Augustana Center for Teaching and Learning
The Use of Pre- and Post-Tests
The following short teaching idea was submitted by Joseph Marolla, Vice Provost of Instruction at Virginia Commonwealth University on the POD list serve. (POD is the Professional and Organizational Development Network whose mission is to develop and support practitioners and leaders in higher education dedicated to enhancing learning and teaching.)
“I had an English professor who used a version of pre-post to an extraordinary advantage in a Shakespeare class. We would be assigned a play to read. The day it was to be read we were tested on the play without the benefit of any discussion. Then we discussed the play for some time. Then we were given another play and again tested before we discussed it. As the semester wore on we came to appreciate the discussion as a window into how to read the plays and answer the very complicated questions. By the end of the semester we were all quite capable of reading the plays and answering the questions without the benefit of the discussion. We then had our "post-test" or final exam. I always think back to how horrified the students were that first day when he tested us without any discussion. It ended up being the most amazing experience of my undergraduate career.”
Upcoming Conferences
Teaching Circle for Wednesday, February 6, 3:45 p.m. – Wilson Center
Classroom Assessment. It is important for instructors to find ways to assess what they do in the classroom and its relationship to student learning effectiveness. Whether formative or summative assessment, there are many tools that faculty can use to make these assessments. The session will focus on some specific assessment processes that have had success in the classroom setting. (i.e., minute papers, punctuated lectures, memory matrixes, and thin-pair-share exercises)
SUMMER 2008 CASE STUDIES IN SCIENCE WORKSHOP : Training science faculty to teach with case studies, to write their own cases, and to assess their students' learning with cases. Past workshops have included faculty from biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, computer science, mathematics, geology, psychology, anthropology, nursing, science education, dentistry, engineering, medicine, and other science-related disciplines. Presented by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. May 19-23. University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Registration on our website will remain open until the workshop is filled first-to-register, first-to-pay basis (limit 40 people). For more information click here.
INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (ICED) Conference , June 12-15 in Salt Lake City. Conference theme: “Toward a Global Scholarship of Educational Development.” POD is sponsoring this rare opportunity to meet with educational developers from dozens of countries who bring unique perspectives to the work of faculty and instructional development. For more information click here.
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