How Remote Learning is Affecting Grading Systems
Assessments aren’t worrisome for students alone. Instructors, too, are preoccupied with testing — and for good reason. Designing effective assessments is crucial to ensure learners complete a course with a solid understanding of the content. The unique needs and challenges associated with COVID-19 restrictions and stresses have changed the remote learning environment. And the influx of new online teaching tools has changed the assessment capabilities of instructors, offering many creative options that can target specific learning styles. Instructors can now consider a broader range of assessment methods, still knowing that consistency, flexibility, and creativity are key.
Why assessments matter
Assessments are essential for a successful educational experience. They help students understand their progression in the course and hold them accountable to reach the learning outcomes they started out eager to achieve.
Outcomes measurement has evolved significantly in recent years, and the pandemic has fueled much change. As classrooms have moved online, once taken-for-granted feedback mechanisms, like the ability to read a student’s body language, are gone. But a wide variety of digital tools are available to fill those gaps. When it comes to exams, evolving your testing methods to be more accessible for students involves learning yourself what methods and tools work best for your course.
Two types of assessment dominate the vast amount of literature on testing methods: summative and formal. With diverse student needs and situations, using a combination of both summative and formative assessments will benefit students and instructors alike — particularly in the remote environment. Bringing consistent feedback into your course through formative assessments will help students understand their progress, keep them engaged in their learning journey, and avoid final exam grade surprises (and disappointments!).
Summative assessments
Summative assessments are, as their name implies, the cumulative approach. Comprehension is evaluated at the end of the semester or module. The most common example is a monitored and timed written final exam. But summative assessments don’t have to be limited by a traditional approach. In fact, in the online environment, other types of testing provide more honest and fair measurements of learning.
A summative assessment could be a:
- Final paper
- Activity-based evaluation
- Presentation
- Multi-media project
- Case study
Formative assessments
Offering a regular feedback cycle, formative assessments occur many times throughout a course. Unlike a final exam, formative assessments are often worth very few or no marks. The purpose is to inform and improve learning progression. Instructors can adjust their class plans to address gaps in comprehension. Students receive constructive guidance and critique, which positions them to better understand their progress and study needs ahead of the summative exam.
A formative assessment could be in-class or in between asynchronous lecture segments. Examples include a:
- Knowledge check
- Poll
- Mini quiz
- Short reflection
- Question and answer submission on a discussion board
Balance variety and consistency
When considering what formative assessment tools to incorporate in your course, find a balance between variety and consistency. Building a course for online learners requires keeping the content engaging but changing tools too often can be overwhelming. Finding the right balance will depend on your course but usually two or three types of formative assessments work best when used consistently through the course.
Whether you’re offering synchronous or asynchronous lectures, weekly knowledge checks, quizzes, reflections, or similar check-ins will ensure students stay on top of the material. The regular assessments will identify student struggles that may not have surfaced during class. You’ll be able to provide clarification on outstanding questions and correct mistakes early.
Use formative assessments to improve your teaching in real-time
Assessments aren’t a one-way lane. Asking for student feedback throughout the semester is another excellent way to check the effectiveness of your teaching methods. Particularly in these stressful times, knowing how your approach could better encourage learning will help you adjust to guide students toward educational success.
Consider asking students what tools are and aren’t working well, and what they would recommend you change. This feedback, gathered at two different stages in the course, will help you adjust your use of online technology to ensure learning outcomes are reached. For example, students will let you know if your lectures run too long without sufficient breaks, or are broken up by too many unnecessary pauses.
If you use tools that are essential for students’ progression in the course — for example, submitting assignments through your learning management system (LMS) and course management systems — gather feedback on students’ comfort level with the platform. You’ll then have an opportunity to revisit and explain essential information, ensuring every student is able to complete tasks with ease. Something as simple as recording a five-minute refresher on how to submit an assignment online could save a student time and stress.
Build flexibility into your online course
Neither learning nor teaching online during a pandemic is easy. Incorporating consistent feedback mechanisms into your course will alleviate stress and make the course more rewarding for you and learners. Consistent input to improve content delivery and regular tests to identify areas for focused instruction will lead to a fairer summative assessment of students’ efforts in your course. By staying open to evolving your ways of testing to assist students on their learning journey, you’ll better support your students through this particularly trying time.