Assessment 101:What are the ways your work

will be assessed inLS5043?

Checklists, Rubrics,

and Graphic Organizers, Oh, My!

By Dr. M.Created for

LS5043: Information and Communication Technology

Texas Woman’s University

School of Library and Information Studies

Various Assessment Tools

Assessment tools provide students and instructors with shared understandings regarding the expectations for students’ learning products.

There are two overarching and complementary goals for the assessment tools used in this course:

1. For students: These tools take the guess work out achieving success on assignments.

2. For the instructor: These tools maximize objectivity in the grading process.

Various Assessment Tools

In this PowerPoint, I will review these tools in the order in which they are used in the course:

checklist,

rubric,

and graphic organizer.

All three of these tools will be used throughout the semester.

Checklist

Assessment with a checklist is less complex than assessment with a rubric.A checklist criterion is either “yes” or “no.” Either that component was included in the student’s work or it was not.Use checklists as guides for completing the assignment.Self-assess with the checklist before you submit your work.

Checklist

The first checklist in the course is for your O.D.1.1 Voki Introduction.

Component Notes Points Possible Points Earned

Name   1  

Career Goal in Librarianship

  1  

Favorite Technology Device or Tool

  1  

Favorite Communication Device or Tool

  1  

Posted Voki to My Wiki   1  

The only score options for each component are 1 or 0.

Rubrics

Rubrics specify various levels of proficiency by providing specific criteria for assessment.

Always read the rubric BEFORE beginning the assignment.

Students should use rubrics to guide their work as well as self-assess before submitting their work for the instructor’s evaluation.

Rubrics

The first rubric in this course is the Online Discussion Rubric. Reading from top to bottom and left to right, the first criteria are related to the student’s initial post. I have bolded keywords and phrases in the criteria:

CATEGORY 4Initial Response(up to 4 points)

The student’s response shows thinking. It goes beyond restating the obvious and includes personal insights and/or experiences. The comment invites dialogue by ending with a question or in some way provokes discussion. When the prompt requires students to do so, the student cites sources using Chicago citation format.

Rubrics

It is, however, not sufficient to read only the first column. These are the key words and phrases at the other levels of proficiency that distinguish it fro the level above or below it.

3 1 0The student’s response shows thinking. It goes beyond restating the obvious and includes personal insights and/or experiences. It does not end in a question or provoke discussion. When the prompt requires students to do so, the student cites sources using Chicago citation format.

The student’s response restates the obvious. When the prompt requires students to do so, the student does not cite sources or does not use Chicago citation format.

The student simply posts with statements such as “I agree” or “I disagree” and does not further the dialogue, or the posting is late. There is no evidence the student read the text(s) slated for discussion.

Rubric: Check for UnderstandingIn order to earn full points (4) on an initial post that requires a citation, you must:

a. Show thinking, provoke discussion, and cite your source.

b. Demonstrate that you have read the assigned texts, show thinking, and provoke discussion.

c. Demonstrate that you have read the assigned texts, show thinking, provoke discussion, and cite your source.

Rubrics

The correct answer is “c.” If a reference is required you must do all these in order to earn full points for your initial post.

NOTE: If you “cite” a source, you must also include a parenthetical citation in your post to show which information or quote is from the work you are citing. Citations without parentheticals do NOT “count.”

Rubrics

These are the criteria and levels of proficiency for responses to classmates. I have bolded the keywords and phrases.

3 1 0

The student’s response demonstrates “listening.” Comments relate to her/his classmate’s posting and extends her/his ideas to further a dialogue.

The student’s response comments on her/his classmate’s posting but does not add anything new and does not further a dialogue.

The student simply posts with statements such as “I agree” or “I disagree” and does not further the dialogue, or the posting is late.

Response posts are due between Wed. and Sun. evenings at 9:00 p.m. CT.

Rubric: Check for Understanding

If you post your initial response on Monday night and meet all of the initial posting criteria and then respond to two classmates on Tuesday night what score will you earn?

You will earn just four points for your initial post and zero points for your responses.

Your responses to classmates must be posted between Wednesday and Sunday nights. You must wait for all (or almost all) of our classmates to post so you will have a wide variety of initial posts to which you can respond.

Online Discussion Rubric

The purpose of the online discussion is to build a vibrant learning community.

The more thoughtful, complete, and timely your posts the more you will contribute to the learning community.

The more you contribute the more benefit you will reap. Remember: Except for O.D.1.1 and O.D.5.4 all initial postings are due

on Wednesday nights at 9:00 p.m. CT and all responses to classmates are due on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. CT.

Graphic Organizer

Worksheet Graphic Organizer

One correct response for each question or blank

A diversity of responses can be correct

Formal test-like quality to practice or assess knowledge

Not standardized, more open-ended

Usually does not include teaching (new information)

Can include new information to capitalize on learning potential

Less flexibility Flexibility for different learners and different purposes

Does not always stimulate higher-order thinking skills

More likely to provoke higher-order thinking due to open-endedness of the possible responses

A graphic organizer differs from a worksheet in several important ways.

Graphic Organizer

The first graphic organizer we will use in the course is the template for the A.2.3 Web 2.0 Tool Evaluation.

1. Tool Homepage:  

2. Evaluator:  

3. Description of the Tool:  

4. Upgrades:  

5. User-friendly Rating:  

6. Sharing Capabilities:  

7. Strengths of the Tool:  

8. Weaknesses of the Tool:  

Graphic Organizer

You will notice that #1 and 2 are simple responses. #3, 4, and 5 could be answered differently by different people reviewing the same tool.

To be complete, every blank on a graphic organizer MUST be completed.

It may be appropriate to include a N/A BUT I advise you to do so sparingly and at your own risk.

To Review

Assessment tools provide students and instructors with shared understandings regarding the expectations for students’ learning products.

Always read the ENTIRE rubric, checklist, or graphic organizer in order to ensure you have met all of the criteria.

Use the assessment tool to self-assess your work before submitting your work.

QuestionsIf you have questions about any assessment tool used in this course, please post your questions in the appropriate thread in O.D.1.0 Assignment Questions or bring your questions to the Collaborate session that focuses on the assignment for which that assessment tool will be used.

Thank you.Sincerely,

Dr. M.