Part III. Matching Feedback and Assessment to Online Activities

(Vanessa’s Section…)

The Feedback Issue

• Students participating in online activities look for feedback to know: – A. the instructor is reading their contributions – B. their participation is valued – C. their participation is adequate, in terms of quality and quantity • Feedback need not be individualized to be effective – Whole class commentary provided on a regular basis was found to be just as satisfactory from the student point of view (Dennen, 2001)

The Assessment Issue

• Often, online activities go unassessed –“Add-on” syndrome: Adding an online activity to a previously designed class because it sounds like a good idea

The Assessment Issue

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Students are more likely to participate when then know there is impact on their grade

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Direct impact: graded on participation (quality, quantity or both)

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Indirect impact: participation should bolster performance on other assessments Students quickly become aware if an online activity is not related to assessed learning objectives

The Assessment Issue, Cont.

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Sometimes the wrong things are assessed Examples:

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Assessing students’ online moderation skills when the course topic/learning objectives have nothing to do with online moderation

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Assessing quantity of participation, but not quality

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which, granted, is easier, but encourages sloppy message posting rather than thoughtful learning dialogues

Assessing Asynchronous Activities

Some ideas …

1. Social Ice Breakers

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Feedback:

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Critical because it sets the tone for instructor attentiveness and interactions Assessment:

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Not really necessary or appropriate What you might do:

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Participate in the ice breaker alongside students Compile a list of “who’s who” from student responses and distribute to class

2. Learner-Content Interactions

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Feedback:

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Should be built into the activity Computer-automated Assessment:

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Generally, these activities help prepare students for formal assessment What you might do:

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Make explicit to students the value of completing these activities and their relationship to success on graded activities

3. Scenario-based Simulations

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Feedback:

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Should be built into the activity If not automated, instructor must provide or monitor to ensure peers provide it Assessment:

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Simulation can be assessed directly themselves or used to prepare students for authentic assessments What you might do:

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If objectives are process oriented, assess student performance in simulation Encourage learner reflection on the process and their performance

4. Anonymous Suggestion Box

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Feedback:

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Important to respond to students Assessment:

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Neither necessary nor appropriate What you might do:

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Compile a list of suggestions with corresponding actions taken or reasons why action is not possible/feasible/desirable

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5. Student Formative Surveys

Feedback:

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Instructor should reference student responses in aggregate form Individual responses

may

receive feedback, but students should not be singled out Assessment:

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Neither necessary nor appropriate What you might do:

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Use topic-based surveys as a lead-in to a learning unit Use course feedback surveys to make changes to the class

6. Role Play

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Feedback:

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Students want/need to know if they are adequately playing their roles Assessment:

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Based on participation (to ensure the roles get played) Following the role play, based on subject matter What you might do:

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Post a general message to the class, filling in missing / misrepresented roles and noting exemplary contributions Have learners write a reflection paper on the topic, highlighting the various perspectives and defending the perspective of their choice

7. Case-based Labs/Experiments

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Feedback:

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Should be built into the activity Assessment:

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Generally, these activities help prepare students for formal assessment What you might do:

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Make explicit to students the value of completing these activities and their relationship to success on graded activities

8. Authentic Data Analysis

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Feedback:

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Should focus on helping students analyze the data Assessment:

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Based on results of the analysis OR on the process (depending on learning objectives) What you might do:

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Have students respond to the activity’s questions, either individually or collaboratively

9. Just-in-time Teaching/Syllabus

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Feedback:

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Responsiveness to student contributions must be explicit and frequent Assessment:

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Appropriate assessments should be developed based on the student contributions in conjunction with the pre-planned course material If participation might be a problem, students should get points for completing quizzes/surveys (Small participation grade, or bonus points on tests) What you might do:

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Have students write a reflection on how their point-of-view is similar to/different from their peers Post results of student quizzes in aggregate form for class review Update regular tests to incorporate the just-in-time materials

10. Perspective Taking

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Feedback:

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Focus on how well students are representing different perspectives Assessment:

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Perspective-based role-play will likely be assessed What you might do:

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Fill in missing perspectives — or have students review their work and identify missing perspectives

Assessing Synchronous Activities

More ideas…

Learning Conversations

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Includes Webinar, chats (regular, expert, guest) Feedback:

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Instructor can debrief the chat afterwards, providing a summary and commenting on contributions Assessment:

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Not really fair to assess students on basis of synchronous chat contribution due to limited airspace Content/experience should be assessed through another means such as reflection, essay, test or project

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Group Work

Includes Team Meeting and Collaborative Online Writing Feedback:

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Focus on group’s process and how to improve it Assessment:

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Based on product (collaborative writing, other project) Based on process (Was work distributed equally? Completed on time? What would be changed the next time?)

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Peer ratings

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Assessment of contributions in group’s online work space (archives)

Advisory Activities

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Includes Online Mentoring, Secret Coaches and Protégées Feedback:

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Such activities are all about feedback Should focus on learner performance on past class activities Should look forward to future activities Assessment:

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Assessment would be neither appropriate nor desired, although participation might be required

Questions and Perhaps Some Answers...???