Learning Upside Down: Mark Burris Director of Scholarly Technology and Resources (STaR) Using CE6 Assessments and Grading Form Tools

Common Online Course Design  Reading assignment(s)  Discussion assignment(s)  Module/Unit exam

Common Online Course Design  Discussion assignment (formative)  Low points  Participation  Module/Unit exam (summative)  High points  One attempt

Common Online Course Design  Problem:  High point exams inadvertently emphasized lower end of Bloom’s taxonomy at module conclusion  Summative exam failed to promote mastery of terms and concepts early in the learning process  Summative exam failed to scaffold higher order learning processes  Discussion postings did not demonstrate the desired learning outcome

Upside Down Online Course Design  Solution: Invert the process  Module/Unit exam (formative)  Low points  Multiple (unlimited) attempts  Large database  Discussion assignment (summative)  High points  Detailed grading rubric

Upside Down Course Design  Exam and Reading Assignments (formative)  Low points on lower end of Bloom’s taxonomy establishes proper learning emphasis  Large database reduces memorization effects  Exam reinforces reading; reading reinforces exam  Multiple (unlimited) attempts promotes mastery learning outcomes  Multiple (unlimited) attempts scaffolds higher order learning exercises (discussions)

Upside Down Course Design  Discussion assignment (summative)  High points on higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy establishes proper learning emphasis  Detailed grading rubric communicates high expectations and scaffolds quality discussions  Students learn to use terms and concepts correctly in meaningful academic conversations  Collaborative learning results from applying concepts to real-world problems/experiences

Upside Down Course Design  Student response:  Poor first assignment outcomes  Vocal outcry against rubric and instructor  Kuebler-Ross Grief Stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance  Better second assignment outcomes  Better yet subsequent assignment outcomes  Meaningful academic conversations  Expressed enjoyment of the learning process

Upside Down Course Design  Problem:  Student expectations must be reformulated  Multiple attempts on exams requires large question database and thoughtful settings  Discussions are not easy to grade!  That’s a lot of discussion grading!  That’s a lot of discussion grading!!!!!

Upside Down Course Design  Solution: Bb’s Grading Form Tool  Customizable Learning Rubric(s)  Available to students on each assignment prior to submission  Provides standard and customized feedback  Easy to grade and automatically updates to the Bb Grade Book tool  Feedback available to students as a button on their MyGrades tool

Step #1: Create a Grading Form

Step #2: Grade Discussions

Recommendation: Open two windows, one for your course and one for a file containing commonly used feedback comments.

Step #2: Grade Discussions

Step #3: Student Feedback

Learning Upside Down Wrap-up  Bb’s Grading Form tool benefits:  Ease of grading encourages instructors to use more discussions and collaborative learning  Rubrics scaffold student learning process throughout the learning exercise  Student feedback communicates high expectations and customized instructions  Courses are easily redesigned to promote interaction between low and higher order learning

Learning Upside Down Wrap-up  Questions?  Contact Information: Mark Burris Director of Scholarly Technology and Resources (STaR) University of Arkansas at Little Rock