Part III. Matching Feedback and Assessment to Online Activities (Vanessa’s Section…)

The Feedback Issue Students participating in online activities look for feedback to know: –A. the instructor is reading their contributions –B. their participation is valued –C. their participation is adequate, in terms of quality and quantity Feedback need not be individualized to be effective –Whole class commentary provided on a regular basis was found to be just as satisfactory from the student point of view (Dennen, 2001)

The Assessment Issue Often, online activities go unassessed –“Add-on” syndrome: Adding an online activity to a previously designed class because it sounds like a good idea

The Assessment Issue Students are more likely to participate when then know there is impact on their grade –Direct impact: graded on participation (quality, quantity or both) –Indirect impact: participation should bolster performance on other assessments –Students quickly become aware if an online activity is not related to assessed learning objectives

The Assessment Issue, Cont. Sometimes the wrong things are assessed Examples: –Assessing students’ online moderation skills when the course topic/learning objectives have nothing to do with online moderation –Assessing quantity of participation, but not quality which, granted, is easier, but encourages sloppy message posting rather than thoughtful learning dialogues

Assessing Asynchronous Activities Some ideas …

1. Social Ice Breakers Feedback: –Critical because it sets the tone for instructor attentiveness and interactions Assessment: –Not really necessary or appropriate What you might do: –Participate in the ice breaker alongside students –Compile a list of “who’s who” from student responses and distribute to class

2. Learner-Content Interactions Feedback: –Should be built into the activity –Computer-automated Assessment: –Generally, these activities help prepare students for formal assessment What you might do: –Make explicit to students the value of completing these activities and their relationship to success on graded activities

3. Scenario-based Simulations Feedback: –Should be built into the activity –If not automated, instructor must provide or monitor to ensure peers provide it Assessment: –Simulation can be assessed directly themselves or used to prepare students for authentic assessments What you might do: –If objectives are process oriented, assess student performance in simulation –Encourage learner reflection on the process and their performance

4. Anonymous Suggestion Box Feedback: –Important to respond to students Assessment: –Neither necessary nor appropriate What you might do: –Compile a list of suggestions with corresponding actions taken or reasons why action is not possible/feasible/desirable

5. Student Formative Surveys Feedback: –Instructor should reference student responses in aggregate form –Individual responses may receive feedback, but students should not be singled out Assessment: –Neither necessary nor appropriate What you might do: –Use topic-based surveys as a lead-in to a learning unit –Use course feedback surveys to make changes to the class

6. Role Play Feedback: –Students want/need to know if they are adequately playing their roles Assessment: –Based on participation (to ensure the roles get played) –Following the role play, based on subject matter What you might do: –Post a general message to the class, filling in missing / misrepresented roles and noting exemplary contributions –Have learners write a reflection paper on the topic, highlighting the various perspectives and defending the perspective of their choice

7. Case-based Labs/Experiments Feedback: –Should be built into the activity Assessment: –Generally, these activities help prepare students for formal assessment What you might do: –Make explicit to students the value of completing these activities and their relationship to success on graded activities

8. Authentic Data Analysis Feedback: –Should focus on helping students analyze the data Assessment: –Based on results of the analysis OR on the process (depending on learning objectives) What you might do: –Have students respond to the activity’s questions, either individually or collaboratively

9. Just-in-time Teaching/Syllabus Feedback: –Responsiveness to student contributions must be explicit and frequent Assessment: –Appropriate assessments should be developed based on the student contributions in conjunction with the pre-planned course material –If participation might be a problem, students should get points for completing quizzes/surveys (Small participation grade, or bonus points on tests) What you might do: –Have students write a reflection on how their point-of-view is similar to/different from their peers –Post results of student quizzes in aggregate form for class review –Update regular tests to incorporate the just-in-time materials

10. Perspective Taking Feedback: –Focus on how well students are representing different perspectives Assessment: –Perspective-based role-play will likely be assessed What you might do: –Fill in missing perspectives — or have students review their work and identify missing perspectives

Assessing Synchronous Activities More ideas…

Learning Conversations Includes Webinar, chats (regular, expert, guest) Feedback: –Instructor can debrief the chat afterwards, providing a summary and commenting on contributions Assessment: –Not really fair to assess students on basis of synchronous chat contribution due to limited airspace –Content/experience should be assessed through another means such as reflection, essay, test or project

Group Work Includes Team Meeting and Collaborative Online Writing Feedback: –Focus on group’s process and how to improve it Assessment: –Based on product (collaborative writing, other project) –Based on process (Was work distributed equally? Completed on time? What would be changed the next time?) Peer ratings Assessment of contributions in group’s online work space (archives)

Advisory Activities Includes Online Mentoring, Secret Coaches and Protégées Feedback: –Such activities are all about feedback –Should focus on learner performance on past class activities –Should look forward to future activities Assessment: –Assessment would be neither appropriate nor desired, although participation might be required

Questions and Perhaps Some Answers...???