Enhancing Teaching And Learning Through Assessment

Assessment is the daily life of a teacher; designing plans, setting questions, giving feedback and grading are all activities that teachers undertake on a regular basis. This book provides a practical guide on the effective use of assessment. It includes the use of assessment tools and pedagogical design that help students deepen their learning. Major issues on assessment and some excellent examples are presented as a useful resource to university teachers in enhancing teaching and students' learning.

Assessment has provided educational institutions with information about student learning outcomes and the quality of education for many decades. But has it informed practice and been fully incorporated into the learning cycle? Conrad and Openo argue that the potential inherent in many of the new learning environments being explored by educators and students has not been fully realized. In this investigation of a variety of assessment methods and learning approaches, the authors aim to discover the tools that engage learners and authentically evaluate education. They insist that moving to new learning environments, specifically those online and at a distance, afford opportunities for educators to adopt only the best practices of traditional face-to-face assessment while exploring evaluation tools made available by a digital learning environment in the hopes of arriving at methods that capture the widest set of learner skills and attributes.

This book is based on the argument that detailed and developmental formative feedback is the single most useful thing teachers can do for students. It helps to clarify the expectations of higher education and assist all students to achieve their potential. This book promotes student learning through formative assessment and feedback, which: enables self-assessment and reflection in learning encourages teacher-student dialogue helps clarify what is good performance provides students with quality information to help improve their learning encourages motivation and self-confidence in students aids the teacher in shaping teaching Underpinned by the relevant theory, the practical advice and examples in this book directly address the issues of how to motivate students to engage in formative assessment effectively and shows teachers how they can provide further useful formative feedback.

Using clear explanations and cases, this must-have resource shows how formative assessment can improve student learning. Included are lesson plans and ideas for easy implementation.

This book addresses the central issue of teaching and learning, use of assessment. It is an attempt to look into the alternative use of assessment with illustration o selected cases from different universities. Under the auspices of a teacher developemtn project titled "Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Assessment", the community of university teachers were gathered to address to the assessment issues in university. In line with the project's aim in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning through designing, implementing, and making effective use of assessment practices, this book recorded how the frontline teachers and educational developers did in their own context.

In an age where the quality of teacher education programs has been called into question, it is more important than ever that teachers have a fundamental understanding of the principles of human learning, motivation, and development. Theory to Practice: Educational Psychology for Teachers and Teaching is a series for those who teach educational psychology in teacher education programs. At a time when educational psychology is at risk of becoming marginalized, it is imperative that we, as educators, “walk our talk” in serving as models of what effective instruction looks like. Each volume in the series draws upon the latest research to help instructors model fundamental principles of learning, motivation, and development to best prepare their students for the diverse, multidimensional, uncertain, and socially-embedded environments in which these future educators will teach. The inaugural volume, Teaching on Assessment, is centered on the role of assessment in teaching and learning. Each chapter translates current research on critical topics in assessment for educational psychology instructors and teacher educators to consider in their teaching of future teachers. Written for practitioners, the aim is to present contemporary issues and ideas that would help teachers engage in meaningful assessment practice. This volume is important not only because of the dwindling presence of assessment-related instructional content in teacher preparation programs, but also because the policy changes in the last two decades have transformed the meaning and use of assessment in K-12 classrooms. Praise for Teaching on Assessment "This thought-provoking book brings together perspectives from educational psychology and teacher education to examine how assessment can best support student motivation, engagement, and learning. In the volume, editors Nichols and Varier present a set of chapters written by leaders in the field to examine critical questions about how to best prepare teachers to make instructional decisions, understand assessment within the context of learning and motivation theory, and draw on assessment in ways which can meet the needs of diverse learners. Written in a highly accessible language and style, each chapter contains clear takeaway messages designed for educational psychologists, teacher educators, teachers, and pre-service teachers. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in teaching or developing our future teaching professionals." Lois R. Harris, Australian Catholic University "This impressive book provides a wealth of contemporary and engaging resources, ideas and perspectives that educational psychology instructors will find relevant for helping students understand the complexity of assessment decision-making as an essential component of instruction. Traditional assessment principles are integrated with contemporary educational psychology research that will enhance prospective teachers’ decision-making about classroom assessments that promote all students’ learning and motivation. It is unique in showing how to best leverage both formative and summative assessment to boost student engagement and achievement, enabling students to understand how to integrate practical classroom constraints and realities with current knowledge about self-regulation, intrinsic motivation, and other psychological constructs that assessment needs to consider. The chapters are written by established experts who are able to effectively balance presentation of research and theory with practical applications. Notably, the volume includes very important topics rarely emphasized in other assessment texts, including assessment literacy frameworks, diversity, equity, assessment strategies for students with special needs, and data-driven decision making. The book will be an excellent supplement for educational psychology classes or for assessment courses, introducing students to current thinking about how to effectively integrate assessment with instruction." James McMillan, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Assessment is a critical aspect of higher education because it has a range of powerful impacts on what staff and students do and how universities operate. Underpinned by relevant theory and practical advice this fully updated new edition takes into account the changing expectation of students in the context of an increasingly complex and shifting higher education environment to promote the role of formative assessment and formative feedback and its impact on shaping the student learning experience. Presented through the lens of contemporary perspectives, empirical evidence, and case studies across a broad range of subject disciplines, this new edition aims to encourage teaching and support staff to focus on the promotion of student learning through designing and embedding high-impact formative assessment processes and activities. Key content covers: the theoretical and philosophical aspects of formative assessment and formative feedback; the learning environment in which students undertake their learning activities, helping teachers develop appropriate formative assessment and provide effective formative feedback; the impact of formative assessment and formative feedback activities have on learning, teaching, and assessment design, as well as on the academic workload of tutors; the contemporary issues and challenges currently driving research into formative assessment; the use of technology in formative assessment and how different tools and technologies allow for the provision of effective and efficient formative feedback; the benefits of understanding how students respond to formative assessment and formative feedback as an opportunity to review the effectiveness of the teaching and learning methods and techniques; the integral role of formative assessment and formative feedback plays in postgraduate research settings; and how innovations in formative assessment and feedback inform key developments in large-scale assessment change. Aimed at both experienced and early career practitioners in higher education, this text is ideal reading for educators who wish to see a movement away from a higher education system driven by summative assessment to one where a more holistic approach to education positions learning standards rather than measurement and grades as central to effective assessment and, crucially, to return to a focus on student learners.

Self-assessment is increasingly used in higher education as a strategy for both student learning and assessment. This book examines the full range of concerns about self-assessment, placing it in the wider context of innovative teaching and learning practices.