Assessment of college teaching is viewed broadly as the gathering of information for understanding and improving teaching as well as judging its quality. It is seen to play a crucial support role at each stage of instructional development: problem clarification, instructional design/redesign, and field testing and implementation. (MSE)

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…

Winthrop University (South Carolina) has linked classroom research with program accountability in its Learning Research Project, which focuses on general education. The pilot and implementation phases of the project are described, noting problems, frustrations, and rewards in each. The experiment has convinced administration and faculty that…

In a study of effectiveness of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) on student learning, two college accounting teachers each taught two classes, one using CATs and one not using them. Course results did not suggest greater learning in CATs classes, better student participation, or more positive attitudes. Further research is recommended on the…

In a study of the utility of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) for improving quality of college instruction, ten instructors were trained in CAT use, implemented those techniques, and discussed experiences with other faculty. Faculty found CATs particularly helpful in certain areas of instruction and planned further use. Students also…

Research on group performance and student teaming is summarized, and a new classroom assessment technique for guiding and monitoring student teams is described. The model provides for early, midway, and summative assessment of collective effort and accounts for a range of social functions in the team environment. Results of this technique's use…

One educator's experience suggests that having graduate teaching assistants use classroom assessment techniques (CATs) in structured assignments is a good way to develop teaching assistants' ability to look beyond their classroom survival concerns in that it provides a safe way for them to engage students in dialogs about learning. Examples of…

Classroom assessment and classroom research in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system is traced to 1989 when the terms entered the community-college faculty-development vocabulary. They are now household words among the 500 faculty participating regularly in faculty development. Problems encountered and positive results are…

Reasons for a national shift from traditional to alternative assessment practices are examined, and the philosophical beliefs and theoretical assumptions of traditional and alternative assessment are examined. Classroom implications of this paradigm shift for instructional strategies, formative and summative evaluation, development of rubrics used…

Formative evaluation of teaching is discussed, and ways of obtaining diagnostic feedback that will lead to improved teaching in large lecture classes are examined. A Teacher Behaviors Inventory is included. (MLW)

A discussion of group dynamics in collaborative learning describes use of this approach in an experimental biology course. Three approaches to group dynamics are outlined (personality and learning style, cognitive style, and group life). Identified are variables that teachers either have little power to affect, can address in course design, or can…

Understanding the link between classroom assessment techniques (CATs) and cognitive learning theory not only allows college teachers to choose and design CATs that fit particular classroom needs, but helps them explicate to students the potential applications of CATs to study strategies in general. Once students make this leap, the effects of a…

Summarizes results of a study on implementation and impact of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) in community colleges, examining how classroom assessment has been applied by teachers, documenting changes in teaching behaviors, and considering costs and benefits. Also examines students' experiences and satisfaction with courses taught using…

Three college instructors, teaching very different content (management, political science, and literature) and using classroom assessment techniques (CATs), compared the results. All found that CATs contributed to self-reflection, that designing CATs helps faculty focus on course and class goals, and that responding to CATs requires students to…