Abstract
In the global marketplace, the ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, is a skillset demanded by employers. Unfortunately, typical academic exercises that involve written and oral communication are often just that â?¦ academic exercises. To provide a more authentic and robust experience, a student conference activity has been developed for use in a second-level physics course entitled Physics for a New Millennium (PNM) at American University (AU). This activity involves writing a formal research paper using professional guidelines. In addition, students present their research paper during a class event modeled after an actual professional conference. A focus of this paper is to discuss the assessment strategies developed for the conference paper activity. A major goal of the assessment strategies designed for the conference paper and the associated presentation is to better capture (and then assess) what students are actually learning in the course. This paper will provide an overview of the student conference paper activity with emphasis on its value as an alternative assessment tool. To that end, a synopsis of how the conference paper activity has been designed will be shared. This synopsis will begin with a general discussion of assessment, assessment methods, and the â??language of assessment.â? Following this synopsis a model of non-traditional assessment using the student conference paper will be highlighted. Subsequently a description of the course curriculum and the specific structure for the writing activity will be outlined as they relate to the learning outcomes for the course. Shadowing the presentation of the course-specific learning outcomes, a description of the strategies used to uncover student learning will be shared. These strategies provide an opportunity for multiple assessment â??snapshotsâ? to be made throughout various phases of the learning process. To illustrate these snapshots, examples from actual student work will be presented and discussed. The assessment strategies developed for the student conference paper can be used as an alternative, or as a supplement, to more traditional pencil and paper examinations, quizzes, and homework assignments. Whether used as a stand-alone assessment tool or coupled with more traditional measures, the model presented here can provide an enhanced and more authentic way to capture what students are actually learning while the learning is taking place.
Highlights
How can we really assess what students are learning? What can we learn from traditional assessment measures? Do traditional assessment measures really provide us with a robust picture of what students are learning throughout all facets of the learning process? Questions such as these provide the motivation for this paper
A unique element of the Physics for a New Millennium (PNM) course is its active learning format along with its focus on student writing as an alternative method of assessment. This form of assessment is in contrast to more conventional classroom measures and to numerous research-based normalized tests and surveys such as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), the Force-Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE) the Mechanics Baseline Test (MBT), and others [26 – 31]
Over and above the many opportunities to interactively engage with the course content through hands-on activities, the students have a more unique opportunity to interact with the material. This opportunity comes in the form of preparing and presenting of a formal scientific research paper at a conference held on the last day of class
Summary
How can we really assess what students are learning? What can we learn from traditional assessment measures? Do traditional assessment measures really provide us with a robust picture of what students are learning throughout all facets of the learning process? Questions such as these provide the motivation for this paper. Do traditional assessment measures really provide us with a robust picture of what students are learning throughout all facets of the learning process? Formal writing strategies can provide essential “snapshots” to help uncover what students are really learning as the learning is taking place. Traditional examinations and quizzes merely provide an assessment marker after a segment of material has been covered in class. While traditional examinations and quizzes may provide us with some information about what students are learning, this more summative type of feedback really comes a little too late. A carefully crafted writing activity or set of activities can provide a more formative and authentic assessment of student learning; and, give students and professors time to correct any misconceptions or flaws in reasoning as the learning is ongoing. Before discussing the writing activity, some details about the course setting will be presented
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