This study, conducted across five classes and four disciplines, explores how students respond to a choice-based assessment scheme where students accumulate points by choosing from a menu of assignments. Students were surveyed at the beginning and end of the semester to assess their motivation, engagement, self-regulation, and stress levels. The…

Innovation courses are needed in higher education to meet workforce demands and prepare students for societal challenges. Assessment of outcomes can be challenging in innovation courses, particularly those that leverage diversity to drive innovation. The authors report on assessment methods in one such course at a public university using the…

Creating summative assessments that accurately test students' breadth of knowledge and critical thinking can be a difficult task. Instructors often rely upon overly complex quick response questions or constructed response exams. However, students often have negative perceptions of the latter. The authors implemented an approach for administering…

The flipped classroom, based on constructivist theory, focuses on acquiring strengths within a discipline rather than knowledge transmission. While the process of flipping the classroom has been extensively explored, little discussion has followed concerning how to effectively evaluate student learning in this new teaching paradigm. The authors…

How do teachers situate themselves in their roles as assessors of student work? How do they maintain high standards and provide critical feedback while also doing their best not to shame students who fail to meet those standards? The purpose of this article is to propose a relational approach to assessment. This approach calls on faculty to…

The authors focus on the critical role of assessment within a flipped classroom environment where instruction is based on constructivist learning theory and where desired student outcomes are at the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. While assessment is typically thought of in terms of providing summative measures of performance or achievement, it…

The purpose of the authors' research was to create a tool to evaluate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy in service-learning projects. The researchers posited that components of service-learning, which in this case included the deliverable and reflections, are examples of fundamental STEM literacy and thus can be…

The authors describe several types of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) and cognitive scaffolding procedures that they have developed over the years. They then bring the procedures together in a sample lecture/group learning class presentation.

Constructivist approaches to education embrace students' prior learning experiences and preference for learning in social environments. However, many postsecondary classes continue to embrace lecture-styles of teaching. This study sought to understand first-year students' perceptions of the mistakes instructors make in large lecture classes.…

Student evaluation of instruction in college and university courses has been a routine and mandatory part of undergraduate and graduate education for some time. A major shortcoming of the process is that it relies exclusively on the opinions or qualitative judgments of students rather than on assessing the learning or transfer of knowledge that…

Introduces the seven articles in this issue, noting that four focus on unusual methods for encouraging and assessing the learning of college student and three explore pedagogical methods for understanding and assisting students' learning. (DB)

Describes the use of poster presentations as an alternative to written assignments for assessing student learning in a family and marital therapy in social work class at Anglia Polytechnic University (England). Reports positive responses by both students and instructors. Includes two poster examples. (DB)

This article briefly reviews assessment trends in higher, secondary, and elementary education and argues that approaches to evaluating learning evolve slowly with experience and commitment to change. It also notes that qualities that lead individuals into education may militate against their being interested in--or able to--grade others. (JB)

Argues that new "learning" paradigms are needed to assess new kinds of educational practices. Uses Instruction Model-Learning Model Questionnaire and the Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness to compare traditional vs. interactive teaching methods in a graduate (n=94) public policy analysis course; finds neither effectively measures…

This article provides information on designing a college course grading plan. It reviews the history of grades; describes and discusses common approaches to grading; examines the purposes of grades, problems with current practices, and situational factors to consider in selecting an approach; and proposes eight principles to observe in developing…