Reflection - Lesson Six

This past learning has involved reading and exploring formative and summative assessments for online and blended learning. I can tell you, I have learned a lot. To begin, assessment for online learning requires that the instructor regularly gather purposeful samples of student responses to be able to monitor and diagnose students' levels of learning. As we read, Tuttle has written recommendations for how to use assessments and recommends not only a diagnosis, but also that the instructor provide feedback to student so that the student can make changes and apply the new knowledge to their learning in order to gain mastery. Of course, this is formative in nature since it not only provides the instructor information about student learning, but also provides the student valuable information about their own learning. As we know, this is critical for students to regulate and adjust their learning in order to succeed.

Beyond the Tuttle stages of assessment, this unit also covered recommendation for comprehensive assessment and provided examples of appropriate summative assessment. In making my own student sample, I realized that I can overestimate the criteria for an online assignment. After I made my video sample, I then created a rubric and had to adjust my expectations. What I originally was asking students to do, would have taken much longer than needed. In the future, I will take the time to make a sample to know exactly what difficulties I can anticipate students to deal with as well as to monitor my criteria (e.g., length, focus, content) to make it achievable. Also, in the planning of the unit, it was important to have the end in mind and backwards plan to make sure that the learning goals were being assessed and that the objectives of the unit were being met. I also wanted to make sure that the final assignment was interesting, creative, and performance-based. By making the assignment more symbolic and visual, it required much higher order thinking and reflection over the learning of the unit. Though it seems like an "easy" project, it will require much thought, just as it did for me as I began my sample.

Overall, I found this to be a stimulating unit with an emphasis on assessment and creating a unit that reflected appropriate online assessment. I believe that I now have the tools to use Web 2.0 tools to create assessments and vary the type of feedback and evaluation of student learning.