Resources
When considering how to assess student learning in a course, most instructors would agree that the ideal assessment would be one that not only assesses students’ learning; it also teaches students and improves their skills and understanding of course content.
In designing assessments or assignments for a course, instructors often think of exams or term papers, but there are many other types of assessments that may be appropriate for your course.
How can instructors ensure that students come to class with course assignments prepared and readings completed?
Games help people develop a disposition toward collaboration, problem-solving, communication, experimentation, and exploration of identities, all attributes that promote success in a rapidly-changing, information-based culture
Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide provides a practical, streamlined approach for creating effective learning experiences by blending online activities and the best of face-to-face teaching. This guide is: Easy to use: Clear, jargon-free writing; illustrations; and references to online resources help readers understand concepts. Streamlined: A simple but effective design process focuses on creating manageable activities for the right environment. Practical: Real-world examples from different subject areas help teachers understand principles in context. Contemporary: The variety of modern, connected technologies covered in the guide addresses a range of teaching challenges. Forward-Looking: The approach bridges the gap between formal classroom learning and informal lifelong learning. Standards-based: Guidelines and standards are based on current research in the field, relevant learning theories, and practitioner experiences. Effective blended learning requires significant rethinking of teaching practices and a fundamental redesign of course structure. Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide simplifies these difficult challenges without neglecting important opportunities to transform teaching. This guide is suitable for teachers in any content area. (From the Publisher)
A paper by Curtis Bonk of Indiana University discussing ways to use videos as 'Anchors and Enders' for learning experiences.
This website is a rich repository of resources to support the design model advocated in the book "Understanding by Design" (Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, 1998), particularly around backwards design for effective "outputs."
Helps you: articulate goals for a course or portion of a course; build a course or portion of a course that meets those goals and assesses student learning; and explore a variety of teaching techniques that emphasize student engagement.
Series of detailed questions to guide you through the construction of a course, organized in categories such as: where are you? where do you want to go? how would you know if the students got there? how can you help them get there? what are the students going to do? etc.
A short article in which a teacher-scholar defines what she means by “active and meaningful learning,” discusses unstructured cooperative learning and critical thinking, and reflects on experience in using these concepts in the courses she teaches and the textbooks she writes. Idea Paper no. 34, from the series developed by the Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University.