College of Engineering and Science Graduate TA Training Workshop Day 1: Effective Feedback and Grading Dr. Lisa Benson Ms. Justine Chasmar August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

Effective Feedback and Grading Give specific, constructive feedback Write your test or quiz before you start teaching a topic. You should know where you’re going before you begin Use rubrics to assess written work Assign points for different parts of the written report and different features within it that reflect what you want students to know Show students the rubric before beginning the assignment or lab, so they know how it will be graded and (more importantly) what you expect them to learn August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

A well-designed rubric can help you grade consistently. When different students make the same mistake or ace the same aspect of their lab write-ups, you can deduct or award points the same way Rubrics can be designed to sum points (add points for each required element), subtract points (deduct points for each missing or incorrect element) or as a combination of both Resources for writing rubrics can be found on the CES GTA Training website: training/effective-feedback-assessment.html training/effective-feedback-assessment.html August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

More on Effective Feedback and Grading: Learning Objectives Whether grading lab reports, homework problems, or tests, your assessment must match what you want students to learn Write your test, quiz or homework problems before you start teaching a topic Focus on learning objectives August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

Learning objectives are statements of what students should be able to do after receiving instruction in your course or lab. Can also include conditions under which those objectives should be met Must be SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE Can use Blooms taxonomy as a guide to writing learning objectives August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

Writing learning objectives “By the end of this [course, week, lecture, lab], you will be able to…” This is followed by an action word Use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide for choosing action words; they are organized by level and type of learning August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Objectives Bloom's Taxonomy The Knowledge Dimension The Cognitive Process Dimension RememberUnderstandApplyAnalyzeEvaluateCreate Factual Knowledge ListSummarizeClassifyOrderRankCombine Conceptual Knowledge DescribeInterpretExperimentExplainAssessPlan Procedural Knowledge TabulatePredictCalculateDifferentiateConcludeCompose Meta-Cognitive Knowledge Appropriate UseExecuteConstructAchieveActionActualize Source: this website has examples of verbs that are appropriate to use in questions that assess student learning within each categoryhttp://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

Examples of action words for learning objectives Not appropriate: Know Learn Appreciate Understand Effective wording: Summarize Classify Predict Rank August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop These are important course goals, but they are not measurable. Specific and measurable action words guide students and instructors.

Examples of learning objectives By the end of Unit 4, you will… [bad]: …know the fundamental principles of fluid flow. [weak]: …be able to derive the expression for fluid velocities and pressure drops and calculate them for specific cases. [good]: …be able to calculate for an incompressible Newtonian fluid in laminar flow in a circular pipe, the following: average fluid velocity, maximum velocity, velocity at a given radial position, pressure drop over the length of the pipe, and shear stress at the wall. explain in terms a bright high school student could understand the meanings of each of the calculate quantities. derive expressions for the same quantities in a rectangular pipe. August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

When assessing learning: Learning is more important than grades Tests and other assessments should be learning experiences as well as evaluation devices Providing feedback is more important than assigning a grade Avoid evaluation devices that increase anxiety and competition From McKeachie and Svinicki, 2005 (pg )

Formative assessments give ongoing feedback on students’ understanding, for both teacher and student. Guided inquiry questions What’s the next step? How could you do this problem differently? Why is this model important? Feedback on drafts Minute papers – top 3 concepts, ”muddiest point”, etc. Idea: Ask what they feel they’d need to study if there was a test tomorrow. Another idea: Ask them what was the most engaging or relevant activity that they did in class today.

Other ideas for formative feedback Conduct a “Student Interest Inventory” early on, to learn about students’ subject-specific knowledge and how they like to learn Survey students after the first exam to see how they prepared for it and to find out whether their grades matched expectations Share feedback with students when you’re ready to implement changes based on their input

More ideas for effective questioning Prepare questions—Develop thought-provoking questions as you prepare the content for class Play with the questions— Post questions on a slide or the board; open class with a question and revisit/answer it at the end of class; ask a question repeatedly across several sessions with multiple possible answers discussed before a “good” or “right” answer is identified. Preserve good questions—Save questions that generate interest, thoughtful responses, and good discussion along with the course materials for that day. Ask questions that you don’t know the answer to—This lets students know that you still have things to learn and can possibly learn them from your students; it may motivate them to ask better questions! Ask questions you can’t answer—Unanswered questions currently being confronted within your field are inherently more interesting than those that have been answered. Don’t ask open-ended questions when you know the answer you’re looking for—Don’t play the “try to guess the answer I have in mind” game; it reinforces the idea that questions have only one right answer. From Faculty Focus, May 28, 2014, The Art of Asking Questions by Maryellen WeimerThe Art of Asking Questions

Not so effective formative feedback “Any questions?” Answering your own questions Waiting until the end of the semester Assuming all students understand what’s going on in the class Assuming all students know how to study

Formative feedback: How much do your students know BEFORE they take the test? Questioning Techniques Tips for asking good questions When students answer a question, always get them to include the “because” clause, telling why their answer is correct and how they know it is true. This will let you see misconceptions in even “correct” answers. When a student asks a question, instead of giving the answer, give the information needed to find the answer, then ask the class. Leading questions are needed to a certain extent, but be careful of leading students directly to an answer and then thinking that they’ve “got it.” Have them rephrase the answer to make sure they are not just repeating information back to you. August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop

Further reading: McKeachie, W. J. and Svinicki, M. Teaching Tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers, Houghton Mifflin, Nilson, Linda (2010). “Outcomes-Centered Course Design”, Ch. 2 in Teaching at Its Best, Third Edition, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.  Also check out Linda Nilson’s workshops and other resources through the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation: More tips and resources on effective feedback and grading are available on the Clemson University College of Engineering and Science Graduate TA Training website: training/index.html training/index.html August , 2014 CES GTA Training Workshop