If used for formative assessment, in-class tests can be a useful means of helping students check their progress throughout the semester (as long as feedback is provided following the test). The tests can also provide you with rapid feedback about the class’ progress so that you can adapt your teaching focus accordingly. Getting all students – regardless of study mode – to use the same procedure will ensure equity and simplify marking and grades management procedures.

What am I really assessing?

Depending on the nature of the questions, in-class tests tend to assess whether students can remember, comprehend and/or apply what they have learned. As they tend to be fairly short, these tests generally don’t provide a valid assessment of students’ ability to analyse, synthesise or evaluate what they have learned.

Adapting for blended learning and electronic submission

• Online Quizzes
  
  • Use randomised questions and answer options to make collusion difficult.
  • Make the most of auto-marked questions (where questions have a definite answer). Long answer questions must be marked manually but can certainly help elicit evidence of higher order thinking from students. It is possible to combine different forms of questions.
  • Scores can be transferred to the Grades tool easily.
  • Get both cohorts to complete the Quiz online, and get feedback issued at the same time (either via the Quiz tool or via the instructor).
  • Statistics for each question can be used as the basis for teaching points (e.g for discussion in online or face-to-face sessions, or in Announcements).
• Scan and submit
  • Create an instruction document clearly indicating what students will do and when. This will need to be made available to students as far in advance as possible (preferably a minimum of one week prior).
  • Make a ‘test’ document, containing the questions, available on MyLO at a specified date and time (you can use the Special Access feature to release the sheet to students at different times if need be).
  • Students complete the test and must submit their work to an Assignment Submission Folder within a given time period (you can set an open and close time for the Folder, and use the Special Access feature to release at different times if need be). Students could submit a Word document or, where ‘workings’ need to be demonstrated, a clear scan of their written work (as a PDF or JPEG).
  • If collusion is a concern, create three different papers with slightly different questions (e.g. different amounts, business names etc). Break students into three groups (this can be done automatically with the MyLO Groups tool). One of the three tests is released to each group.
  • Mark and provide feedback using the Evaluate Submission area.

Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001) taxonomy of educational objectives (see a useful summary here) classifies cognitive (thinking) tasks into six levels. Remembering and understanding, and to some extent, simpler forms of applying, are lower-order tasks that are less demanding. It is relatively easy to design activities that encourage these thinking levels, for example:

• Lectures or short videos;
• Readings;
• Quizzes;
• Application of procedures or formulas; and
• Finding and sharing resources.

Applying, analysing, evaluating and creating are higher-order tasks, which tend to be more difficult to design.

The following model activity designs may be applied to a range of disciplinary contexts, face-to-face or online, to encourage higher-order thinking. For further advice about adapting these activities to the context of your unit, or to discuss other possible designs, please contact the Flexible Education Team.

Analyse – Top 3-5-10

Objective: Students will break down a phenomenon, concept, topic or skill into its component parts (and potentially order the parts in terms of importance).

Evaluate – Pick or Mix

Objective: Students compare and contrast the value of given theories/strategies/solutions to a specific context.

Evaluate – Worth reading

Objective: Students compare and contrast the value of set readings/articles to their understanding of a specific context or topic.

Create – 25 words or less

Objective: Students represent the essence of a complex theory, concept or idea in 25 words or less.

Create – Generate a Hypothesis or Strategy

Objective: Students will create an original strategy/solution in response to a need/problem/client brief.

Create – Teach the novice

Objective: Students will create a method of explaining a specific concept/theory/idea to a novice.

*Do you have an idea for an activity encouraging higher-order thinking? Please share it with us, so we can share it with others.

When you’re planning learning objectives and activities, or rifling through a plethora of resources, it can be difficult to determine what is absolutely necessary and how much is enough. These generic questions will help you determine whether something is essential or nice-to-know, and the extent to which students need to be able to use it. Essentials should be included in the unit. If something is nice-to-know/do, consider including it as an optional activity or resource.

Questions to ask about knowledge and how it is used 

• IMPORTANT: Does this go above and beyond the learning outcomes/objectives? For example, if a learning outcome asks students to apply the ’10 step process’ to a case study, do they need to analyse the process as well?
• Do students need to know this, before they can understand that?
• Do students need to understand the history of this, or just the most recent/relevant aspects?
• Do students need to know about every component, or just the basic  idea?
• Are students likely to already know this? What happens if some of them don’t know it?
• Do students need YOUR examples, or should they offer their own? What happens if they have no experience of this phenomenon?
• Do students need to know about all the options, or some of the key options?
• Do students need to get it right the first time, or learn by trying it/making mistakes?
• Do students need to apply the process/solution? Do they also need to understand why they are applying the process, and how it works?
• Do students need to remember it, or know how to find it if (and when) they need it?
• Do students need to choose a solution/process, or develop a new solution/process?

Questions to ask about resources

• What does it offer that no other resource has offered so far?
• Can it replace another resource?
• How would it complement the other resources?
• Is it more re-usable than similar resources?
• Have you used the same type of resource several times in this module already? Would a different type of resource provide a welcome change?
• Does it cover things that may change in the near future? Will it become out-of-date/irrelevant quickly?

This template takes you through the process of determine what needs to be covered during a module/week of semester for a unit. It then encourages you to determine how students will use this content according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.  Using the template will also help you construct learning objectives for the module/week, before finalising a sequence of activities. You can access the template here.

Whether you’re designing online activities for your face-to-face students or developing a fully online course, you not only need to think about WHAT you’re asking learners to do, but HOW you’re telling them to do it.

The words and sentence structures you choose really do make a difference to the way that your students interact with your content and activities. You may find this blog post by Kim George helpful: Top Ten Tips for How to Write an e-Learning Course in Plan English 

Dr Michael Wesch, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology and Lecturer at Kansas State University (USA), presents an interesting perspective on the traditional lecture environment and its suitability for modern students in this TED talk.

The original video of students in a lecture theatre (that Dr Wesch mentions in the video) is included below.

What do you think? Comment below.

Are you planning to use group assessment tasks in your unit? A list of useful links are provided below to help you create your chosen Assignment type (and an associated Survey if you need one).

Useful resources

• Setting up a Group Assignment Submission for submission of group work
  Provides step-by-step instructions to help you create a Group Assignment Submission Folder. Contains useful tips about marking too.
• Setting up an Assignment Submission Folder to collect student assignments
  Step-by-step instructions showing how to create an Individual Assignment Submission Folder.
• Setting up a Survey and a Report
  Explains how to create a Survey, step by step. Also explains how to set up a Report associated with your Survey.
• Accessing a Survey Report
  Explains how to generate a Report to see the results of a Survey. You can save the results as a PDF and share them with students or colleagues, if you wish to.

When setting up Discussion activities, it is important to make the purpose of the discussion and the rules of engagement very clear.

Include clear instructions, a purpose for the discussion and some rules in the Description of your Discussion Topic.

Here is an example of a Description for a Discussion Topic. It was used by Educational Designer/Developer, Peta Statham, when she coordinated the UnitStart Distance unit. You are welcome to  adapt it for use in your own units. For information about how to set up a Discussion Topic, including a Description, click here.

Got a question about UniStart or the university culture?

Please add your questions by selecting the Start a New Thread button. Before you do, take a quick look through the existing threads in the discussion. Someone may already have asked a similar question and the answer may be here already. You can search for a keyword using the search field seen at the top right of the Discussion window.

We will attempt to respond to your posts within 2 business days. We will do so by replying to your thread.

Please note that this is public forum. If your question is personal in nature, contact us directly by email.

When using this topic, observe these rules: 

• Do not post personal information like your address and phone number.
• If you have a question that is personal in nature (e.g. regarding illness or other issues impacting on your studies), please email or phone the Distance Support Team directly.
• Use clear, simple language and avoid the use of jargon, slang or ‘text’ (mobile phone) speak.
• Use the discussion for the purpose it was intended for: to ask questions about this unit and university study generally, and to find answers. Please do not use this topic for social purposes or to make general comments. Suggestions or feedback about the unit can be emailed to the Unit Coordinator directly.
• Do not swear or put down others. This is meant to be a supportive environment, not a place for conflict or power-plays.
• This is not a platform to push personal opinions or ideals. Any critique or comments you make should be supported by evidence, related directly to the unit content, activities and assessment, and phrased in a constructive manner.  You will find these starter phrases helpful when trying to express agreement or disagreement in a constructive manner.
• A post or reply that does not adhere to these rules may be deemed inappropriate. Inappropriate posts will may be removed at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator. Students who continue to add inappropriate posts may have their access to the discussion topic removed altogether.
• If you spot an inappropriate post, please contact the Unit Coordinator immediately by email. Don’t try and respond to the post yourself.

Modelling discussion techniques

Never assume that your students know HOW to discuss effectively. Providing sample sentence starters may help your students frame a question, agreement or disagreement more effectively and help them feel confident in their reply. Here are some examples that you are welcome to provide to your students.

Agreeing with a comment

• I agree with your comment because…
• I really like the way you have…, because…
• One of the strong points of your argument/comment is…, because…
• I find your perspective on this interesting because…

Disagreeing with a comment

• While I can understand the point of view that you have offered, I feel that…, because…
• I question the validity of this comment because…
• I disagree with this comments because…
• I appreciate that this might be the case in some circumstances, however…
• I find it difficult to agree with this comment…
• I have a different take on this because…

Asking for clarification

• I found your comment interesting. Could you provide some examples of what it might mean?
• How might this apply in other situations?
• Could you please explain your comment in more detail?
• It would be useful if you could provide some examples of this.
• It would be useful if you could illustrate this in more detail.

Adding additional information/thoughts to a comment

• I thought it might be useful to add that…
• Another interpretation of this could be…
• … is another example of this.
• Some useful/further examples of this are…
• What other questions should we be asking about…?
• What other approaches could we take to this?

You may have heard the term ‘flipped’ used in relation to unit delivery. The flipped approach seeks to reduce cognitive load, and increase student motivation and engagement (Abeysekera & Dawson, 2014).  Abeysekera and Dawson (2014, p. 3) define the flipped method as:

a set of pedagogical approaches that:

1. move most information-transmission teaching out of class
2. use class time for learning activities that are active and social and
3. require students to complete pre- and/or post-class activities to fully benefit from in-class work.

For more information about the rationale behind flipped classroom approaches, view this video of a Flipped workshop delivered by Senior Teaching Fellow, Stuart Schonell.

How are classes arranged?                               

In a flipped class, all students (regardless of study mode) interact with recorded lectures, readings and other content online. Students absorb unit content at a pace that suits them, within a given period of time (e.g. within a week or fortnight). These online activities act as preparation for a workshop or tutorial.

Students submit weekly content-related assessments, for example Just In Time Teaching (JITT) tasks in the form of 3 or 4 short and/or long answer questions. These assessments aim to encourage students to complete the necessary self-study activities. They also provide the teaching team with valuable data regarding concepts that students are struggling with, as well as a means of formative assessment.

Face-to-face workshops (held after content-related assessments have been submitted) help students tackle concepts identified as difficult. The workshops also provide an opportunity for students to ask questions and engage with unit content using higher-order thinking skills, especially during group activities.

To see an example of a flipped teaching schedule, click here. Alternatively, you can learn more about how other staff at UTAS have introduced the flipped method to their classes by reading this article by James Allison and Christopher Chin from the Australian Maritime College, and TSBE’s own Belinda Williams. It provides an overview of the use of one fully flipped and one partially flipped approach to teaching in two AMC units.

Can this model work for different study modes?

Yes. You can give Distance students the option of attending workshops via live streaming (for example, via Online Rooms or Collaborate) or via discussion forums.

What student or unit characteristics does this model suit?

This model can suit a wide variety of cohorts. Experienced students will have more flexibility to skip through content they already understand, while others can progress through materials at a pace that suits them, possibly engaging with the same piece of content several times to gain understanding.

However, this will be a new way of studying for many students. This method will confront some students with the responsibility of completing their work in advance of class time. Some students may take a while to adapt to this methodology. Therefore, it is important to make the rationale for using this approach, together with expectations of students, very clear from the beginning. Online content must be clearly and logically structured to make it obvious to students how to approach their self-study tasks.

Other factors to consider

• This model may be ‘new’ to many students. Consider having a get-together in the first week of semester, to familiarise students with the unit structure and expectations of them as learners.
• Practice makes perfect: allow students to treat the first content assessment task as a practice task so that they can familiarise themselves with the chosen technology without fear of failure. If they get a higher mark on the first task, it can be used to replace a poor mark on another low-scoring task (if any).
• A logical structure – in terms of the order of topics and the way content is presented online – will help students approach their self-study activities in an efficient and effective manner. Consider organising online content into modules, as well as numbering each content item in the order that it should be approached.
• To further reduce cognitive load and increase engagement, consider providing mini lectures and short readings, interspersed with short reflective activities, memory games, quizzes or even surveys. This resource outlines a range of online tools that you can use to embed activities in your unit: Activity options – choose your tool [PDF]

Useful resources

• This video of a workshop delivered by Stuart Schonell, presents the rationale behind flipped approaches, a range of strategies and considerations, and reflections by other TSBE staff on their experiences of ‘flipping’ their classrooms.
• This article by James Allison and Christopher Chin from the Australian Maritime College, and TSBE’s own Belinda Williams, provides an overview of the use of one fully flipped and one partially flipped approach to teaching in two AMC units.

References

Abeysekera, L & Dawson, P 2014, Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom: definition, rationale and a call for research, Higher Education Research & Development, viewed 5 October 2014, <http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/07294360.2014.934336>