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ALI Assessment Committee: IL Assessment Methods

Learning Assessment Techniques

Learning Assessment Techniques
Category Technique Brief Description
Foundational Knowledge Background Knowledge Probe Background Knowledge Probes are simple questionnaires that help you quickly take stock of the level of foundational knowledge and general preparedness that students have, along with their level of confidence in their responses, before beginning a content unit or learning module.
Foundational Knowledge Entry and Exit Tickets Entry and exit tickets require students to re fl ect on a reading assignment, video, lecture, or other and then write a brief response to a question on an index card that is designed to gather information about their understanding of core facts, terms, concepts, and ideas.
Foundational Knowledge Snap Shots The instructor presents questions during class along with several possible answers. Individual students choose which answer they think is correct, and the instructor makes a quick visual assessment of class results. Students then discuss answers with neighbor(s), after which they together choose an answer again, and the instructor makes another assessment and compares results.
Application Fact or Opinion Students fi rst read a text to identify and list facts. They then re-read the text to look for where the author either overtly or covertly inserts opinion, and make a new list as they carefully consider the evidence and resist being taken in by the text ’ s rhetorical force.
Application Triple Jump This three-step technique requires students to think through a real-world problem presented in a case-based scenario: (1) to articulate a plan for solving it, (2) to gather resources, and (3) to attempt to provide a viable
Application Digital Projects Students create projects that enhance and document their learning of an important topic concept in the fi eld. Digital Projects may include collages, photo albums, videos, infographics, web sites, blogs, podcasts, book trailers, or other.
Integration Knowledge Grid Students demonstrate analytical and organizational skills by filling in the internal cells of a grid in which the fi rst column and top row provide key categories.
Integration Synthesis Paper Instead of responding to or reviewing a single reading assignment, students consider several readings together, work to draw commonalities from them, and then write about readings in a formal paper.
Integration Case Study Students receive a real-life scenario, or “ case, ” related to course content. These cases usually present a brief history of how the situation developed and a dilemma that a key character within the scenario is facing, and students are charged with helping the character develop a solution to the problem.
Human Dimension Digital Story Digital storytelling at its most fundamental level is the practice of using computer-based tools, such as video, audio, graphics, and Web publishing, to tell stories. The stories may be personal or academic, but for either focus, students share relevant life experiences as they attempt to connect to an audience about a given issue.
Caring Issue Awareness Ad Students use research and persuasive skills to create an advertisement intended to raise awareness about a current course-related issue.
Learn How to Learn Personal Learning Environment A Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is a set of people and digital resources an individual can access for the speci fi c intent of learning. Students illustrate these potential connections through the creation of a visible network of the set. Nodes represent the resources, and ties suggest the relationship between the sources. A PLE then is a visual representation of a learner ’ s informal learning processes and a concrete demonstration of an individual ’ s capacity for future learning.