Transcript Engaging Learners: The Scholarship of Teaching

Classroom Assessment
Techniques (CATs)
Assessment Bites Workshop #1
October 5, 2006
Presenter: Mimi Harris Steadman Ed.D.
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Welcome & Overview
Session Objectives
Participants will:
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help themselves to lunch
during the session.
Be able to distinguish Angelo
& Cross’s CATs from
institutional assessment.
Leave with a half-dozen CATs
ready to use in their classes.
Try one CAT this semester, if
it fits their goals and needs.
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Classroom Assessment
Techniques: A Handbook for
College Teachers
Thomas A. Angelo and
K. Patricia Cross (1993)
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
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CAT: The Minute Paper
Instructions: Please answer each question in
one or two sentences.
1) What was the most useful or meaningful
thing you learned during this class?
2) What questions remain uppermost in your
mind as we end this class?
Reference: Angelo, T. A. and Cross, K. P. (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. 2nd edition.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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To do- Warm Up: TTYPA*
Discuss:
 What type of feedback would the
Minute Paper provide the teacher?
 In what way is the Minute Paper a
learning activity for students?
 Would you consider using a
Minute Paper in your class?
*Turn to your partner and…
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Connecting CATs to Learning Theory

Teaching involves
figuring out what
learners already know,
building upon their
existing knowledge, and
helping them construct
their own connections
between new and prior
knowledge so they can
understand and retain
course material.

“Passive learning is
an oxymoron; there
is no such thing.”
Pat Cross, “Opening Windows on
Learning” League for Innovation in the
Community College, June 1998, p. 21.
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Institutional Assessment
“Assessment is the systematic
collection, review, and use of
information about educational
programs undertaken for the
purpose of improving student
learning and development”
(Palomba and Banta, 1999, p. 4).
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Classroom Assessment
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Small Scale
Teacher Directed- teacher selects,
designs, administers and chooses how
to respond to results
Formative
Improves teaching & learning in
progress by immediate feedback to
teachers and students
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Classroom Assessment
Techniques (CATs)
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simple and quick assessment devices that
provide feedback on student learning
monitor students’ comprehension of
course content and self-awareness as
learners
foster active student involvement in
learning
provide feedback on student reactions to
the course
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What do CATs do?
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Assess prior knowledge and
misconceptions
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Background Knowledge Probe
Misconception Check
Course Related Self-Confidence Inventory
Autobiographical Sketch (for writing, math, oral or
presentation, for example)
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To Do- CAT: Background
Knowledge Probe
1. Prior to this session, had you ever heard of the Minute Paper technique?
YES
NO
2. Have you ever attended a workshop on Classroom Assessment?
YES
NO
3. Have you ever read/skimmed Classroom Assessment Techniques: A
Handbook for College Teachers by Tom Angelo and Pat Cross?
YES
NO
4. Have you ever asked students for feedback on your teaching or
classroom activities in the middle of the semester (other than using a
required college teaching evaluation form)?
YES
NO
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What do CATs do?
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Monitor student learning and
comprehension
Minute Paper
 Muddiest Point
 Memory Matrix
 Focused Listing
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CAT: Memory Matrix (Biology example)
Instructions: Take 10 minutes to complete the matrix below. This assignment is ungraded and anonymous.
Property of Water
Explanation
Example of Benefit to
Life
Cohesion and high
surface tension, adhesion
Hydrogen bonds hold molecules
together and adhere them to
hydrophilic surfaces.
Leaves pull water upward from roots
in microscopic vessels.
High Specific heat
High heat of vaporization
Expansion upon freezing
Versatility as a solvent
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To do:- Design a Memory
Matrix for Your Class
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What do CATs do?
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Provide feedback on student
reactions to instruction and
course activities
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The Train
Midcourse Evaluation
Teacher-Designed Feedback Form
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CAT: Teacher Designed Feedback Form
or Midcourse Evaluation Form (Sample Questions)
Instructions: Please complete this anonymous feedback form based on your
reactions to the course so far. I will share the results with the class next week.
1. On a scale from 1 to 4, please rate the clarity of today’s session.
1- totally unclear 2-somewhat unclear
3- mostly clear
4-very clear
2. Overall, how would you rate the pace of this class?
1- moves too fast 2-about right 3-moves too slowly
3. What did you find most helpful about the way the course is organized? (Please list one or two specific
examples.)
4. How could the instructor help you improve your learning during future class sessions? (Please list one
or two specific suggestions.)
5. What could you do to improve your learning in future class sessions? (Please list one or two specific
suggestions.)
Reference: Angelo, T. A. and Cross, K. P. (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. 2nd edition. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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To do - Draft Questions for a
Midcourse Evaluation Form
Instructions: Brainstorm a few CAT questions. Consider what areas of teaching and learning
you are trying to improve, and what areas of student learning you want to assess. Think
about the type and amount of data you will get back, and how you will use it.
ex. How often did you complete the assigned reading prior to lecture?
Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never
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What do CATs do?
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Assess students’ self-awareness as learners
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Punctuated Lecture
Group Work Evaluation
Documented Problem Set Solution
Serve as student learning activities in the
areas of rehearsal, synthesis, elaboration,
comprehension monitoring, and more.
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CAT: Group Work Evaluation Form
1. Overall, how effectively did your group work together on this assignment? (Circle
one)
1
2
3
4
5
Not at all
poorly
adequately
well
extremely well
2. How many of the five group members participated actively most of the time?
1
2
3
4
5
3. How many of you were fully prepared for the group work most of the time?
1
2
3
4
5
4. Give one specific example of something you learned from the group that you
probably wouldn’t have learned on your own.
5. Give one specific example of something the other group members learned from
you that they probably wouldn’t have learned without you.
6. Suggest one specific, practical change the group could make that would help
improve everyone’s learning.
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What do CATs do?
Serve as data collection tools that
support broader department- or
institution-wide assessment
efforts.
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Benefits of Classroom Assessment
Advantages of Classroom
Assessment to
Students:
Control and Voice in the
Classroom
Involvement in Learning
Metacognition / Awareness of
Progress
Better Instruction/Caring
Teacher

Steadman, M.H. (1994). CATs for Community
Colleges:Changing Both Sides of The TeachingLearning Equation. Practitioner-based Research
Report Funded by the The National Center on Adult
Learning, Empire State College Saratoga Springs, New
York.
Advantages of Classroom
Assessment to Faculty:
Tuning in to Students'
Voices/Student Satisfaction
Teachers as Learners:
Reflection and Strategic
Change
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***90% of teachers surveyed reported making a
change in their teaching as a result of doing
Classroom Assessment.***
Improved Student Learning &
Involvement
Faculty Community: Making
Teaching a Priority
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Guidelines for
Classroom Assessment
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Before getting started, select a specific
learning objective or teaching goal you want
to assess.
Start small. Keep it simple and quick.
Choose techniques that will provide you with
useful feedback and also involve your
students in learning.
Plan ahead how you will analyze the
data, and how you will respond to areas
needing improvement.
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Guidelines (Continued)
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Don’t ask what you don’t want to know.
Work with other teachers.
Don’t ask students to try a CAT you haven’t
first tried out on yourself.
Involve and inform students:
 Explain the purpose and process,
 Expect them to need time and practice,
 Always feedback CAT results to students.
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To do- CAT: Focused Listing
Instructions: Jot down a few key words or phrases that
describe Classroom Assessment, based on today's
presentation and your reactions to it. This
assignment is ungraded and anonymous.
 ______________________
 ______________________
 ______________________
 ______________________
 ______________________
 ______________________
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CAT: Focused Listing Response
Classroom Assessment is:
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Learner-centered
and teacherdirected
Mutually beneficial
Usually ungraded
and anonymous
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Formative
Context specific
Ongoing
Simple and quick
Rooted in good
teaching practice
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To do - CAT: Applications Card
Instructions: Please take a moment to recall the ideas, techniques and
strategies we’ve generated during this session. Quickly list as many
applications as you can.
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Interesting Ideas
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Possible applications
for my work:
Reference: Angelo, T. A. and Cross, K. P. (1993)
Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook
for College Teachers. 2nd edition. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Resources
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Angelo, T. A. and Cross, K. P. (1993) Classroom
Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College
Teachers. 2nd edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Angelo, T. A. (ed). (1998). Classroom Assessment
and Research: An Update on Uses, Approaches, and
Research Findings. New Directions for Teaching and
Learning, 75. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cross, K. P. and Steadman, M. H. (1996). Classroom
Research: Implementing the Scholarship of Teaching.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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