Evaluating Student Learning

Projects: Assign projects that require students to utilize and synthesize concepts they have learned in other course activities. Students could turn in these projects by uploading them to an assignment drop box in D2L. The D2L Group tool allows you to divide your class up into groups. You can then create private or group dropboxes to gather student assignments and create private discussion boards for group members to use in discussing project plans.
- Individual Student Projects
- Group Projects
Online quizzes
- Online quizzes can be made using the following question types; multiple choice, matching, short answer, and paragraph. Multiple choice, matching, and short answer questions are automatically graded by D2L.
- Quizzes can include links to images with missing labels. Students type in multiple short answers each worth a portion of the total question value.
- Quizzes can include links to audio files. Students listen to the audio file and answer questions.
- To discourage sharing of quiz answers D2L allows faculty to disable right clicking in quizzes. Quizzes can also be set up to pull a specific number of questions in a randomized order from the question library so that each student could get a slightly different set of questions in a different order.
- MTSU has purchased a site license to Respondus and Respondus StudyMate. Respondus simplifies making online quizzes. StudyMate simplifies making online study tools that assist students in learning vocabulary terms or concepts. StudyMate makes games crossword puzzles, flash cards, Jeopardy games, etc. Visit http://www.mtsu.edu/webctsupport to request a site license copy of Respondus and StudyMate.
Grading Discussion Postings
- Discussion Rubrics – Information taken from MTSU’s WebCT support site.
  http://www.mtsu.edu/webctsupport/faculty/discussionboards/fac_db_samplerubrics.htm
  - Develop a grading rubric that encourages class discussion, one that makes the composition of postings pleasant and informative, but also a rubric that is not overwhelming for the instructor to use when it becomes time to grade. Course Structure and Grading Criteria for effective discussion board utilization:
    - Instructors need to develop grading rubrics that indicate that the length of the posting needs to be adequate (rather than specifying a specific number of words) but of high quality. Posting quality needs to be weighed heavier than posting quantity.
    - The class must be structured in a way to encourage and reward discussion. If a course is structured to be no more than a series of assignments for students to turn in each week, there will be little interactivity.
    - Make class participation part of the course grade. Base a percentage (maybe 20%) of the course grade on class participation. Make clear that this grade will be assigned not only based on the number of times a student speaks, but also upon the quality of what is being said. This discourages students from posting comments that do not contribute to the discussion. Make your expectations clear. Students will hesitate to contribute to the discussion if they're unsure of how to do so.
    - Develop a rubric to evaluate student use of the discussion board.
    - Instructors need to plan effective topics and questions for discussion.
- Sample Rubric
  The following points are what is looked for in your original postings to the Discussion Board and your replies to others postings (Total of 10 points for each Discussion Board assignment).
  - Original Posting (7 points):

1. Mentions at least 2 specific points from the article or reading. (1 point)

2. Relation of new information to old information learned in the course to date. (1 point)

3. Relation of information in article or reading to personal experience. (1 point)

4. Discussion at a critical level, not just recitation of facts from the article. (3 points)

5. Length of posting approximately 1 word processing page. (1 point)

Note: Discussion at a critical level means discussing things such as your opinion of the point mentioned, why you hold that opinion, what you see wrong with the point mentioned, how you see the point consistent/inconsistent with what you have learned so far, implications for the future, consistencies/inconsistencies within the article or reading itself, and so forth. In other words, critiquing an article means analyzing the good and/or bad aspects of the article and justifying your analysis. Do not just tell me what the article or reading states...I already know this.

Reply to Others' Postings (3 points):

1. Discuss one point you like/agree with, and one point you dislike/disagree with, and why.
(2 points)

2. Length should be about 1/2 page in length (approximately 100 words).

Assignment #3

Create assignments and assessments for your course. Create at least one quiz, one discussion board grading rubric, and one student project.

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