Another Half Dozen CATs

Assessment Bites: Lunch with a Side of Assessment Techniques

February 8, 2007 Presenter: Mimi Steadman Director of Institutional Assessment

CAT 1: Course Goal Ranking & Matching

What do you hope to get out of this course? Will it meet your needs and expectations? This exercise is designed to help you identify your goals and compare them with the instructor’s.

Learning goals for this course • To_____________________ Rank ____ • To _____________________ ____ • To _____________________ • To _____________________ ____ • To _____________________ ____ ____

CAT 2: The Muddiest Point What was the “muddiest” point in this session? (In other words, what was

least

clear to you?)

(This CAT was developed by Dr. Frederick Mosteller, a professor of Statistics at Harvard University.)

CAT 3: Punctuated Lecture

Pause in your lecture (or discussion) and ask students to jot down response to questions such as these:

     How fully and consistently were you concentrating on this lecture the last ten minutes? What were you doing to make connections between this new information and what you already know?

What do you expect to come next in the presentation and why?

What changes could the

teacher

make to help you improve your learning in this class?

What changes could learning in this class?

you

make to improve your

CAT 4: Directed Paraphrasing

This CAT provides feedback on students’ ability to summarize key concepts, and to translate them into language that someone outside the class would understand. This is especially important in the professions and service sector for communicating with clients and customers.

Course

: _______________________

Prepare a paraphrase of the following concept:

____________________________________________

Your audience is:

_______________________________

The purpose of this communication is:

_______________________________________________

Time or length limit:

_____________________________

Example of Directed Paraphrase Prompts

From Nursing

In one or two sentences, paraphrase what you have learned about hospice care to inform a terminally ill patient of its possible advantages over hospital or home care.

From Small-Business Finance

Imagine that you have just been invited to give a talk to a group of local small-business owners on specific ways in which proposed changes in the state tax code may affect them. Paraphrase, in one or two sentences, the proposed changes that are most likely to affect them.

CAT 5:

Focused Autobiographical Sketch Instructions: In two or three paragraphs, describe:

Samples

–

(math/writing) an experience that illustrates how you view yourself as a math learner or writer

–

(public speaking) an experience you had where you spoke in front of a group of people

–

(leadership) an occasion where you exercised leadership in a public context and what you learned from the experience

CAT 6: Word Journal

Instructions: • 1) Choose one word that represents for you this reading/discussion/theory, etc.

_________________ • 2) Then, write a brief paragraph below explaining why you chose that word.

Reference: Angelo, T. A. and Cross, K. P. (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. 2 nd edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

CAT 7: Concept Map

A

Concept Map

is a Classroom Assessment Technique that demonstrates the mental connections learners make among course concepts and other knowledge. At the same time it provides feedback to instructors, it also encourages learners to engage in synthesis and integration of concepts.

Instructions: With your group, draw or diagram a “concept map” that synthesizes key themes from your reading, today’s class, the unit on ____, the theory of ___, etc.

References

• Angelo, T. A. and Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Cross, K. P. and Steadman, M.H. (1996). Classroom Research: Implementing the Scholarship of Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.