Assessment

1. Explore the concept of backward design to plan your course starting from your desired learning outcomes.
2. Identify ways in which students can demonstrate their learning and meet the intended outcomes for the course (methods of assessment).
3. Choose your course materials and design your assignments and activities in a way that allows students to achieve the skills needed to meet the desired outcomes.

Teaching Guide: Backwards Design and Goal Setting for Learning

Teaching Guide: Purposeful Planning

1. Consider using this course map template (Google Doc) to align module-specific learning objectives with course outcomes.
2. Identify course materials, assignments or activities, and methods of assessment for each learning module

Video: Course Mapping(opens in new window)

Quality Matters: Course Mapping (PDF)

1. Identify what students need in order to meet the desired skills and outcomes for your course (formative assessment)
2. Identify how students can develop the knowledge or skills needed in your course (formative assessment)
3. Identify ways in which students can demonstrate their knowledge, skills,  and learning outcomes: exams, written assignments, class discussions, lab experiments, etc. (summative assessment).

Teaching Guide: Formative Assessment

Teaching Guide: Summative Assessment

1. Offer students opportunities to explore and learn through “real world” activities in the discipline.
2. Create opportunities for students to bring their own experiences in the learning process.
3. Build intentional opportunities for students to establish learning goals and reflect on their learning process.
4. Incorporate methods of assessment that properly align with learning outcomes and skills evaluated.

Podcast: The CAREFUL Assessment Framework(opens in new window)

1. Embed opportunities for students to check and reflect on their learning throughout the semester.
2. Create opportunities to collect student feedback throughout the semester, including a mid-semester survey.
3. Consider tweaking your course based on student feedback.