A Model for the Creation of
Meaningful Community College Learning Experiences

Construction of individual meaning is improved when instructors create appropriate assessment (including self-assessment) for complex tasks.

What we know:

Good teachers know that many tests students take do not measure the learning that has occurred. For example, a correct response on a math exam could be a fluke and not reveal inaccurate assumptions and misunderstandings the student might have about the process of arriving at the answer (and, therefore, may not measure whether the student will get a correct answer the "next time." In other words, the type of "knowledge" that can be tested by most traditional tests (acquisition of facts, definitions, memorization of theories, manipulation of formulas) is not necessarily the type of learning that will enable our students to function in the world. Of course, this type of "knowledge" is important (and we are not suggesting that traditional testing is ineffective -- it's often effective but only for measuring content knowledge). However, the expert must also be able to understand and manipulate the content knowledge learned, and teachers who embed content (knowledge) in context help students construct individual meaning that will help them use what they have learned.

Good teachers also know, though, that complex learning experiences such as performance tasks (tasks that require students to demonstrate in a meaningful way what they have learned) are difficult to assess. As Kathleen Montgomery points out in an article about creating rubrics for college teaching, there's a big difference between assessing content knowledge and assessing "the application of products and process to the real world where problem-solving and critical thinking abilities are often used."

And, finally, good teachers know that learning is a cyclic process. K. Michael Hibbard (1996), Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Middlebury, Connecticut, describes these steps in the "Cycle of Learning":

1. Stating task, audience, purpose
2. Accessing and acquiring information
3. Processing information
4. Producing product
5. Disseminating product
6. Self-assessment
7. Self-evaluation
8. Self-regulation
and back to 1. Stating task, audience, purpose (A Teacher's Guide to Performance-based Learning and Assessment)

Assessment is an important part of the learning cycle.

 

The support for what we know:

It's intriguing to think about how the brain learns, how that relates to the construction of individual meaning, and then to imagine how the teachers might take advantage of this information by creating experiences that are more meaningful and less abstract than the typical read the book, listen to the lecture, take a multiple choice (or other traditional style of test) approach students are so familiar with (and sometimes expect). Of course, assessment should also be considered through the lens of "Creating a Learning-centered Environment" and the lens of "The Unique Learner." In particular, the relationship between the unique learner and assessment should be considered by community college teachers. We know our student population is diverse in many ways including learning strengths and challenges. To that end, Annette, Khaki and I are currently exploring Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory and how it relates to our student population. We've designed learning experiences and assessments that are "intelligence friendly" and have begun an informal study of MI strengths in our classrooms. For example, we are building the exploration of MI into our classroom activities including having our students take Branton Shearer's MIDAS inventory. To date, over 250 TC3 students have completed the MIDAS inventory. The results of the MIDAS inventories will help us shape classroom approaches including assessment.

Of course, a complete discussion of the theoretical and scientific support for creating complex learning experiences and developing authentic assessment (which, of course, go hand in hand) is beyond the scope of this paper. Instead, we suggest, first, that our readers:

a. Begin a personal mission to read as much as possible about assessment (Click here to go to the Assessment section of our Resources page.)

b. Consider forming an assessment discussion/study group with colleagues.

c. Explore the classroom applications section of our website to see our how assessment has been woven into the activities and strategies

Second, although we would probably all agree that we want to create complex learning experiences that help our students develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills, the problem of how to assess student learning is much more challenging than creating a paper and pencil (or computerized) short answer/essay/multiple choice or other traditional test. We should note here that the complex learning experiences and assessments we support can make students (especially those who are good test takers when it comes to traditional testing) uncomfortable. (Click here to read about how to create an appropriate level of challenge in a Learning-centered Environment.)

Here are some key points we've found to be particularly relevant in our college classrooms (and support the use of authentic assessment):

1. First, appropriate assessment includes both formative and summative approaches. Formative assessment goes on every day in our classrooms. An example of formative assessment I use in my academic writing course is the Rhetorical Modes Activity. After completing various activities designed to learn about rhetorical modes, students draw "logos" illustrating each rhetorical mode. As I walk around the room, I can figure out very easily whether or not the students "get" the concept! At this point, I would adjust my approach, based on what this formative assessment has shown me about my students' understanding of the concept. In short, formative assessment is diagnostic and provides feedback for both students and instructors throughout the course of the semester. Classroom discussion and the "think/pair/share" strategy are other examples of formative assessment. Formative assessment helps both students and instructors alter behavior in ways that will help facilitate learning.

Carol Boston (2002), in an article written about formative assessment for Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, describes a study by Black and William (1998) that examined whether or not assessment raises academic standards in the classroom. Black and William conducted a research review of journal articles and book chapters and concluded that "efforts to strengthen formative assessment produce significant learning gains as measured by comparing the average improvements in the test scores of the students involved in the innovation with the range of scores found for typical groups of students on the same tests" (Boston). Black and William discovered that formative assessment helped low-achieving students, including students with learning disabilities, improve scores even more than other students.

Summative assessment, on the other hand, usually takes place at the completion of a unit or other period of instruction and makes a judgment (which might translate into a grade) about the learning that has taken place. An examples of summative assessment would be a student portfolio assessment of the entire body of work a student completes during a semester. A project is a form of formative assessment, as is the rubric used to assess the project.

2. The design of assessment tools should take place at the same time as the design of a complex learning experience. Assessment and curriculum design are inseparable. Those of us who love designing complex, engaging, exciting projects for our students also know that the assessment tools we create (at the same time) will help us make sure that the the learning experience is based on appropriate criteria and that will result in our being able to measure whether or not the students have learned what we intended them to learn.

Another way to say this is that the creation of a learning experience and the assessment are connected. Here's an example. Suppose you do not know how to drive. Here's one approach to teaching you how to drive: I will teach you all of the relevant driving terminology and rules of the road. I will give you step by step instructions for how to manipulate the mechanical components of the car. In fact, I'll even teach you all about how the car engine works. In short, I'll "give you" all of the relevant knowledge you need to learn how to drive the car. Now, it's time for your driving test. I'll bet you'd pass the written part of the test, but would you past the road test? Probably not because you haven't embedded the knowledge in a meaningful experience (using what you have learned to practice driving the car). Furthermore, the road test might assess whether or not you can drive the car, but it won't give you an chance to demonstrate what else you HAVE learned. The learning experience and the assessment, in this case, are not connected. The curriculum design is obviously lacking because you have learned only content knowledge and not how to use the content knowledge. Again, the learning and the assessment in this case were not connected in a meaningful way.

3. Self-assessment and peer assessment are critical. Remember the Bible parable about teaching a man to fish? (If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day; if you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.) If we teach our students to assess their own learning we will help them become effective lifelong learners. In addition, faculty members and program developers who engage in peer-assessment of program/course/activity design reap great benefits. A key point here is to consider setting up interdisciplinary peer assessment groups.

 

How does this relate to teaching in the community college classroom?

Thinking about creating complex learning experiences and the appropriate assessment tools can be overwhelming. Our suggestion is to take this one step at a time. You need to construct your own individual meaning before you can help your students construct individual meaning! Again, take this one step at a time. A good way to start is to identify the core concepts in your course. Be careful - your current course outline might contain objectives for the course that are not necessarily core concepts. The process of identifying core concepts can be a challenge for the instructor; imagine how difficult it is for students! I'd define core concept as a concept that supports the rest of the content knowledge in the course. For example, a core concept students must learn in a basic writing course is that a topic sentence consists of a topic and an angle. (If students can't "shape" an appropriate topic sentence, they certainly can't figure out how to structure the rest of the paragraph.) An example of a core concept in an economics class would be supply and demand. A core concept in an algebra class might be an understanding of what a mathematical function describes in the physical world. These core concepts are like tent poles that hold up the rest of the content knowledge in a course or a unit. Once an instructor has identified a core concept, she can then create learning experiences (note the plural) designed to help students understand the core concept.

Focusing on core concepts, the ones students must understand if the rest of the course is going to be relevant, is where instructors can start. It would not be unusual to discover that there are only three or four core concepts in a course. If we help students learn the core concepts, they can easily learn, on their own, the content knowledge that is supported by those concepts. And remember, content knowledge can be tested easily by traditional testing methods. Our suggestion, therefore, is to start first by isolating core concepts and then developing complex learning experiences (and assessment) for those concepts. Our "Pizza Analysis Activity" is an example of a complex learning experience designed to help students understand analysis as a rhetorical mode. The activity is, itself, a form of assessment. Click here to read the Pizza Analysis Activity.

Rubrics are useful both for developing learning experiences and for assessing them. Rubrics are evaluative tools that provide a continuum of product/performance quality, from excellent to poor. The key is that each level on the continuum has a descriptive narrative. David Lazear (1998), in The Rubrics Way -- Using MI to Assess Understanding, reminds us that whether we realize it or not, rubrics are a part of our everyday lives. He gives a useful example: We use an informal rubric to figure out how much money to leave for a tip in a restaurant. We come up with criteria (is the server there when needed, are problems handled appropriately, is the service friendly but not intrusive, etc.) and then decide levels for each on a continuum, before deciding how much to tip.

Kathleen Montgomery, in an article about using rubrics in the college classroom, ties the use of rubrics closely to the development of "authentic tasks." Montgomery (2002) points out that rubrics help learners identify "precise criteria for a successful process and/or product prior to and during the completion of a task." Why not take the mystery out? Why "hide" what we want our students to learn? Carefully designed rubrics are one form of assessment that help take the mystery out of learning by helping students identify what we want them to learn and by providing valuable feedback.

Montgomery explains that instructors using authentic assessment ask these questions about the learning experiences they are creating for students:

"What makes a quality process or product?

Are the expectations for exceptional work clear to me? Are they clear to the students?

How do I know what the students have learned as a result of completing a complex task?"

Montgomery adds, "Specific evaluation criteria also have a positive impact on instruction. Establishing the criteria before the instruction focuses the instructor on the critical components of the curriculum and increases the likelihood that such components will be emphasized. Thus, there is an integration and alignment of curriculum content, instruction, and assessment that allows instructors and students to engage in meaningful learning" (Montgomery, 2002).

Another idea that I've used in my English 101 classes is to make the creation of the rubric part of the students' learning experience. For example, I have my students create the rubric that will be used to grade an essay. I provide the basic structure of the rubric but have students complete the rubric. This is very time consuming but worth every minute. In order to create the rubric, they must figure out what makes up an acceptable essay. In order to come up with evaluative measures for a thesis statement, for example, they have to figure out what a thesis statement is. The resulting essays are leaps and bounds ahead of essays written without going through this process. I believe the key here is that the students are figuring out what an essay is rather than having me tell them what an essay is, and the rubric is the formative (and later the summative) assessment tool that makes this possible.

Throughout this section, we've mentioned the creation of complex learning experiences - experiences that embed content knowledge in context and help students make connections to previous learning and to future learning. We've given examples from our own classrooms, but at this point we'd like to share a wonderful example of a complex task (that also require specific content knowledge) discussed in an article in Educational Leadership by Grant Wiggins. Wiggins gave this example of a complex task (created by North Carolina teachers) to illustrate how designing (and assessing) complex tasks can help teachers "focus on understanding as a educational goal, as opposed to mere textbook knowledge":

Birds and Soldiers. Wildlife officials and politicians are at odds because of the rare red-cockade woodpecker on the Fort Bragg military base. Fort Bragg officials have to limit military training exercises because of the protection required for the birds under the Endangered Species Act. The Act states that an endangered bird's environment cannot be tampered with. Almost half the known red-cockade woodpecker population is located on the base. Your task is to propose a workable solution to the problem, based on a careful review of the military's needs and the relevant law. You will write a report and make a speech to a simulated EPA review board. (Wiggins, 1996/1997)

To solve this problem, students will have to use specific content knowledge as well as critical thinking skills. They will have to make connections to what they already know and what they are learning in their other courses. The project itself will be a form of assessment, and the teachers can also create activities/formative assessments designed to diagnosis and facilitate the students' individual construction of meaning.

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What do we mean by "construction of Individual Meaning?

Construction of individual meaning is improved when students make connections.

Construction of individual meaning improves when students pay attention (and paying attention can shape the brain).

Construction of individual meaning improves when students think about how they learn (metacognition).

Construction of individual meaning is improved when instructors create appropriate assessment (including self-assessment) for complex tasks. (You are here.)

Construction of individual meaning improves when students develop their creativity.

Construction of individual meaning improves when students develop their ability to identify patterns.

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