Education Assessment Techniques - Essay Example

? Education Assessment Techniques Education Assessment Techniques In colleges as well as universities, critical thinking is theaim of most exchanges that occur between teachers and students in the classroom. The lecturer is the person who is tasked with directing the students’ intellect and creativity into channels that hold new solutions. This means that lecturers do not necessarily provide give the answers to the students; but actually lead the students in the right direction in the expectation that they will discover the answers. In the conventional face-to-face mode of education as well as the increasingly popular online or hybrid educational setting, critical thinking is the only way through which students can positively approach the subjects in their studies. Critical thinking plays a big role in the whole concept of the consideration of new ideas, the subsequent choosing of the best options and the decision whether or not to modify them further. The Use of Critical Thinking Skills in Teaching Critical thinking skills are a challenge in both face-to-face teaching settings as well as in the provision of online courses because there is a need for students to be completely present in the moment during the lesson. It is much easier for students to merely cram information into their memories without necessarily understanding it and then restate it when they are required to during examinations or tests (Dobrovolny, 2006). Cramming information into memory is the easier way of retaining information without being fully involved in the learning process. It is something that is done in many educational institutions today. However, it is harmful to students in the final analysis because they are left in a situation where they have no skills in fully assessing different subjects or forming their own opinions about them. Reiterating information only calls for a student to sit in the lecture and pretend to understand what is being taught even though his or her mind may be thinking about something else. As long as the student has memorized various meanings, he is content because he can repeat this material to himself later until it is ingrained in his memory. It will then be easy to restate it just as he remembers it in any examinations where it may be required. The use of critical thinking skills, on the other hand, calls for the student to be fully engaged in associative or active learning. Critical thinking entails the use of various skills in the consideration of a given subject. These skills include interpretation, observation, inference, analysis, explanation, and evaluation. The student engaged in critical thinking also takes into account the context in which the material is presented, theoretical constructs for comprehending the subject matter, and the techniques used to come to a decision about the final answer. The use of critical thinking skills does not just entail the use of logic, but also the consideration of credibility, relevance, accuracy, significance, and precision. When a teacher wishes to engage her students towards thinking critically about a subject, she encourages them to use their reason to determine the next steps in finding the real answer; even if this might result in disparities in the findings. She will also encourage inquisitiveness among the students, and direct them towards using a systematic approach to finding solutions for different problems. Naturally, it is easier for teachers to encourage students in bricks-and-mortar institutions to adopt these methods of problem solving than it is for them to encourage students in their online classrooms or hybrid environments. Hybrid settings describe a situation where the teacher uses a combination of traditional classroom as well as online instruction to disseminate lessons to students. In traditional classrooms, teachers are able to monitor students on a personal basis and some can even determine which students are ‘present’ and which are not. This means that they will be able to call the attention of absent minded students when necessary or find more stimulating ways of engaging them so that their minds do not wander. Hybrid and online educational settings offer different set of challenges because the teacher cannot see all her students and thus has to depend on their performance and their word when they state that they understand the subject matter. It is quite easy for students who enroll for online courses or who are a part of hybrid structures to make use of rote memorization techniques to retain information. There are actually junior level subjects such as the memorization of the chemistry periodical table, multiplication tables, anatomy in biology, and scientific formulae which do not require much more than rote memorization. However, for college students who have to deal with more complex subjects, there is a need for there to be more critical thinking skills used in order to retain information. Online courses and hybrid arrangements allow students more freedom to determine how they will learn their subjects. They are not required to physically attend campus when their subjects are being taught. They merely have to tune in online and follow the lesson with other students who may or may not be in the classroom. It is a cheaper way of getting an education and also significantly reduces traffic in universities and colleges. Online and hybrid classes also develop a student’s computer and writing skills while also encouraging greater self discipline (Bruning, 2005). Among committed students, online and hybrid classes can also develop their critical thinking and problem solving abilities. The use of rote memorization or critical thinking skills in hybrid and online instruction To discourage the use of rote memorization as a method of learning, there are skills that tutors and lecturers with online or hybrid students can use to enhance students’ critical thinking skills. For instance, the teachers can ensure that lower-level learning concerns are not included during class time so that the limited time used for each subject is dedicated to more important activities that call for critical thinking (Garrison & Cleveland-Innes, 2005). They can also encourage the formation of online group discussions. These are particularly beneficial for dedicated students who, through active learning, can actually achieve subject mastery. Online students who are part of online group discussions tend to make their views known in a more confident manner because they do not need to air their questions in front of a group of other students. Moreover, this does not apply to all students (Driscoll, 2005). Mature adults who have family responsibilities and are meeting the cost of their own education are more likely to benefit from online courses and develop additional self discipline as well as critical thinking skills without too much goading from their teachers because they are self motivated. However, younger students who have just finished their high school education require additional coaching many times, because they may be faced with temptations –such as using their free time in pursuits other than their online courses- that they do not yet have the capability to overcome. For such students, there are techniques that can be used to involve them more in online or hybrid lessons. Some of these techniques include: Computer –Based or Online Testing Tests or examinations are important as they evaluate the credibility of descriptions which are the student’s perception and opinion of the subject in question (Bruning, 2005). Tests will also let the teacher know if the student has understood how to use a logical method to come to an understanding of inferential relationships among questions and statements. When teachers or lecturers give frequent tests or examinations to their hybrid and online students, they are compelling them to study on a regular basis. It is quite common, when students are compelled to study in this manner, for them to find that even though they had initially started using rote memorization, the fact that they are constantly reading the material, or memorizing it, results in them acquiring an unexpected interest in understanding it. Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) Classroom Assessment Techniques are decisive evaluation techniques that are used by a teacher in order to understand the extent to which her students comprehend the course material. Classroom Assessment Techniques can also be used by teachers to determine the efficiency of his or her teaching methods (Bruning, 2005). Due to the fact that online students cannot foresee them, Classroom Assessment Techniques can stimulate students to learn more about the subject so as to have ready information whenever they are conducted. Some common Classroom Assessment Techniques include: The Minute Paper – which can be used by a teacher to identify if online students are gaining any understanding of the subject material, or not. When using the minute paper, an instructor ends the online class by requesting his students to write the main thing they learned in the lesson, and to document the questions that they feel were not exhaustively addressed. The Muddiest Point – which can be used by a teacher to identify the area that was least understood by the students. For instance, the teacher may ask the online students to determine which the most confusing part of the lesson was. The What’s the Principle? –In this method, the teacher expects the online students to identify the issue of contention, and then determine which principles they have to use in order to solve the issue (Gellin, 2003). Defining Features Matrix: In this technique, the students are supplied with different concepts and different characteristics which describe them. They are then expected to match them correctly to each other. Using this method, the teacher can easily deduce which area it is that is causing the biggest problem for the online students. By causing the students to have to concentrate in class in order to accurately tend to such techniques, the Classroom Assessment Techniques make it easier for students to be able to acquire a genuine interest in the subjects that they are learning. This interest means that they will begin to use critical thinking skills to define and evaluate the subject in question. Competency-based Learning In competency-based learning, there is a flexible structure that allows the students to improve in accordance to the rate at which they master the academic content despite the concerns of the available time or learning pace expected (Nieto & Saiz, 2008). This technique, when applied to online students, results in improved student engagement as the subject content is customized to meet the distinctive learning pace of individual students. By making it possible for students to learn at their own pace, competency-based learning does not just save the educational institution’s money and time, but also encourages the students to develop critical thinking skills in assessing their subjects (Hofreiter, Monroe, & Stein, 2007). It is a known fact that some students take longer than others to understand the importance of different subjects. When students do not feel that they are hurried, or do not fear that they will be viewed as being ‘slow’ if other students have already understood something that they are still struggling with, they are more likely not to resort to rote memorization if just to keep up the appearance of being as shrewdly intelligent as the others. This means that they will be more likely to consider reflecting on the subjects that they learn in order o understand them better. Students can also take advantage of critical thinking techniques that are readily availed through the internet in interactive real-world /online learning experiences (Paul & Elder, 2004). For instance, in the ‘Five Points of the Star’ learning technique, students have the opportunity to engage in five greatly interactive learning experiences in student-to-teacher, student-to-student, student-to- material, student-to-community, and student-to-technology forums (Bruning, 2005). The use of such platforms does not just mean that students actually enjoy the process of developing critical thinking skills; but that they also experience intellectually exciting educational experiences. Adaptive Release The use of adaptive release means that lecturers or tutors create a system of regulations that controls access to various items in different courses. The rules may be decided by factors such as date, availability, class member users, time, and course groups. Using the adaptive release method when teaching online classes means that students are furnished with the information describing the objective of the exercise (Walker, 2005). For students in beginning classes or foundational classes, such a measure may be important in helping them develop critical thinking skills because they are stopped from taking on more material than is necessary, which leaves them reflecting on the provided material. Sometimes students will engage in rote memorization when they are presented with too much knowledge; most of which they may not understand. By using the adaptive release technique, a teacher can ensure that her hybrid or online student concentrate on just the material that she has already covered without confusing themselves with the content of the next lesson. Conclusion The assessment techniques such as adaptive release, competency based learning, classroom assessment techniques and frequent testing are instrumental in ensuring that hybrid or online students develop critical thinking skills. They may also be successfully used in traditional face-to-face classrooms with equal success; however, the point of using them in online based classes is that they make it easier for students to opt for fully comprehending the material that is presented to the instead of memorizing it without even reflecting on it. References Bruning, K. (2005). The role of critical thinking in the online learning environment. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(5). Dobrovolny, J. (2006). How adults learn from self-paced, technology-based corporate training: New focus for learners, new focus for designers. Distance Education, 27(2), 155-170. Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Garrison, D. R., & Cleveland-Innes, M. (2005). Facilitating cognitive presence in online learning: Interaction is not enough. American Journal of Distance Education, 19(3), 133-148. Gellin, A. (2003). The effect of undergraduate student involvement on critical thinking: A Meta analysis of literature 1991-2000. Journal of College Student Development, 44 (6), 746–762. Hofreiter, T., Monroe, M., & Stein, T. (2007). Teaching and evaluating critical thinking in an environmental context. Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 6(2), 149–157. Nieto, A., & Saiz, C. (2008). Evaluation of Halpern’s “structural component” for improving critical thinking. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11(1), 226–274. Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2004). The nature and functions of critical and creating thinking. Dillon Beach: The Foundation for Critical Thinking. Walker, G. (2005). Critical thinking in asynchronous discussions. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(6). Read More