The move from high- to low-discretion not only standardizes education, but also standardizes achievement in education in a truly unfortunate way. Instructors in high-discretion fields should embrace that feature, exercising high discretion with respect to assignments, curriculum, and grading standards.
Tag: Assessment
The Best of Both Worlds: Using Print and Digital Tools in your AP® Literature Course
As an older Millennial teacher, I find that I am stuck between two worlds: the one I was born in and the one in which I grew up. The one I was born in was analog: paper, pencils and highlighters, and books. The one I grew up in—although it was ever-evolving—was decidedly not analog. It was keyboards, screens, and software updates. Like me, students are caught between these two worlds.
Creating Connections: Tips for Writing Effective Test Questions
Tests are a learning experience for the test-taker. Tests are not only a way to find out how much students know, but they are also a way to guide the test taker as to what is most important about what they are learning. Whether it is for a chapter test, a semester exam, or a test bank, I write questions that focus on details and the big picture.
Using Courseware to Gain Meaningful Insight and Inform Teaching and Learning
I have long observed in my teaching practice that the most memorable learning tends to occur after students are able to pinpoint gaps in their own knowledge or understanding of course material. Put another way: failure is an effective teacher. However, many college-level courses are delivered in a mode of instruction traditional to higher education: lectures followed by summative assessments, such as term papers or exams. The feedback students receive is delivered and received not as an opportunity for reflection or further inquiry but as a final, definitive grade.
The Importance of Failing Forward in Science and Beyond
When I asked a group of college instructors how their students responded to setbacks in their courses, the responses were familiar: increasing disengagement and absence, avoidance of assignments, cheating, and even anger. In all these cases, students are seeing mistakes/errors as off-ramps taking them away from the successful completion of a course of study. One of the most meaningful things an instructor can do is to flip that narrative, helping students see their mistakes/errors as on-ramps to more powerful and lasting learning.
Using InQuizitive to Improve Student Learning—and My Own Teaching
The world outside the classroom is changing. As students struggle to understand challenging concepts and engage with the material, psychology instructors like Elliot Berkman, PhD are turning to InQuizitive to identify their students’ difficulties, adapt their coursework, and encourage students to take control of their learning journeys.
Specifications Grading: A Before-and-After Tale in My Organic II Course
By replacing high-stakes exams with shorter, focused assessments emphasizing achievement instead of percentage grades, and allowing students to retake those assessments without penalty, I was confident I could reduce anxiety, promote a growth-mindset, and improve student engagement, all while keeping the bar high. So, I jumped in with both feet.
Practical Strategies and Learning Activities for Braving the New World of Multiple Choice on the AP® English Exams
The news is out: the multiple choice portion of the AP English exams will have only four—not five—answer choices. Say what?? Change of any kind tends to bring about uncertainty and mixed emotions, but we can all agree that reducing answer options will make the multiple choice portion of the exam less of a beast. …
Worried about AI in the Classroom? Try Process-Oriented Pedagogy
If you’re like most faculty, you’re worried about AI—specifically, how large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Bing Chat will affect your students’ learning. For example, one colleague said she was concerned that “students will lose their unique voices.” Another added: “I want to hear their original thoughts. I want them to be …
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High-Frequency, Low-Stakes Assessments in Biochemistry
Roger L. Miesfeld is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Arizona where he has taught biochemistry both in person and online for 36 years to thousands of premed biochemistry students. Roger has integrated active learning modules and everyday biochemistry into his course, which helped earn him the University of Arizona Honors College Faculty Excellence …
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