The Teaching Goals Inventory below,
is reprinted from Classroom Assessment Techniques,
by Angelo and Cross. We suggest that you, the
reader, take this inventory (with a specific
course in mind, as the authors suggest) in part
for your own information, and also because it
can help you locate your own teaching styles
and priorities in the context of this book.
A small college nurturing a large
calculus clientele in a flexible calculus program
recognizes the need for careful placement, and
studies the effectiveness of its efforts withstatistics
to derive a formula for placement.
A large, budding university concentrates
on the importance of advising students at all
levels. From providing mentors for freshmen
to surveying graduating students and alumni,
this department operates with continuing feedback.
This article describes four activities
which can help students develop a more professional
attitude toward their coursework: looking directly
at their expectations, revising goals after
a test, finding applications of the course in
their chosen field, and preparing a résumé.
Effective Relations Between a Department
of Mathematical Sciences and the Rest of the
Institution How can a mathematics department
please its client disciplines? This department
finds a solution in establishing a web of responsible
persons to establish goals for students and
instructors, course leaders, committees, and
faculty liaisons, for placement of students
into courses and for the content of those courses.
Placement was the issue at this
large, comprehensive school. This article explains,
among other initiatives the department took
to improve its accessibility to students, a
Mathematics Readiness Testing Program. Statistics
measuring the reliability of the testing are
included.
This study explains the creation
of a calculus reform program, its objectives,
and philosophy and provides an in-depth comparison
of reform-trained students with traditional
students.
This assessment program stresses
breadth - pre- and post-testing, journals, comparative
test questions, student interviews and questionnaires,
and more.
In this discussion piece, the author
explains an approach to teaching based on Learning
Theory, particularly examining a Calculus course
to ask how assessment can best feed back into
the learning environment.
This large study examines data over
a long period of time regarding a calculus "reform"
course. Grades and attitude are studied, with
advice for novices at assessment.
West Point turned an entire department
around. Using an in-depth assessment study with
careful attention to the needs of client disciplines,
the department created a brand new curriculum,
and continues to study it with the "Fullan model"
which the author investigated in his dissertation.
This is a preliminary report of
a study at NSF dealing with what NSF has looked
for, what it has found, and directions for future
study. One such direction will be to shift from
"teaching" to "student learning" and the learning
environment.
A practical survey is provided here
which might be found useful for departments
looking to initiate discussion about goals and
expectations in a Calculus course.
Effective Relations Between a Department
of Mathematical Sciences and the Rest of the
Institution How can a mathematics department
please its client disciplines? This department
finds a solution in establishing a web of responsible
persons to establish goals for students and
instructors, course leaders, committees, and
faculty liaisons, for placement of students
into courses and for the content of those courses.
This article gives many helpful
hints to the instructor who wants to assign
writing projects, both on what to think about
when making the assignment, and what to do with
the projects once they're turned in.
Once you've assigned a writing
project and collected the papers, how are you
going to grade it without spending the rest
of the semester on that one set? This article
outlines two grading scales which can make this
more efficient.
One frequent concern of faculty
members who have not yet tried cooperative learning
is that giving the same grade to a whole group
will be unfair both to the hard workers and
the laggards. This article addresses this issue.
Using a computer spreadsheet to
compute grades, it's easy to let students
(even in a large class) focus on their strengths
by choosing what percent (within a range selected
by the instructor) of their grade comes from
each required activity.
General education students can learn
to read mathematics more thoughtfully and critically
by writing questions over the reading, and short
response papers-without enormous investment
of faculty time grading.
This article discusses several cooperative
learning techniques, principally for formative
assessment. These include ways to help students
learn the importance of clear definitions and
several review techniques (comment-along, teams-games-tournaments,
and jigsaw).
From reviewing before a test to
various ways for students to take tests collaboratively,
this article looks at ways that groups can be
used to evaluate student learning while increasing
that learning.
To gain insight into how much students
actually understand, and what they have learned
by working the problems, have them discuss the
evolution of their ideas as they work on homework
sets.
Students' answers on tests don't
always show their true level of understanding.
Sometimes they understand more than their answers
indicate, and sometimes, despite their regurgitating
the correct words, they don't understand
what they write. This article discusses a method
to probe what they actually understand.
This article discusses how internet
technology can be harnessed to give students
semi-automated individualized help. The intended
reader appreciates how little problem solving
guidance students get in class, and how they
are on their own to handle giving meaning to
learning an overstuffed curriculum.
Having students write problems shows
the instructor where the gaps in their understanding
are at the same time that it has students review
for an upcoming test. Further, it can help students
find the relevance of the course to their own
interests.
This quick technique helps the instructor
find out what students have gotten out of a
given day's class, and works well with both
large and small classes.
One way to find out what students
understand is to ask them true/false questions,
but have them justify their answers. These justifications
bring out confusions about the concepts, but
are also the beginning, for calculus students,
of writing mathematical proofs.
This assessment program stresses
breadth - pre- and post-testing, journals, comparative
test questions, student interviews and questionnaires,
and more.
During student efforts to attack
and solve complex, technology-based problems
there is rich opportunity for assessment. The
teacher can assess student initiative, creativity,
and discovery; flexibility and tolerance; communication,
team, and group self-assessment skills; mathematical
knowledge; implementation of established and
newly discovered mathematical concepts; and
translation from physical descriptions to mathematical
models.
In this discussion piece, the author
explains an approach to teaching based on Learning
Theory, particularly examining a Calculus course
to ask how assessment can best feed back into
the learning environment.
Giving Collaborative oral take-home
examinations allows the instructor to assess
how well students handle the kind of non-routine
problems we would all like our students to be
able to solve.
One frequent concern of faculty
members who have not yet tried cooperative learning
is that giving the same grade to a whole group
will be unfair both to the hard workers and
the laggards. This article addresses this issue.
This article discusses several cooperative
learning techniques, principally for formative
assessment. These include ways to help students
learn the importance of clear definitions and
several review techniques (comment-along, teams-games-tournaments,
and jigsaw).
This large study examines data over
a long period of time regarding a calculus "reform"
course. Grades and attitude are studied, with
advice for novices at assessment.
From reviewing before a test to
various ways for students to take tests collaboratively,
this article looks at ways that groups can be
used to evaluate student learning while increasing
that learning.
This article discusses three quick
techniques which can alert the instructor to
potential problems. The first helps students
understand course goals, the second evaluates
the effectiveness of group work, and the third
is a general way of finding out how things are
going in time to make changes. As I continue
to experiment with various informal classroom
assessment techniques, I have come to favor
assessment tools which use no more than ten
minutes of class time and require no more than
an hour after class to tabulate and form a response.
The three techniques included here provide quick
ways to find out what is going well and what
is not, and allow me to address any problems
in a timely manner.
A rather unique approach to giving
a comprehensive exam to seniors is described
in this article by a faculty member at a small,
private co-ed college in the Midwest. The exam
is taken by seniors in their fall semester and
lasts one week. It is a written group exam which
is taken by teams of three to five students.
Currently, the exam is written and graded by
a faculty colleague from outside the college.
As part of a college-wide assessment program,
the Department of Mathematical Sciences developed
a departmental student learning plan, detailing
the goals and objectives which students majoring
in mathematics or computing should achieve by
the time of graduation. For mathematics, there
were three major goals. The first goal related
to an understanding of fundamental concepts
and algorithms and their relationships, applications,
and historical development. The second centered
on the process of development of new mathematical
knowledge through experimentation, conjecture,
and proof. The third focused on those skills
which are necessary to adapt to new challenges
and situations and to continue to learn throughout
a lifetime. These skills, vital to mathematicians
and non-mathematicians alike, include oral and
written communication skills, the ability to
work collaboratively, and facility with the
use of technology and information resources.
Adult students are often better
motivated than traditional-age students, but
many have not taken an examination for many
years. Thus, finding appropriate methods of
assessment poses a challenge.
Having students write problems shows
the instructor where the gaps in their understanding
are at the same time that it has students review
for an upcoming test. Further, it can help students
find the relevance of the course to their own
interests.
At a mid-sized, regional university
in the East each student must complete a one-semester
senior seminar in which a variety of assessment
methods are used to assess student learning
in the major. These methods include: a traditional
final exam, a course project, an expository
paper, reading and writing assignments, a journal
and a portfolio - all of which are designed
to assess a variety of skills acquired throughout
a student's four years.
The teaching portfolio is an alternative
to the standard course questionnaire for summing
up a course. The instructor collects data throughout
the semester into a course portfolio, which
can then be used by that instructor or passed
on to others teaching the course.
Students learn to take responsibility
for their learning by giving input on how the
class is going and what needs to be changed.
This works in classes of all sizes.
In introductory courses in mathematics
at the University of Michigan, an instructional
consultant visits the class one-third of the
way into the semester. This observer holds a
discussion with the class, in the absence of
the instructor, about how the course is going,
and provides feedback to the instructor.
By having students write a letter
to a friend about your course, you can get useful
information both on what the students have learned
and on what they thought of your course.
This article discusses three quick
techniques which can alert the instructor to
potential problems. The first helps students
understand course goals, the second evaluates
the effectiveness of group work, and the third
is a general way of finding out how things are
going in time to make changes. As I continue
to experiment with various informal classroom
assessment techniques, I have come to favor
assessment tools which use no more than ten
minutes of class time and require no more than
an hour after class to tabulate and form a response.
The three techniques included here provide quick
ways to find out what is going well and what
is not, and allow me to address any problems
in a timely manner.
This quick technique helps the instructor
find out what students have gotten out of a
given day's class, and works well with both
large and small classes.
A large technical institute using
the author as assessment coordinator, creates
a broad new assessment program, looking at all
aspects of the department's role. Statistical
studies guide improvements in curriculum, teaching
and relations with the rest of the university.
An inner city school with a diverse,
multicultural clientele is deeply committed
to raising students' mathematical abilities.
The school has operated with grants that are
now drying up, but that help authored some assessment
studies over a ten-year period. They ask: does
developmental mathematics help, or is it a hopeless
cause?
Adult students are often better
motivated than traditional-age students, but
many have not taken an examination for many
years. Thus, finding appropriate methods of
assessment poses a challenge.
At a small, private men's liberal
arts college in the Midwest, a comprehensive
examination, known as comps, has been a tradition
for seventy years. It has evolved into the assessment
technique which the department uses to assess
student learning. Comps are taken by seniors
over a two-day period just prior to the start
of the spring semester. The exam consists of
two parts: a written component in the mathematics
major and an oral component over the liberal
arts.
In an evolving assessment program
at a private, medium-sized, comprehensive university
in the Midwest a variety of assessment techniques
are being developed to assess student learning.
How two of them - exit interviews and the Educational
Testing Service's Major Field Test in Mathematics
- are part of the fabric of the mathematics
program's assessment cycle is described
in this article.
Giving Collaborative oral take-home
examinations allows the instructor to assess
how well students handle the kind of non-routine
problems we would all like our students to be
able to solve.
From reviewing before a test to
various ways for students to take tests collaboratively,
this article looks at ways that groups can be
used to evaluate student learning while increasing
that learning.
This article discusses how internet
technology can be harnessed to give students
semi-automated individualized help. The intended
reader appreciates how little problem solving
guidance students get in class, and how they
are on their own to handle giving meaning to
learning an overstuffed curriculum.
A rather unique approach to giving
a comprehensive exam to seniors is described
in this article by a faculty member at a small,
private co-ed college in the Midwest. The exam
is taken by seniors in their fall semester and
lasts one week. It is a written group exam which
is taken by teams of three to five students.
Currently, the exam is written and graded by
a faculty colleague from outside the college.
As part of a college-wide assessment program,
the Department of Mathematical Sciences developed
a departmental student learning plan, detailing
the goals and objectives which students majoring
in mathematics or computing should achieve by
the time of graduation. For mathematics, there
were three major goals. The first goal related
to an understanding of fundamental concepts
and algorithms and their relationships, applications,
and historical development. The second centered
on the process of development of new mathematical
knowledge through experimentation, conjecture,
and proof. The third focused on those skills
which are necessary to adapt to new challenges
and situations and to continue to learn throughout
a lifetime. These skills, vital to mathematicians
and non-mathematicians alike, include oral and
written communication skills, the ability to
work collaboratively, and facility with the
use of technology and information resources.
Although the statistics program
at this large Ph.D.-granting university in the
Midwest is not housed within a mathematical
sciences department, the wide variety of measures
used to assess the statistics program can serve
as one model for assessing the mathematics major.
All of the assessment measures used are described
with particular emphasis on surveys of graduates
and surveys of employers of graduates.
One way to find out what students
understand is to ask them true/false questions,
but have them justify their answers. These justifications
bring out confusions about the concepts, but
are also the beginning, for calculus students,
of writing mathematical proofs.
In this article a "less" comprehensive
exam to assess student learning in the core
courses taken by all under-graduate mathematics
majors at a regional, comprehensive university
in the Midwest is discussed. We are guided through
the process involved in developing the assessment
instrument which is used in all four tracks
of the mathematical sciences program: Actuarial
Science, Mathematics, Mathematics Education
and Statistics.
This pre- and post-testing system
in a liberal arts mathematics course raises
interesting questions about testing in general,
and asks why students may sometimes appear to
go backwards in their learning.
For students to believe that we
expect them to understand the ideas, not just
be able to do computations, our tests must reflect
this expectation. This article discusses how
this can be done.
At a large, regional university
in the Midwest a specific course (Fundamentals
of Advanced Mathematics) at the sophomore level
provides a transition for student majors from
the more computationally-based aspects of the
first year courses to the more abstract upper-division
courses. Surveys have been developed to measure
the effects of this course on upper level courses
in abstract algebra and advanced calculus. In
addition, these surveys provide information
about student learning in the major.
The focus of this article is on
assessing student learning for a segment of
the undergraduate mathematics majors: those
talented students who are prospective mathematics
graduate students. At this private, liberal
arts college in the Northeast there are three
aspects of the undergraduate mathematics experience
outside the standard curriculum which are described
in this paper: a senior seminar (required of
all majors), an Honors thesis and a summer undergraduate
research experience. All three combined are
used to assess how well the department is preparing
students for graduate school.
At a regional, comprehensive university
in the Midwest the mathematics faculty have
been grappling with what it means to be an effective
teacher and how to evaluate such effectiveness.
Their conclusion is that student evaluations
should not be the primary means of evaluating
teaching. Hence, the department is in the process
of articulating a statement of expectations
for teaching from which appropriate assessment
instruments will be developed.
In an evolving assessment program
at a private, medium-sized, comprehensive university
in the Midwest a variety of assessment techniques
are being developed to assess student learning.
How two of them - exit interviews and the Educational
Testing Service's Major Field Test in Mathematics
- are part of the fabric of the mathematics
program's assessment cycle is described
in this article.
This article presents an administrative
look at the ramifications of accommodating various
departments' views of how quantitative literacy
is to be defined. The issue is: what are the
students telling us-how do we interpret the
answers they provide to the questions we've
asked? The value of "fuzzy" assessment is discussed
in the interpretation of a simple survey which
helps move a collective bargaining institution
on track.
A large technical institute using
the author as assessment coordinator, creates
a broad new assessment program, looking at all
aspects of the department's role. Statistical
studies guide improvements in curriculum, teaching
and relations with the rest of the university.
At a large, research university
in the West, a major effort over the past 10
to 15 years has been underway to reform the
entry level mathematics courses which the department
offers. Assessment has been at the heart of
this process. Focusing on all first year courses
through assessment has had a positive effect
on the undergraduate mathematics major and the
courses in that major. This article describes
the process and the ongoing assessment of student
learning.
This is a preliminary report of
a study at NSF dealing with what NSF has looked
for, what it has found, and directions for future
study. One such direction will be to shift from
"teaching" to "student learning" and the learning
environment.
A peer visitation program for both
junior and senior faculty at a small, liberal
arts college in the East has been put into place
to help improve the quality of teaching. Every
junior faculty member is paired with a senior
colleague to exchange class visits. This program
is designed to foster discussion of teaching,
and the sharing of ideas and to provide constructive
criticism about the teaching effectiveness of
each member of the pair.
A practical survey is provided here
which might be found useful for departments
looking to initiate discussion about goals and
expectations in a Calculus course.
Although the statistics program
at this large Ph.D.-granting university in the
Midwest is not housed within a mathematical
sciences department, the wide variety of measures
used to assess the statistics program can serve
as one model for assessing the mathematics major.
All of the assessment measures used are described
with particular emphasis on surveys of graduates
and surveys of employers of graduates.
An entirely different approach to
assessing the mathematics major has been developed
at a state-supported, coeducational, liberal
arts college in the Midsouth. Graduating seniors
participate in focus group sessions which are
held two days prior to graduation. These are
informal sessions with a serious intent: to
assess student learning in the major.
General education students can learn
to read mathematics more thoughtfully and critically
by writing questions over the reading, and short
response papers-without enormous investment
of faculty time grading.
This article presents an administrative
look at the ramifications of accommodating various
departments' views of how quantitative literacy
is to be defined. The issue is: what are the
students telling us-how do we interpret the
answers they provide to the questions we've
asked? The value of "fuzzy" assessment is discussed
in the interpretation of a simple survey which
helps move a collective bargaining institution
on track.
What is the point of teaching students
if they're not learning? Here a general
education course operates from a learning-theoretic
mold; mathematics education instructors become
involved to help students construct their own
learning.
This article describes four activities
which can help students develop a more professional
attitude toward their coursework: looking directly
at their expectations, revising goals after
a test, finding applications of the course in
their chosen field, and preparing a résumé.
The author helped create MAA Guidelines
for Quantitative Literacy and here spells out
how this document was used at her large university.
This school tested students and graded results
in a variety of courses. Results led to curricular
changes.
This pre- and post-testing system
in a liberal arts mathematics course raises
interesting questions about testing in general,
and asks why students may sometimes appear to
go backwards in their learning.
This article presents an administrative
look at the ramifications of accommodating various
departments' views of how quantitative literacy
is to be defined. The issue is: what are the
students telling us-how do we interpret the
answers they provide to the questions we've
asked? The value of "fuzzy" assessment is discussed
in the interpretation of a simple survey which
helps move a collective bargaining institution
on track.
A large technical institute using
the author as assessment coordinator, creates
a broad new assessment program, looking at all
aspects of the department's role. Statistical
studies guide improvements in curriculum, teaching
and relations with the rest of the university.
At a large, research university
in the West, a major effort over the past 10
to 15 years has been underway to reform the
entry level mathematics courses which the department
offers. Assessment has been at the heart of
this process. Focusing on all first year courses
through assessment has had a positive effect
on the undergraduate mathematics major and the
courses in that major. This article describes
the process and the ongoing assessment of student
learning.
West Point turned an entire department
around. Using an in-depth assessment study with
careful attention to the needs of client disciplines,
the department created a brand new curriculum,
and continues to study it with the "Fullan model"
which the author investigated in his dissertation.
A large university begins by asking
teachers in other disciplines not for a "wish
list" but for a practical analysis of the mathematical
knowledge required in their courses. Pretests
for students reflect these expectations, and
discussion of results encourages networking.
Effective Relations Between a Department
of Mathematical Sciences and the Rest of the
Institution How can a mathematics department
please its client disciplines? This department
finds a solution in establishing a web of responsible
persons to establish goals for students and
instructors, course leaders, committees, and
faculty liaisons, for placement of students
into courses and for the content of those courses.
The teaching portfolio is an alternative
to the standard course questionnaire for summing
up a course. The instructor collects data throughout
the semester into a course portfolio, which
can then be used by that instructor or passed
on to others teaching the course.
Students learn to take responsibility
for their learning by giving input on how the
class is going and what needs to be changed.
This works in classes of all sizes.
In introductory courses in mathematics
at the University of Michigan, an instructional
consultant visits the class one-third of the
way into the semester. This observer holds a
discussion with the class, in the absence of
the instructor, about how the course is going,
and provides feedback to the instructor.
Using a computer spreadsheet to
compute grades, it's easy to let students
(even in a large class) focus on their strengths
by choosing what percent (within a range selected
by the instructor) of their grade comes from
each required activity.
This article discusses how internet
technology can be harnessed to give students
semi-automated individualized help. The intended
reader appreciates how little problem solving
guidance students get in class, and how they
are on their own to handle giving meaning to
learning an overstuffed curriculum.
Placement was the issue at this
large, comprehensive school. This article explains,
among other initiatives the department took
to improve its accessibility to students, a
Mathematics Readiness Testing Program. Statistics
measuring the reliability of the testing are
included.
This quick technique helps the instructor
find out what students have gotten out of a
given day's class, and works well with both
large and small classes.
A peer visitation program for both
junior and senior faculty at a small, liberal
arts college in the East has been put into place
to help improve the quality of teaching. Every
junior faculty member is paired with a senior
colleague to exchange class visits. This program
is designed to foster discussion of teaching,
and the sharing of ideas and to provide constructive
criticism about the teaching effectiveness of
each member of the pair.
At a land-grant university in the
Northeast one mathematics faculty member has
begun experimenting with a peer visitation program
in which a team of faculty visits her class
at least twice a semester. What's unique
about this process is that the team, usually
three in number, consists of faculty both within
and without the department and all visit the
same class at the same time. This technique
provides the instructor with a diversity of
views on her teaching effectiveness. evaluations,
since these are often mandated by university
administrations. In an effort to generate discussion
and broaden the perspective on evaluation of
teaching, I initiated the experiment of peer
review of my classes. I have experimented with
inviting faculty members who have experience
in ethnographic research1 and are from outside
of my own discipline, as well as colleagues
from my own department.
This article discusses a program
at Berkeley of using videotaping of actual classes,
and peer feedback, to improve teaching. While
the program was aimed at graduate students,
it can be adapted to use with faculty members.
At a small, private women's
liberal arts college in the South student portfolios
have become the principal means for assessing
the major. Unique to this program, certain courses
are designated as portfolio development courses
and in these courses the student is asked to
reflect in writing on the connection between
the material included in the portfolio and the
department goals.
In an evolving assessment program
at a private, medium-sized, comprehensive university
in the Midwest a variety of assessment techniques
are being developed to assess student learning.
How two of them - exit interviews and the Educational
Testing Service's Major Field Test in Mathematics
- are part of the fabric of the mathematics
program's assessment cycle is described
in this article.
The teaching portfolio is an alternative
to the standard course questionnaire for summing
up a course. The instructor collects data throughout
the semester into a course portfolio, which
can then be used by that instructor or passed
on to others teaching the course.
At a small liberal arts college
in the West a department-wide program has been
developed to help faculty assess and improve
their teaching while courses are in progress.
Descriptions of what led to this effort, the
steps already taken, the resources involved
and plans for the future are presented.
A Midwestern, comprehensive university
which has five different programs in the mathematical
sciences - General, Applied Mathematics, Computational
Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, and
Mathematics Education - requires students to
maintain assessment portfolios in courses which
are common to all five of the emphases. The
portfolios of those who have graduated during
the year are examined by a department assessment
committee shortly after the close of the spring
semester.
At a mid-sized, regional university
in the East each student must complete a one-semester
senior seminar in which a variety of assessment
methods are used to assess student learning
in the major. These methods include: a traditional
final exam, a course project, an expository
paper, reading and writing assignments, a journal
and a portfolio - all of which are designed
to assess a variety of skills acquired throughout
a student's four years.
Once you've assigned a writing
project and collected the papers, how are you
going to grade it without spending the rest
of the semester on that one set? This article
outlines two grading scales which can make this
more efficient.
During student efforts to attack
and solve complex, technology-based problems
there is rich opportunity for assessment. The
teacher can assess student initiative, creativity,
and discovery; flexibility and tolerance; communication,
team, and group self-assessment skills; mathematical
knowledge; implementation of established and
newly discovered mathematical concepts; and
translation from physical descriptions to mathematical
models.
What is the point of teaching students
if they're not learning? Here a general
education course operates from a learning-theoretic
mold; mathematics education instructors become
involved to help students construct their own
learning.
Having students write problems shows
the instructor where the gaps in their understanding
are at the same time that it has students review
for an upcoming test. Further, it can help students
find the relevance of the course to their own
interests.
At a private, church-related liberal
arts college in the East a crucial point for
assessing student learning occurs midway through
a student's four year program. A sophomore-junior
diagnostic project which is part of the Discrete
Mathematics course, taken by all majors, is
the vehicle for the assessment. Each student
in the course must complete a substantial expository
paper which spans the entire semester on a subject
related to the course.
The focus of this article is on
assessing student learning for a segment of
the undergraduate mathematics majors: those
talented students who are prospective mathematics
graduate students. At this private, liberal
arts college in the Northeast there are three
aspects of the undergraduate mathematics experience
outside the standard curriculum which are described
in this paper: a senior seminar (required of
all majors), an Honors thesis and a summer undergraduate
research experience. All three combined are
used to assess how well the department is preparing
students for graduate school.
A full-year senior capstone course
has evolved at a small, private women's
liberal arts college in the Midwest to become
the principal tool for assessing the major.
Within this two-semester seminar each student
has to develop an independent study project,
known as the comprehensive project. Preliminary
work on the project begins in the first semester
and oral and written presentations of the completed
project are given in the second semester.
A Midwestern, comprehensive university
which has five different programs in the mathematical
sciences - General, Applied Mathematics, Computational
Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, and
Mathematics Education - requires students to
maintain assessment portfolios in courses which
are common to all five of the emphases. The
portfolios of those who have graduated during
the year are examined by a department assessment
committee shortly after the close of the spring
semester.
Adult students are often better
motivated than traditional-age students, but
many have not taken an examination for many
years. Thus, finding appropriate methods of
assessment poses a challenge.
At a mid-sized, regional university
in the East each student must complete a one-semester
senior seminar in which a variety of assessment
methods are used to assess student learning
in the major. These methods include: a traditional
final exam, a course project, an expository
paper, reading and writing assignments, a journal
and a portfolio - all of which are designed
to assess a variety of skills acquired throughout
a student's four years.
General education students can learn
to read mathematics more thoughtfully and critically
by writing questions over the reading, and short
response papers-without enormous investment
of faculty time grading.
A full-year senior capstone course
has evolved at a small, private women's
liberal arts college in the Midwest to become
the principal tool for assessing the major.
Within this two-semester seminar each student
has to develop an independent study project,
known as the comprehensive project. Preliminary
work on the project begins in the first semester
and oral and written presentations of the completed
project are given in the second semester.
This article describes four activities
which can help students develop a more professional
attitude toward their coursework: looking directly
at their expectations, revising goals after
a test, finding applications of the course in
their chosen field, and preparing a résumé.
At a mid-sized, regional university
in the East each student must complete a one-semester
senior seminar in which a variety of assessment
methods are used to assess student learning
in the major. These methods include: a traditional
final exam, a course project, an expository
paper, reading and writing assignments, a journal
and a portfolio - all of which are designed
to assess a variety of skills acquired throughout
a student's four years.
In this discussion piece, the author
explains an approach to teaching based on Learning
Theory, particularly examining a Calculus course
to ask how assessment can best feed back into
the learning environment.
What is the point of teaching students
if they're not learning? Here a general
education course operates from a learning-theoretic
mold; mathematics education instructors become
involved to help students construct their own
learning.
Students' answers on tests don't
always show their true level of understanding.
Sometimes they understand more than their answers
indicate, and sometimes, despite their regurgitating
the correct words, they don't understand
what they write. This article discusses a method
to probe what they actually understand.
To set the tone of a course at the
beginning, develop with the class a "class mission
statement," which can be revisited as the course
progresses to assess progress toward meeting
course goals.
The
Mathematical Association of America
MAANotes
#49: Assessment Practices in Undergraduate Mathematics