Professor Michele Pistone, Villanova University, shares her insights on assessment for legal education, including formative and summative assessment. She explains the difference between formative and summative assessments and the components of effective assessment tools. For more information about online learning, visit, Legaledweb.com and You tube/ LegalED.
3. Top5Tips forTeaching Law Online
1Shift your mindset
Employ student-centered design
Assess & measure student learning
Use space & time differently
Jump in, ask Qs & have fun!
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10. When creating any assessment:
• Start from course & unit learning goals
• Determine evidence to demonstrate students met goals
• Determine methods for generating evidence
• Determine how to evaluate evidence
• Build those insights into set of summative/formative assessments
Examples of assessment strategies:
• My entire course grade will be based on a single final exam
• Half the course grade is based on a final exam, and the rest will be based
on quizzes, written assignments, and class participation
Student-centered design & assessment
11. • Assessment of learning
• Usually leads to a grade or contribution towards a grade
Examples:
Summative assessment
Final Exam Online Quiz Clinic Performance/Role
Play/Student Presentation
Other Examples: Papers and writing assignments, skills performance/role play (ex. negotiation), portfolios of work, etc.
12. • Assessment as learning
• Designed to identify & close learning gaps in real time
Examples:
Formative assessment
Socratic Questioning Ungraded Quiz/Poll
Check for Understanding
Online Discussion
Other Examples: Classroom discussion, “Do Now” exercises, observed performance/behavior
13. • Linear/Closed response: includes machine-scored item types usually built
into a learning management system (LMS)
• Examples: Multiple-choice, matching, etc.
• Linear/Open response: open-ended items with incorrect and correct
answers
• Examples: Fill-in-the-blank, short answer problems
• Performance-based: students perform open-ended task involving
integrating knowledge and/or demonstrating complex skills/values
• Examples: Written final exam, research paper, student presentation, clinical
evaluation
Types of assessment content
14. • Assessment as learning
• Strategically designed so students get feedback
• Professors know who has and has not mastered a learning goal
• Includes a remediation strategy that allows the professor to close gaps
between those who have/have not mastered a learning goal in real time
Examples: Socratic questioning, quizzes, guided discussions, contributions
a discussion board
Formative assessment
15. 1. A question or task that will elicit whether a students has mastered
a learning goal
2. A remediation strategy for closing learning gaps in real time
3. Content for executing that remediation strategy “at-the-ready”
4. Integration of “assessment as learning” into the design of a lesson
Formative assessment components
16. 1. A question or task that will elicit whether a students has mastered a learning goal:
Multiple-choice question/poll question
2. A remediation strategy for closing learning gaps in real time: Direct instruction
3. Content for executing a remediation strategy “at-the-ready”: Slide providing simple
explanations
4. Integration of “assessment as learning” into the design of a lesson: Lesson plan that
would dive more deeply into each option, building on questions that arise from
responses to the formative item
Example
18. 1. Start from learning goals and a list of evidence needed to determine if
learning has taken place
2. Evidence becomes the basis for a set of evaluation criteria
3. Create a preliminary rubric that assigns criteria and performance levels based
on evidence
4. Create an assignment and a rubric designed to evaluate that assignment in
tandem (do not force fit a rubric to an existing assignment, or vice versa)
5. Work rubric criteria into your assignment instructions (or provide students the
rubric)
Performance-based assessments
22. Why use Discussion Boards?
• Build community;
• Foster in-depth reflection by giving students time to reflect on
their thoughts and compose a thoughtful response;
• Practice giving and receiving advice from colleagues;
• Practice expressing and responding to the viewpoints of others;
• Develop writing and critical thinking skills;
• Share opinions and ideas with others and to see the world
through the perspectives of others; and
• Practice providing constructive criticism and sharing differing
viewpoints.
