt and criteria, and asked to respond to the prompt in the discussion forum.  Additionally, students are asked to respond to at least two of their peers.  “This tool is a great technique to encourage students to be analytical in their thinking. By reading others’ thoughts and opinions, students can compare and contrast ideas, develop pros and cons concerning an issue, or take a position and support it logically” (Thiede, 2012).  Being that this class has no face-to-face correspondences, the weekly discussions give the students a chance to communicate and collaborate with each other.  The professor acts as a facilitator during these discussions and is able to access what students are learning through their responses and interactions with peers.

2.  Module Assignments – Each module contains multiple assignments that students are to submit through Dropbox.  Differntiation occurs both throught the content and the product.  The contenct is differentiated by learning style in that it offers a variety of audial and visual resources to help engage the students.  Then, after students go through the content, the assignments are differentiated by product so that students do not have to submit the same types of assignments over and over.  In this course, students are exposed to a variety of web 2.0 tools as they submit speeches through tools like Vocaroo, Prezis, PowerPoint presentations, etc.  These assignments are often linked to a rubric that helps guide the students through completion, and ensures that expectations are known.  According to Thiede (2012), rubrics are especially important during online instruction because of the limited contact between students and instructors. 

3.  Quizzes – Each of the modules contains quizzes that are multiple choice.  The quizzes are timed and strategically placed throughout the module to access what students have learned during a particular part of the module.  When I spoke with the professor during our initial interview, we discusse how there is no way to determine whether or not students actually read the modules or just click through for completion.  The timed quizzes provide good checks for knowledge, and give some insight as to who is actually reading the material and utilizing the resources.

The three major assessments in the course offer effective means of accessing the outcomes.  A variety of resources and online tools are offered to help students complete the assignments and discussion posts.  Therefore, I think the course is effective for meeting the needs of the learners.  At first, I thought the modules were a bit overwhelming in that they contained a lot of information and resources.  However, after perusing the modules further, I think that the modules are chunked sufficiently to ensure that students are not overloaded.  Just when you think there is too much information being given, there is a break for a quiz or an explanation of an assignment. 

            While I do not have any suggestions for improvement at this time, some questions came to mind as I observed and analyzed the assessment process.  In a traditional classroom there are some students who require more time, bigger font, paraphrased questions, etc.  How are EIPs written for online instruction?  How are modifications made when the modules are self-paced?  If given the opportunity, these are some questions I would like to discuss with my mentor teacher.

Thiede, R. (2012). Best Practices with Online Courses. Online Submission.

Ko, S. & Rossen, S. (2010). Teaching online: A practical guide (3rd edition). New York: Routledge.