Formative Archives - Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository

Boosting Engagement in Research in a Synchronous Online Foreign Language Class: Using an E-Conference Format, Peer-Reviewing and Pressbooks

Description In the COVID new normal, many courses have changed modality or had to displace the face-to-face classroom in an e-campus. The problematic for Humanities courses that heavily rely on research and collaboration is how to redefine the connection between instructor and students, and how to create fruitful research collaboration among students in a delocalized …

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Using Video Discussion Boards to Increase Student Engagement

Description Discussion boards in online courses are widely known to encourage higher-order thinking and reflection. However, text-based discussions may not be the best choice for all students or all learning outcomes. Student-created video is used increasingly in the form of video discussion boards. For example, instructors may have heard of Flipgrid, a popular video discussion …

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Related Tags: Assessment, Discussions, Engagement, Formative, Interaction, Video

Encourage Metacognitive Learning by Visualizing Objectives

Description Students want to know what will be on the test. But faculty want students to focus on authentic learning rather than simply scoring well. Our strategy addresses both desires. Good course design involves alignment of course and lesson objectives with relevant activities and assessments. It is imperative that students be provided with this “roadmap” …

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Develop Critical Thinking Skills through Online Simulations Created with Blackboard’s Testing Tool

Description Simulation with sophisticated manikins or standardized patients has firmly established itself as an effective teaching practice in nursing and medical education (Liaw, et.al., 2015; Shin, Park & Kim, 2015). Although mastering many skills of advanced practice nursing requires high fidelity simulation, the thinking processes – diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision-making – can be successfully …

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Related Tags: Assessment, Formative, Interaction, Learning Activities

Require Online Exit Tickets for Active Engagement

Description Changing the culture of the online university classroom from one of passivity to active engagement requires purposeful planning by the university professor (Kuh, 2005). Related to the so-called “minute paper,” exit slips offer easy, quick, and informative assessments that help encourage student connections to content, self-reflection, and a purpose for future learning (Marzano, 2012; …

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Related Tags: Assessment, Feedback, Formative, Image, Muddiest Point, Reflection, Visual

Using GIST Statements for Summary of Learning Content

Description The goal of a GIST statement is to write a summary in a given amount of words (i.e 20 words, 15 words, 10 words). GIST is an acronym that stands for: Generating Interactions between Schemata and Texts (Cunningham, 1982; Herrell, 2000). The instructor can determine the amount of words when writing the GIST statement. …

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Using Student Created Blogs as a Progressive Formative Assessment in an Online STEM Course

Description The utility of writing assignments to enhance learning biology is well documented (e.g. Mynlieff et al., 2014; Couch et al., 2015). Such assignments can provide the basis for assessing higher-order and critical-thinking skills (Kelly et al, n.d.). Furthermore, when students are able to react to instructors’ feedback by re-drafting or adjusting their written work, …

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Related Tags: Assessment, Biology, Blog, Bloom's Taxonomy, Formative, Metacognition, Scaffolding, STEM

Assess Individual Learning from Group Projects

Description While many instructors across instructional venues integrate collaborative activities that emulate professional realities, collaboration assessments often disenfranchise some contributors. When evaluation hinges on groups producing a cohesive, homogenized artifact, the outcome favors compromise. Homogenized perspectives don’t generally reflect the complementary visions of individuals. This can foreclose on participant satisfaction if the outcome silences or …

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Use Minute Paper to Evaluate Student Participation

Description The minute paper is a formative assessment strategy whereby students are asked to take one minute (or more) to answer two questions: what was the most important thing they learned in class today; and what still remains unclear to them. The goal is for the instructor to get a feel for whether students captured …

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Related Tags: Assessment, Feedback, Formative, Muddiest Point, Participation, Reflection

Provide Formative Feedback for Student Success in Interactive Assessments

Description Research suggest that faculty interacting with and providing constructive feedback to students were significantly and positively related to students’ learning gains in professional skills (Bjorklund, Parente, & Sathianathan, 2004). If students work on an assignment which does not exemplify the best they can do to meet the assignment criteria, they are allowed to revise …

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Related Tags: Assessment, Feedback, Formative, Multiple Submissions, Programming