Classroom research and formative evaluation, the most efficient methods of assessing and planning teaching improvements, form the link to quality student learning. An assessment program at Alverno College (Wisconsin) and an instructional improvement program at Miami-Dade Community College (Florida) demonstrate the importance of bringing assessment…

The potential contribution of classroom research as a tool in the training of teaching assistants is explored. By collecting data on what students are learning in their classrooms, teachers can assess the effectiveness of their own teaching. (MLW)

Discusses the role of classroom research in scholarship concerning learning and teaching at the college level. Identifies a shift from assessment for accountability to assessment for improvement to attention to roles of college faculty. Shows how use of classroom assessment techniques as part of a classroom research program can immediately improve…

Classroom research addresses the why and how of learning, encouraging teachers to use their classrooms as laboratories for the study of learning. At its best it involves students as collaborators rather than as subjects. Classroom research has the potential for creating teaching and learning communities with the shared goal of understanding…

Although experts overwhelmingly support the idea of using assessment to improve college instruction, most testing programs call for summative evaluation or accountability rather than formative evaluation. In using assessment to improve instruction it is essential to examine what decisions should be made in order to improve instruction.…