This chapter describes an evolving narrative inquiry into the use of formative sustainability assessments in teacher education for elementary and secondary level education. Framed within a postmodern approach to education, we describe the efficacy of using experiential, performative, discursive, graphic, and reflective assessments to bolster…

This chapter describes best practices for the peer evaluation process in online team-based learning (TBL). Formative peer evaluation is an essential element of effective course delivery for online TBL classes, and when done well, shapes a group of individuals with a shared set of tasks into an interdependent team of learners. More generally,…

This article focuses on curriculum-based learning communities (LCs). In these LCs, manipulation of the curriculum is intentional and often innovative, with the overarching goals of developing meaningful connections among students, between students and faculty, and between students and their coursework. The variety of curriculum-based models…

At Wagner College, students are required to participate in a series of three curriculum-based learning communities (C-BLCs) as the core of the undergraduate curriculum known as the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. This article describes the senior learning community (LC) in psychology at Wagner College, which is an example of a…

In 2006, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) launched a major initiative, the Top 25 Project, to embed inquiry-guided learning (IGL) into its largest-enrollment courses across the university. These are generally entry-level classes and thus affect many students: 75 percent of incoming students on its main campus in 2010 were in at least one Top 25…

Instructional designers working in international settings are often interested in reports on how particular courses or programs have been implemented in other contexts; doing so either confirms or extends their own experiences. In the hope that such information can benefit the larger design community, this article specifically shows how contextual…

In contrast to traditional courses, in which students are accountable only to the instructor, effective implementation of any group-based instructional format, including team-based learning (TBL), requires that students be accountable to both the instructor and their peers. Unfortunately, some instructors resist using groups because of concerns…

Illustrates how the scholarship of teaching could be assessed, recognized, and rewarded, addressing both formative and summative evaluations. Addresses the question of who should determine the standards and criteria by which to review and critique the scholarship of teaching and whether studies in the scholarship of teaching should be required to…

This article provides an overview of one Canadian provincially initiated curriculum reform effort in which several generic learning outcomes were established. It also presents a flexible, practical, and integrated framework for the development, implementation, and evaluation of program-level learning outcomes in undergraduate curricula contexts.…

Describes new developments in formative assessment and challenges for the educational community. Asserts that many current assessment practices that serve certification and prediction functions well are not well suited for improving learning. Calls for alternative approaches to assessment, rooted in cognitive theories of knowledge and learning,…

A general overview of the SI model is provided, including the SI philosophy, essential components of the program, program structures, key roles, outcomes, and evaluation. A review of what we have learned about the importance of planning SI sessions, providing ongoing training for leaders, conducting regular SI program assessments, and implementing…

Classroom assessment information should be the basis for important classroom processes and outcomes: students' study and work patterns, students' understanding of what they are learning, and teachers' instructional and grading decisions. Attention to principles of assessment quality, especially validity and reliability, increases confidence in the…

Problem-based service-learning projects are complex and ambiguous learning environments. New thinking about assessment must occur to be able to assist the learning from this type of project. (Contains 1 table.)

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)

Explores the distinctions among good teaching, scholarly teaching, and teaching scholarship and discusses methods of formative evaluation that can produce improvement in these areas. (EV)