Rebooting Assessment

Assessment is overdue for a technology-supported reboot, and this practical guide will help you do just that. Within its pages, you'll discover a technology-supported and balanced approach to assessment for learning that includes conversations and performance-based observations as key components. Real-world case studies and differentiated implementation options are available throughout the book to help you identify your current level of knowledge, gain confidence, and hone your skills. Use this book to guide your journey to effective performance-based assessment: Understand how balanced classroom assessment leads to deeper student engagement, greater equity, and increased reliability. Discover the role of formative and summative assessments and how to use triangulation to assess student learning outcomes. Watch video clips that feature real-life teachers and students implementing balanced assessment in the classroom. Learn how to develop positive relationships with students and create a learning environment characterized by trust and collaboration. Understand how to use technology and digital evidence to support assessment, including student self-assessment and peer assessment. Rely on the teacher-readiness scale to help you identify your comfort level with the types of assessment and approaches within the book. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Why Is Balanced Assessment Important? Chapter 2: How Do I Plan Balanced Assessments? Chapter 3: How Do I Assess Through Observation and Conversation? Chapter 4: How Can I Use Technology to Benefit Assessment? Chapter 5: How Do I Use a VOCAL Approach to Improve Learning? Chapter 6: How Do I Communicate About Learning in the Digital Age? Epilogue Appendix References and Resources Index

Assessment of Online Learners offers essential foundations, insights, and real-world examples for preservice teachers preparing to assess students in today’s digitized classrooms. When aligned with intended curricula and best practices, assessment not only informs but enhances both instruction and student achievement, though the recent large-scale adaptation of face-to-face learning to online platforms has yielded new challenges and responsibilities for teachers. This book explores shifts in the research and practice of assessment in online environments, the reconceptualization of course content and assessment frameworks in teacher education, the collection of fair and accurate assessment evidence reflecting students’ virtual learning, and more. Drawing from experienced Canadian instructors who overcame the inherent technological obstacles, these chapters showcase how unprecedented changes in schooling can lead to pedagogical renewal, program reevaluation, and a broader understanding of instruction and assessment practices.

Get answers to your most challenging questions about implementing effective assessment and grading practices. How do we use assessments to increase hope, efficacy, and achievement? Is reassessment important? Can we change grading practices when stakeholders don’t want us to? All of these questions, and dozens more, are answered concisely, making it easy to build strong assessment and grading practices quickly. K–12 teachers and administrators will: Understand the six tenets of assessment and grading Gain confidence in effective assessment and grading practices Access concise answers to common questions about assessment and grading Help implement schoolwide best practices through effective collaboration Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement Chapter 2: A Culture of Learning Chapter 3: Assessment Purpose Chapter 4: Communication Chapter 5: Accurate Interpretation Chapter 6: Assessment Architecture Chapter 7: Instructional Agility Chapter 8: Student Investment Table of Contents by Topic Glossary of Terms A Comprehensive Resource List From STAC References and Resources Index

An age-old question universal to all teachers is “How do we get our students to care about their learning?” Jackpot! delivers actionable strategies to achieve that most important outcome of assessment—student investment. Not only does the book offer tools you can use, but it also addresses the mindset shift necessary for teachers to set students up for success as partners in their own learning. Classroom teachers will: Explore case studies covering a wide range of classroom experiences Gain access to many different tools to successfully orient a growth mindset toward assessment Understand the ideas behind successful assessment and how to put it into practice Utilize sample charts to better direct the course of learning improvements Reflect on personal classroom experiences and ways to improve Contents: Acknowledgments Table of Contents About the Authors Introduction Chapter 1: Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement in a Learning Culture Chapter 2: Assessment Purpose Chapter 3: Assessment Architecture Chapter 4: Interpretation of Results Chapter 5: Communication Chapter 6: Instructional Agility Epilogue References and Resources Index

COVID wrought havoc on the world’s economic systems. Higher education did not escape the ravages brought on by the pandemic as institutions of higher education around the world faced major upheavals in their educational delivery systems. Some institutions were prepared for the required transition to online learning. Most were not. Whether prepared or not, educators rose to the challenge. The innovativeness of educators met the challenges as digital learning replaced the face-to-face environment. In fact, some of the distance models proved so engaging that many students no longer desire a return to the face-to-face model. As with all transitions, some things were lost while others were gained. This book examines practice in the field as institutions struggled to face the worst global pandemic in the last century. The book is organized into four sections on 'The Perspectives of Higher Education”, 'COVID as a Catalyst for Change”, 'Embracing Online Learning as a Response to COVID”, and 'Post Covid: The Way Forward”. It presents various perspectives from educators around the world to illustrate the struggles and triumphs of those facing new challenges and implementing new ideas to empower the educational process. These discussions shed light on the impact of the pandemic and the future of higher education post-COVID. Higher education has been forever changed, and higher education as it once was may never return. While many questions arise, the achievements in meeting and overcoming the pandemic illustrate the creativity and innovativeness of educators around the world who inspired future generations of learners to reach new heights of accomplishment even in the face of the pandemic.

At all educational levels, innovation is progressively becoming an intrinsic aspect of learning. The proliferation of mobile devices and sensor-based technologies increased the possibilities for learning and pushed it into institutions. One major challenge accompanying the growth in online education is that many teacher educators find themselves under pressure and underprepared to teach online courses. As online education continues to grow, curriculum and training that prepares teachers for online course design and delivery are critical. Mobile and Sensor-Based Technologies in Higher Education explores how mobile and sensor-based technologies are shaping higher education and creating a roadmap for harnessing artificial intelligence, online learning, distance learning, and other modern technologies to aid education. Covering key topics such as assessment, inclusive education, and social distancing, this reference work is ideal for policymakers, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Rebooting Policy Analysis: Strengthening the Foundation, Expanding the Scope is a savvy introduction to policy analysis that gets students thinking, not just about how decisions should be made, but how they are made. The text highlights practical skills needed to advise decision-makers on matters of public policy in ways that are well-informed and solutions-oriented, while managing limitations like time, resources, and information. In a world that has become increasingly complex and partisan, the strength of policy analysis rests not only in its classical academic methods, but on the development of a practical, analytic mindset.