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From our own Ryerson faculty, we have ideas culled from the "Teaching Large Classes" workshop held by the LTO on November 4, 2009. The full notes from the meeting are available as a pdf on the LTO's resource page on teaching large classes.
Our faculty agreed that it is important to:
- Create assignments that will not lend themselves to violations of academic integrity. Be careful with attaching grades to activities which you cannot monitor closely, such as online quizzes, clickers or homework.
- Not negotiate/change marks or give marks for non-academic tasks like attendance. Consider all variables when implementing bonus or participation marks--they must be fair and accessible to everyone.
- Create assessments to measure meaningful learning, and match assessments to objectives and strategies. Consider alternative methods of assessment other than tests and exams. Even if a final exam is required by an accreditation body, a large component of assessment can still be taken from group work, presentations, peer teaching, etc.
- Be creative about assessing group efforts. Individualize group marks through the use of self- and peer-assessment or weekly reports from all group members, etc.
- Get feedback on how the course is going. Keep track of questions that come up during office hours. Use one-minute papers, clicker polls, and follow-up discussions to "check the class pulse."
York University's Center for the Support of Teaching offers up their best practices in 41 Interesting Ways of Getting to the End. Topics include designing assignments, giving feedback and helping students focus and stay on track.
The Learning & Teaching Office has prepared a page of resources on Assessment and Grading. These links will direct instructors to information on assessment strategies, tests and exam design, and grading rubrics, some of which are excerpted below.
- Student Learning: Observing and Assessing
On the Cutting Edge, The National Association of Geoscience Teachers. Carleton College.
The NAGT have collected numerous assessment resources, including instructions and examples for using different assessment tools, including concept maps, knowledge surveys, poster presentations, and peer reviews. Their page on Large Class Assessment might also be of assistance to Ryerson instructors working with large groups.
- Assessing Student Learning: Ideas, strategies and resources for quality in student assessment
Centre for the Study of Higher Education. The University of Melbourne.
A collection of papers and presentations on a variety of topics in assessment, including assessing group work, assessing large classes, qualities and standards, tips for new staff, and minimizing plagiarism.
- Quizzes, Tests, & Exams, Allaying Students' Anxieties About Tests, and Grading Practices
From Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis. Berkeley University. 1993.
Barbara Gross Davis offers an overview of the function of tests and exams, general strategies for developing tests, different types of tests and alternative modes of testing. A supplementary resource, Giving Exams Demonstrating Student Understanding, offers some helpful guidance for designing questions and helping students succeed.
- FLAG: Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide
College Level One Team. National Institute for Science Education. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Constructed by CL-1 as a resource for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics instructors, this site will be of use to any instructor looking to match their course goals with the appropriate classroom assessment techniques.
- How to Write Tests
By Robert Runté. University of Lethbridge. 2001.
Dr. Runté covers test-taking and test design. Includes information on assessing student achievement, reporting test results, and designing objective test items, including essay questions, multiple-choice questions, and short answer questions.
- Generic Centre Assessment Series
Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN). 2001.
These briefing papers were prepared by The Higher Education Academy. They cover group, peer, and self assessment, as well as assessing disabled students and dealing with plagiarism. For faculty and staff working with large classes, additional assessment resources can be found on our Teaching Large Classes page. |
The Learning & Teaching Office has a collection of books on assessment and grading, many of which are available at the Ryerson Library. Check our library resources page for the complete listings. Following are a selected number of books that the LTO recommends:
 Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers
By Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1993.
Call No.: LB2822.75 .A54 1993
 The art of evaluation: A handbook for educators and trainers
By Tara J. Fenwick and Jim Parsons. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishers. 2000.
Call No.: LB3051 .F46 2000
 A handbook of techniques for formative evaluation: Mapping the student's learning experience
By Judith George and John Cowan. London: Kogan Page. 1999.
Call No.: LB2333 .G46 1999
 Assessing student learning: A common sense guide
By Linda Suskie. Bolton, Mass.: Anker Pub. 2004.
Call No.: LB2331 .S97 2004
 Effective grading: A tool for learning and assessment
By Barbara E. Walvoord and Virginia Johnson Anderson. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 1998.
Call No.: LB2368 .W35 1998
Ryerson University provides faculty and students with a variety of helpful services and programs, covering everything from digital media assistance to career development.
This month's featured Ryerson service is the Blackboard Essentials Series offered by Computing & Communications Services (CCS).
There are three upcoming Intro to Blackboard workshops coming up, on February 3rd, March 4th, and April 7th. Faculty and staff who wish to attend these workshops must register in advance.
CCS also offers a Blackboard Walk-In Clinic that does not require any registration. These clinics occur every Wednesday afternoon, from 2 to 3 PM in LIB-B99.
For those unable to attend the Blackboard clinics, CCS offers an entire page of resources aimed at helping faculty and staff integrate Blackboard into their teaching strategies. Blackboard has several assessment features, including a gradebook, online assignments, online quizzes, surveys and statistics. Two video tutorials are available, one on Creating Assignments and the other on Collecting and Grading.
Next month the LTO will be running two workshops.
On Wednesday, March 3, there will be a Teaching Dossier Clinic. This session is part two of our series on Teaching Dossier Development. There will be an opportunity for general discussion of the teaching dossier and one on one consultation with faculty members who have written their own dossier or who have guided others to do so.
Register for the Teaching Dossier Clinic
On Wednesday, March 24, the LTO will be hosting a discussion on The Inclusive Classroom. The workshop will present a panel of speakers who will be able to offer multiple perspectives on student and faculty experiences with inclusion/exclusion in academia. After short opening statements from the panel members, we are hoping to engender a discussion that will offer insights into best practices in recognizing and counteracting sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of exclusion to ensure that Ryerson classrooms are fully inclusive for all members of our community.
Register for the Inclusive Classroom Workshop
"The LTO Best Practices" is produced monthly by The Learning & Teaching Office of Ryerson University. Our March issue will be on the inclusive classroom.
Do you have any thoughts, suggestions, or best practices that you would like to see appear in this newsletter? Please send all submissions to michelle.schwartz@ryerson.ca. We look forward to including your contributions in our next issue!
Location: Kerr Hall West, room KHW373.
Phone: 416.979.5000 x6598
Email: lto@ryerson.ca
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