Resources

Responding to Nicholas Kristof's widely-read NYT piece lamenting the lack of civic engagement by professors, Robin provides URLs to a great many online "public intellectuals" in several fields. An excellent resource for instructors looking for existing models of "civic engagement."

Responding to Nicholas Kristof's widely-read NYT piece lamenting the lack of civic engagement by professors, Goldberg describes how academic institutions can punish civic engagement because it distracts from grant procurement or other institutional service.

The "School of the Future" (grades 6-12) describes "authentic assessment" as involving performances that are 1) real-life, 2) engaging for learners, and 3) requiring synthesis and critical thinking. Narrators situate "authentic assessment" in the context of "backward course design."

A comparison of traditional ("forced-choice") assessment and authentic (performance-based) assessment. "Teaching to the test" ceases to be a problem when the test involves the performance of meaningful tasks that provide evidence of the understandings desired.

A guide to the creation of assessment rubrics, including ways an instructor might improve existing rubrics in light of experience. Describes the elements of a rubric (descriptors, levels of performance), and the difference between analytic and holistic rubrics.

By the Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation. This page briefly describes assessment rubrics and explains their value for teachers and for students. Several examples are offered (in *.doc file format), including those for paper assignments, projects, oral presentations, and class participation.

A well-organized collection of assessment rubrics for critical thinking and problem-solving. These include instructor assessments and self-assessments. Also valuable for fostering faculty discussion of critical thinking.

A multi-part exposition of constructivism, with special attention to the roles and practices of the teacher and learner in a constructivist classroom.

A frequently-cited, critical review of an edited work, Constructivism in Education (Stephe and Gale, 1995). Jaworski offers summary and analysis of the book's chapters, each of which advocates for or critiques some form of constructivism in education.

An online workshop on constructivism. Includes overview, history, critical perspectives, expert interviews, demonstration, and more.