{"id":2587,"date":"2025-10-10T11:09:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/?page_id=2587"},"modified":"2025-10-10T11:09:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:09:50","slug":"evaluating-student-learning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/teaching-methods-and-strategies\/evaluating-student-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating Student Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Non-Evaluative Assessment<\/h4>\n<p>Would you like to know whether your students understand the complex concept that you are discussing in class today? Would it be helpful for you to know what aspect of today\u2019s class was most confusing for your students? One way to find out this information is by using a just-in-time, non-evaluative form of assessment. Here are some ideas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs):\u00a0<\/strong>CATs are non-graded, anonymous, just-in-time, and quick assessment methods that can provide you with useful information about your students\u2019 learning. Examples of common CATs include:\n<ul>\n<li>Muddiest Point<\/li>\n<li>Minute Paper<\/li>\n<li>Classroom Opinion Polls<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For a detailed explanation and an overview of possible CATs to use the classroom, please see the following websites from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cmu.edu\/teaching\/assessment\/assesslearning\/CATs.html\">Carnegie Mellon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cft.vanderbilt.edu\/teachingguides\/assessment\/cats\/\">Vanderbilt<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For the most comprehensive overview of CATs, please see the following book (available in the CTL Library): \u00a0Angelo, T. A. &amp; Cross, K. P. (1993).\u00a0<em>Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers.<\/em>\u00a0San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clickers:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The quickest way to get information on whether your students understand a complex concept that you are teaching is to use clickers. By using clickers, you can find out immediately if students are following your lecture. For a demonstration of how one professor uses clickers (combined with peer instruction), see the following\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bokcenter.harvard.edu\/icb\/icb.do?keyword=k1985&amp;pageid=icb.page494961\">video<\/a>\u00a0by Eric Mazur at Harvard University.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Concept Maps:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>One way to understand how students understand a number of concepts in relation to each other is to use a concept map, which is a graphical representation of ideas. For more information on this assessment approach, please see the following link from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmu.edu\/teaching\/assessment\/assesslearning\/conceptmaps.html\">Carnegie Mellon University<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Evaluative Assessment<\/h4>\n<p>There are many ways to approach evaluative assessments of student learning. Here are a couple of innovative ideas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Collaborative Quizzes:<\/strong>\u00a0For a unique idea of how to assess student learning in groups, you may want to try collaborative quizzes. This resource from\u00a0the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cft.uiowa.edu\/instructors\/assessment-classroom\/cooperative-quizzes-alternative-assessment-tool\">University of Iowa\u00a0<\/a>explains this idea in detail.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alternatives to Final Exams:\u00a0<\/strong>Are you looking for an alternative to the traditional final exam or end-of-semester final paper? This resource from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/teaching.berkeley.edu\/alternatives-final-exams\">Stanford University<\/a> provides a comprehensive list of alternatives to consider. While some of these ideas are still traditional options, there are several suggestions that are outside-the-box assessments.<\/li>\n<li>If you choose to use multiple choice questions on assessments, use\u00a0<a id=\"OWAe570060c-6c7f-43ad-1d13-f58c0293fed8\" title=\"https:\/\/ctl.utexas.edu\/multiple-choice-questions\" href=\"https:\/\/ctl.utexas.edu\/multiple-choice-questions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"1\">best practices<\/a>\u00a0in formulating stems and answer choices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Plagiarism<\/h4>\n<p>Plagiarism is a challenging topic for any professor to address \u2013 in terms of how to develop assignments in a way that minimizes the risk of plagiarism, how to determine if a student indeed plagiarized, and, if yes, what consequences the student should face for plagiarism.<\/p>\n<p>First, we recommend that you review the Trinity College formal policy on intellectual honesty, which is outlined in the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/studenthandbook.trincoll.edu\/\">Student Handbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A 2013 article in the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/chronicle.com\/article\/A-Positive-Solution-for\/134498\/\">Chronicle of Higher Education<\/a>\u00a0provides a nice summary of the types of plagiarism and some of the resources available on the web for dealing with student plagiarism.<\/p>\n<p>There are also many web resources that provide guidance on how to design assignments in a way that can minimize plagiarism. A great place to start is with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wpacouncil.org\/aws\/CWPA\/pt\/sd\/news_article\/272555\/_PARENT\/layout_details\/false\">\u201cDefining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0We also recommend the following websites and articles that can help you understand the nuances of plagiarism and how to avoid and detect it:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmu.edu\/teaching\/designteach\/design\/instructionalstrategies\/writing\/preventplagiarism.html\">\u201cHow can I prevent plagiarism?\u201d<\/a>\u00a0from Carnegie Mellon University<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/avoiding_plagiarism\/index.html\">\u201cPreventing Plagiarism\u201d<\/a>\u00a0from the Purdue OWL<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/chronicle.com\/article\/Unconscious-Plagiarism\/127928\/\">\u201cUnconscious Plagiarism\u201d<\/a>\u00a0from The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Faculty should also consider how they will treat the use of generative AI in student writing and may wish to review further\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/generative-ai\/\">resources<\/a>\u00a0on this topic.<\/p>\n<h4>Archive of \u201cTeaching Tips\u201d Related to Evaluating Student Learning<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/Week-6-Constructing-Effective-Exams.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Constructing Effective Exams<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/Week-4-The-No-Fault-Quiz.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The No-Fault Quiz<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/Week-7-Types-of-Tests1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Types of Tests<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/WEEK-8-Alternative-Testing-Modes.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alternative Testing Modes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/WEEK-8-Part-I-Testing-and-Grading-Abridged-and-Edited.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Part I \u2013 Testing and Grading<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/WEEK-9-Part-II-Testing-and-Grading-Abridged-and-Edited.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Part II \u2013 Testing and Grading<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/Week-8-Using-Rubrics-to-Grade.pdf\">Using Rubrics to Grade<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/Week-14-End-of-Semester-Grading.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">End of Semester Grading<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/Week-11-WPA-Statement-on-Plagiarism.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/WEEK-12-Preventing-and-Detecting-Plagiarism.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/WEEK-2-Teaching-with-Reading-Journals.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Teaching with Reading Journals<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2020\/06\/Week-2-Reflection-Exercise-for-First-Day-of-Class.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reflection Exercise on a Course\u2019s \u201cBig Question\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Non-Evaluative Assessment Would you like to know whether your students understand the complex concept that you are discussing in class today? Would it be helpful for you to know what aspect of today\u2019s class was most confusing for your students? One way to find out this information is by using a just-in-time, non-evaluative form of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":691,"featured_media":0,"parent":2235,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2587","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.5 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Evaluating Student Learning - Center for Teaching and Learning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/ctl\/teaching-methods-and-strategies\/evaluating-student-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evaluating Student Learning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Non-Evaluative Assessment Would you like to know whether your students understand the complex concept that you are discussing in class today? 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