Assessing Student Learning in Undergraduate Geology Courses by Correlating Assessment with What We Want to Teach

Abstract

Assessment of learning serves at least three purposes: 1) it provides feedback for instructional decisions at a time when instruction can be modified, 2) it provides feedback to students to improve achievement before grades are established, and 3) it reports student achievement with reliable evidence about what students have learned relative to the goals of the course. An assortment of assessment techniques have been used in geology courses for making instructional decisions: a) improving achievement by requiring students to analyze their own learning in writing, b) allowing students to revise their work, c) allowing students to discuss answers on some test items, d) using assignments that require application of subject-matter knowledge, e) requiring student teamwork on some assignments, and f) grading by using specified criteria and a variety of data sources throughout the course.