How Do You Know That Your Students Are Learning?

2012 Curators’ Teaching SummitNov. 12, 2012 – Session 3

CATs

Classroom Assessment Techniques

What are CATs?• Formative assessment – usually ungraded and

anonymous feedback from students about what they understand

• In contrast to summative assessment (evaluates student work with a grade)

• Provides info about effectiveness of teaching methods

• Helps students assess their own learningAdapted from: Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Dinosaur Clickers or ... The One Minute Paper CAT

Tips for Trying CATS• Start small. Try one or two easy CATs

(at most) in a semester.• Don’t use every class period. Once a

week maximum.• Try it out yourself first or on a

colleague to work out the bugs.

Tips for Trying CATS (cont.)

• Allot about twice the time it took you to do it when using it in the classroom.

• Make sure to “close the loop”! Let students know what you learned and what you will do with that information to help their learning.

Adapted from: Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Discussion Questions1. Brainstorm with your table about other questions

that could be used for a One-Minute Paper. What would be a good question for a One-Minute Paper in a class that you teach?

2. What are the advantages of formative assessment (such as CATs) over summative assessment (tests/quizzes/graded homework)? The disadvantages?

3. Are you already doing formative assessment in your class? Have you been successful in closing the loop?

Become a CAT Expert

• Each table is asked to work together through the CAT exercise you have been given.

• Answer the discussion questions and be prepared to share with the group at large in about 10-12 minutes.

CAT: Application CardsStudents hear or read about an important principle, generalization, theory, or procedure in class. The instructor then hands out an index card and asks them to write down at least one possible application for what they have just heard or read. The application must be something different than what has already been mentioned in the lecture or reading.

Adapted from: Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, p. 236.

Student-Generated Test QuestionsStudents have the benefit of discovering how well they understand the material by preparing test questions and model answers that could end up on the exam in revised form.

Adapted from: Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, p. 240.

CAT: Background Knowledge ProbeShort, simple questionnaires that instructors develop to use • at the beginning of a course• at the start of a new unit• or, prior to introducing an important new topic in order to collect feedback on students’ prior learning.

Adapted from: Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, p. 121.

CAT: Pro and Con GridStudents analyze • pros and cons• costs and benefits• or, advantages and disadvantages of an issue of mutual concern by making a simple two-sided grid that they turn in to the instructor.

Adapted from: Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, p. 168.