Classroom
Assessment Techniques for
Barbara Glesner Fines
2001 Presented at the
Eighth Annual Conference for
Apart from skills-focused classes such as
legal writing or clinic course, most law school classes provide little formal
assessment of student learning while that learning is taking place. In most law
school classrooms, assessment of learning is either an informal process of
observation in the day-to-day classroom teaching, or an exam after the class
has ended. While both assessment tools
are valuable, neither is designed expressly for improving individual student
learning. The informal observations of
classroom learning and semester-end, summative examinations, are either too
little or too late to achieve these gains.
That goal can be achieved through the
use of other assessment techniques during the semester. Frequent, timely and focused assessment is
critical to improving student learning.
Frequent assessment can also result in metacognitive gains, as students
develop the skills for self-assessment of learning. As awareness of learning
motivates further learning, a cycle of success can increase student learning in
sometimes dramatic fashion.
A second important goal of classroom
assessment of student learning is the improvement of faculty teaching. While most faculty are aware of the need for
frequent feedback to improve student learning, what faculty sometimes recognize
only intuitively is that they too need frequent and timely assessment in order
to improve their teaching. B. Davis, Tools
for Teaching (Jossey-Bass 1993) The
following materials are designed to explore methods of obtaining that feedback
on student learning throughout the semester: both for student feedback and for
informing one’s own teaching. Many of
the techniques described are built upon those compiled by Thomas Angelo and K.
Patricia Cross in Classroom Assessment Techniques.[1] The techniques those authors gathered shared
several characteristics: “learner-centered, teacher-directed, mutually
beneficial, formative, context-specific, ongoing and firmly rooted in good
practice.” [2]
A Process for
Using Classroom Assessment Techniques
As with all effective teaching and learning, the critical first
step is to clarify your goal or purpose. What do you want to discover about
your student’s learning and how do you plan to use the data you gather? Do you want to assess what students bring
into a course or what they are taking from it?
What aspect of student learning do you want to learn more about:
knowledge, skills or attitudes & values?
Bloom’s
taxonomies of educational objectives[3] is a time-tested tool for clarifying goals
for assessment. The following summary of
the Cognitive Domain taxonomy may be helpful in identifying the specific
objective[4]
1.
Knowledge of terminology; specific facts; ways and
means of dealing with specifics (conventions, trends and sequences,
classifications and categories, criteria, methodology); universals and abstractions
in a field (principles and generalizations, theories and structures):
Knowledge is (here) defined as the remembering (recalling) of appropriate,
previously learned information.
o
defines; describes; enumerates;
identifies; labels; lists; matches; names; reads; records; reproduces; selects;
states; views.
2.
Comprehension: Grasping (understanding) the meaning of
informational materials.
o
classifies; cites; converts;
describes; discusses; estimates; explains; generalizes; gives examples; makes
sense out of; paraphrases; restates (in own words); summarizes; traces;
understands.
3.
Application: The use of previously learned information
in new and concrete situations to solve problems that have single or best
answers.
o
acts; administers; articulates;
assesses; charts; collects; computes; constructs; contributes; controls;
determines; develops; discovers; establishes; extends; implements; includes;
informs; instructs; operationalizes; participates; predicts; prepares; preserves;
produces; projects; provides; relates; reports; shows; solves; teaches;
transfers; uses; utilizes.
4.
Analysis: The breaking down of informational
materials into their component parts, examining (and trying to understand the
organizational structure of) such information to develop divergent conclusions
by identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and/or finding evidence to
support generalizations.
o
breaks down; correlates;
diagrams; differentiates; discriminates; distinguishes; focuses; illustrates;
infers; limits; outlines; points out; prioritizes; recognizes; separates;
subdivides.
5.
Synthesis: Creatively or divergently applying prior
knowledge and skills to produce a new or original whole.
o
adapts; anticipates; categorizes;
collaborates; combines; communicates; compares; compiles; composes; contrasts;
creates; designs; devises; expresses; facilitates; formulates; generates;
incorporates; individualizes; initiates; integrates; intervenes; models;
modifies; negotiates; plans; progresses; rearranges; reconstructs; reinforces;
reorganizes; revises; structures; substitutes; validates.
6.
Evaluation: Judging the value of material based on
personal values/opinions, resulting in an end product, with a given purpose, without
real right or wrong answers.
o
appraises; compares &
contrasts; concludes; criticizes; critiques; decides; defends; interprets;
judges; justifies; reframes; supports.
Of
course, this listing focuses only on cognitive learning outcomes. One may be interested in student opinions and
values, or their communication skills or their assessment of their own
learning.
The
key here is to choose a very specific context and very specific information you
want to gather about student learning.
In a civil procedure class, assessing whether students understand the
minimum contacts test from International Shoe is not the kind of assessment one
can undertake in a single classroom assessment.
One can, however, determine whether students can articulate the test
itself or explain one factor from the test.
One can also ask students to identify the part of the test that is least
clear to them. Remember to keep
assessment simple and focus on those aspects of the class that present the
greatest potential for affecting teaching and learning.
Having
chosen a goal, one can then design a strategy for assessment. Choose from some of the techniques described
in these materials or design an assessment that meets your particular needs and
teaching style. Consider implementation
issues: should student performance be
anonymous? (Anonymity can give students greater freedom in expressing opinions
and taking risks, but it reduces accountability and does not provide you with a
way to gauge individual learning gains).
Do you want assessment of individual learning or will paired or small
group provide you with sufficient information (or serve other learning and
teaching goals)? Will the technique be
comfortable or foreign to the students?
How much introduction will be required so carry out the assessment? The most simply assessment device benefits
from informing the students of the purposes of the device.
Once
you actually implement an assessment technique, be sure to follow through. Analyze the information you have gathered. What have you learned about the student
learning? How will that knowledge affect your teaching? How will you share what you have learned with
the students. Students will be more
willing to actively engage in assessment activities and will learn more from
them if you explain how the assessment results can be used to improve their own
individual learning.
Assessment Techniques
1. Improving a Tried and True Assessment
Technique: Watching Student Non-verbal Cues
Every
teacher watches his or her students to assess teaching and learning in the
classroom.[5] We might observe students to assess their
understanding, engagement, attitudes, and adjust our pace, content or
presentation accordingly. In particular,
we might observe students for understanding or lack of understanding of a
particular discussion or lecture.
Obviously,
there are significant limitations on assessment based on non-verbal
feedback. The student who looks the most
confused may in fact have the most sophisticated understanding of the material
and may simply be grappling with the cutting-edge of the material being
addressed. The student who appears
hostile may simply have a stomachache.
Moreover,
non-verbal symbols are highly culture, and even gender, bound. For example, suppose the class is being
presented a very controversial theory in the class. Many students are nodding their head. Does that mean they agree? For most men, this is the likely explanation
(“I agree.”). For most women, however,
nodding is used to encourage further conversation (“I’m listening.”)[6] Eye contact, posture, where a student chooses
to sit in a classroom all might say something about the student’s learning or
reactions to your teaching... or it might not.
How
might that process of watching be improved to increase the validity of
non-verbal feedback as an assessment device?
By consciously planning and implementing the technique as one would any
other classroom assessment technique.
Choose
a question: Is my pace through overheads
(or power point slides) appropriate when conducting a lecture class?
Choose
a technique: I will watch for students writing, attending, and non-verbal
indications that will indicate whether I need to slow down or speed up.
Implement
the technique: Introduce it to students:
“I have a tendency to move through slides fairly quickly. I will try to watch you all to be sure I’m
not going too fast.” (With this
introduction, student will more readily provide the non-verbal feedback you
need to match your pace.)
Follow-through:
Explain to students when you choose not to slow down (“I see some of you would
like to review that overhead more; we can’t right now, but I will have copies
available after class” or “Ooops, need to see that one a minute more. Sure.”
Similar
explicit attention given to reading non-verbal cues as a source of feedback can
improve this technique we use almost daily, though in implicit, often
unconscious ways. Of course, one can
move beyond mere observation and ask students for feedback (“Am I going to
fast?” “Did I clarify that concept ?”)
2. Improving a Tried and True Technique: Classroom Dialogues
Along
with pure lecture, the overwhelming majority of law school classes are taught
by a dialogue method.[7] Faculty can obtain a good deal of assessment
information about the student or students participating in the dialogue, though
the validity of that information may depend on the student’s response to the
stress of “the hot seat.” Given the
pervasive use of this teaching technique, it would seem that time spent in
developing dialogue as assessment would be most productive as well as
comfortable to all concerned.
One
problem with using classroom dialogue as assessment is that we are sometimes
unsure what it is we are assessing with any set of questions. Often we are not truly trying to assess
student learning as much as promote thought or organize learning. However, if we carefully design questions
with assessment in mind, we can gather information about the student’s
knowledge, skill, attitudes or preparation.
The
second problem with dialogue as assessment, is that it only assesses the
learning of those students participating in the dialogue. To gather information about the learning of
the class as a whole, we need to find a way to broaden the dialogue. Two simple variations on the traditional
dialogue method can increase the number of students we can direct questions and
from whom we can obtain responses:
Variation
One: Am I right?
One
easy way to broaden dialogue is to simply poll the class for agreement or
disagreement with a particular student’s response. There are important reasons why one would not
want to call on (or accept the volunteering) of a student to engage in a
dialogue, knowing that the student’s answer would be subject, not only to your
critique, but to a vote of peers. In the
competitive and often stressful law school classroom, such a technique could
quickly destroy class rapport and alienate students from one another. The same
effect, however, could be obtained by placing yourself in the “hot seat” –
responding to a question or posing an analysis of a particular problem and then
asking the students to vote – “Am I right?” Students can vote by raising hands,
displaying cards or signs you have distributed ahead of time, or – if the classroom
is equipped – providing electronic “votes.”
Using methods that do not require students to display their answer to
others may provide more accurate assessment.
You can require participation (“Everybody has to play”) or not,
depending on your goal.
Using
the feedback: If the vast majority of
the class answers correctly, you can simply provide a brief explanation and
then move on. If, however, the majority
of the class is incorrect, you can backtrack, address the misconception (to a
more an audience whose attention has been sharpened by being “wrong”) and then
move forward again. If the class is
divided, you can also provide explanation and move ahead or, for more active
learning for all participants, ask students to turn to someone who gave a different
answer and convince that person of the “correct” response. The ensuing dialogue will, often as not,
replicate the one-on-one dialogue you would be having with the student who did
not understand.
Example:
In
a professional responsibility class, students often do not distinguish
carefully among the categories of withdrawal from representation – either
confusing mandatory and permissive withdrawal or confusing those withdrawals
for which one must show no material adverse effect on the client and those withdrawals
that are justified even if such an adverse effect would result. The instructor would prepare a hypothetical
in which withdrawal was permissive but which would be adverse to the client. After presenting the hypothetical, the
instructor would propose an analysis that reflects the typical confusions and
then ask “Am I right?” After noting the
student response, the instructor would then adjust the remainder of the
discussion on that doctrine to reflect student understanding.
Variation
Two: Dialogue with groups
Rather
than asking a single student to present arguments or analysis or articulation
of knowledge, ask the class as a whole, invite the class to then break into
small groups or pairs and discuss their answer, and then have groups report
back. This "think-pair-share"
technique is a cornerstone of cooperative learning, but can also provide an
efficient method for assessing the learning of the class as a whole. In the reporting of each team or group’s
answers, the instructor can assess student learning and proceed as is
appropriate to that feedback. For
example, after the first one or two groups have responded, the instructor can
ask if another group has come up with something different or additional. The safety of a group response will often encourage
students to risk answering incorrectly. This is especially so if the instructor
minimizes any sense of competition among groups to get the “right” answer and
provides students positive reinforcement for their participation. For some discussions, groups might be asked
to write out their answer on an overhead transparency to be shown anonymously
to the class.
3. Borrowing from the Past: The Pop Quiz
Short
multiple choice or short-answer quizzes can be powerful tools for assessing and
promoting student learning and improving the quality of teaching. So long as the quizzes do not count for the
final grade (or count only a minimal amount) students appreciate the clear,
timely feedback these quizzes can provide.
Since most students are comfortable with quizzes, they require less
introduction and meet with less student resistance than other methods
might. Quizzes can be used to assess student’s background knowledge or
understanding in order to plan approaches to lessons, to establish a baseline
to measure student learning, and to assess student understanding. They
can also serve a number of purposes beyond assessment, such as guiding student
learning and discussion of a subject, setting up class discussion, or reviewing
materials already learned. Quizzes can, of course, be part of summative
evaluation process as well.[8]
Design
questions carefully. Designing multiple
choice questions is an art form in itself, of which others at the conference
will be providing additional information.
True-false questions are often easier to start with and may be just as
effective in assessing student knowledge, though they may not be able to assess
higher-order cognitive skills as well.
Short answer questions need to be precisely written to obtain valid
assessment. Despite the difficulty in
designing quizzes, the benefits are well worth the investment of time. Students will be quite forgiving of poorly
drafted questions if no grade is involved (indeed some additional learning
benefit and class rapport can be gained by incorporating an “appeal” process
into quizzes – nothing creates class solidarity faster than proving the
professor wrong!)
Consider
when to give the quiz. Depending on the
purpose for the quiz, you may be comfortable distributing the quiz as part of
class preparation and using class time to review the quiz. Quizzes can be designed for computerized
administration so students can take the quiz on line and receive immediate
feedback. A reporting function on some
computer assisted instruction programs would allow you access to the student
score.
Use
the data to improve learning. As with
all assessment devices, students appreciate knowing how they did individually,
how that performance compares with their peers, and how the assessment device
will be used to improve their learning.
4. Fill in the blanks
Often
the most confusion students have in mastering any particular area of law is in
finding the appropriate organization or categorization for doctrines. Assessment devices can be specifically geared
toward viewing student’s “maps” of a subject.
You can ask students to sketch a flowchart of a concept or you can
provide students structures for them to fill in. To make the assessment device efficient, you
should focus on content or structure but not both. (See examples below).
To
use this strategy effectively, you must ask yourself why a structural overview
would be useful to the students’ learning at this point. Do students need to learn to break down and
analyze a rule? Are students losing the “big picture” in the midst of learning
a doctrine or concept? Do students need
assistance in seeing relationships between ideas? Are the students at the point in their
learning that synthesis and condensation of material is critical to their
ability to use the information?
Obviously, the incomplete outline or graphical map at the end of the
semester will be geared more toward synthesis and overview than in-depth
analysis and organization of any particular set of ideas.
Earlier
in the semester, outlines and graphical maps can help students identify main
ideas or see the overall organization of one topic, identify relationships
between ideas and rules, or guide the students through a process of problem
solving in a particular area of law.
Using
the feedback. Review the assessments for
common misconceptions and areas of uncertainty. Follow up with additional
clarification. Design problems against
which students can “test” their matrix.
For
example, in civil procedure II I give the following matrix to students and ask
them to put the appropriate language in the appropriate boxes.
|
CIVIL PROCEDURE EXERCISE: Directions: Work in Pairs. Below is a chart containing the four
categories from the minimum contacts test.
Following the chart is a list of terms. First, decide
which terms go with which category.
(The terms may not be sufficient to support jurisdiction or even
relevant. Don’t worry about that
issue yet. Just place the terms in
the categories in which they make the most sense. If a term does not appear to relate to any
category, leave it out. If a term
could appear in more than one category, put it in the category that it best
fits.) Second, for each category, arrange the terms in the order that best
articulates the law regarding that category. |
|||
|
Contacts |
State of |
Relatedness |
Reasonableness (Fair
play/justice) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Awareness that product will enter state Continuous Affecting
state citizens Foreseeability
that product will enter state Frequent Georgraphical
location of forum state Giving rise
to the cause of action Having
a physical presence Having a
logical connection History
of the type of jurisdiction asserted Identity of
the plaintiff Identity
of the defendant Integral to
the claim Intentionally
directed toward the state Large volume Large
percentage of business Location of
evidences and witnesses Nature
of the cause of action (type of law) Presence of
international effects Presence
of property Purchases in
the state Purposefully
placing in stream of commerce Substantial Volume,
value and hazardous character |
|||
Graphics can even be used to
assess attitudes. For example, in
professional responsibility class, I ask students during the first class to
draw a picture or some symbols that represent a “professional.” This exercise provides insight into and
extraordinarily rich discussion of student attitudes toward their chosen career
path.
5. Stop,
Ask and Listen
Perhaps the easiest way to assess student
learning is simply to ask. Many of the
techniques described in educational literature are simply a variation on
stopping class for a moment, asking a question, and then having student provide
a short written response. Described by
Angela & Cross as “The Minute Paper” and introduced to law professors as
“Free writes”[9],
the technique has a number of variations depending on the information one is
soliciting from the students. To use the
technique, the professor simply stops the class and asks students to respond
(on an index card or half-sheet of paper) to one of several questions, such as:
"What was the most important thing you
learned during this class (from this reading, from this discussion,
etc.)?"
"What important question remains unanswered?"
"What was the muddiest point in ........?"
”Summarize the key points from this doctrine”?
”Paraphrase the holding from X (or the doctrine of X)?”
“Give one example of ...”
Be sure to analyze the data obtained and
report back to students.
Books:
Angelo, T. A., and
Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college
teachers, 2nd ed.
Davis, B. G.
(1993). Tools for teaching.
Murray, H. G. (1991).
Effective teaching behaviors in the college classroom. In J. C. Smart (ed.),
Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, Vol. 7 (pp. 135-172).