Chapter

 3:  Blended  Assessments  of  Learning  

Third  Edition  
Edited  by  Linda  Futch  and  Baiyun  Chen.  
BlendKit  Reader  Second  Edition  Review  Team  included  Linda  Futch,  Wendy  Clark,  Loretta  Driskel,  Wilma  
Hodges,    Cub  Kahn,  Apostolos  Koutropoulos,  Denise  Landrum-­Geyer,  and  John  Okewole.  If  the  second  edition  is  
helpful,  thank  the  review  team.  If  not,  blame  the  editor.  
BlendKit  Reader  First  Edition  edited  by  Kelvin  Thompson,  Ed.D.  
Portions  of  the  following  chapter  are  adapted  from  “Design  of  Blended  Learning  in  K-­12”  in  Blended  Learning  in  K-­
12  under  the  terms  of  a  Creative  Commons  Attribution-­ShareAlike  3.0  Unported  license.  In  addition,  portions  of  
the  following  chapter  are  adapted  from  “Assessment  and  Evaluation”  by  Dan  O’Reilly  and  Kevin  Kelly  and  
“Evaluating  and  Improving  Your  Online  Teaching  Effectiveness”  by  Kevin  Kelly  in  the  Commonwealth  of  
Learning’sEducation  for  a  Digital  World  under  the  terms  of  a  Creative  Commons  Attribution-­ShareAlike  3.0  
International  license.  
   

Questions  to  Ponder  

•   How  much  of  the  final  course  grade  do  you  typically  allot  to  testing?  How  many  tests/exams  do  you  usually  
require?  How  can  you  avoid  creating  a  “high  stakes”  environment  that  may  inadvertently  set  students  up  
for  failure/cheating?  
•   What  expectations  do  you  have  for  online  assessments?  How  do  these  expectations  compare  to  those  
you  have  for  face-­to-­face  assessments?  Are  you  harboring  any  biases?  
•   What  trade-­offs  do  you  see  between  the  affordances  of  auto-­scored  online  quizzes  and  project-­based  
assessments?  How  will  you  strike  the  right  balance  in  your  blended  learning  course?  
•   How  will  you  implement  formal  and  informal  assessments  of  learning  into  your  blended  learning  course?  
Will  these  all  take  place  face-­to-­face,  online,  or  in  a  combination?  
A  blended  learning  class  is  like  any  other  –  when  teaching  takes  place,  it  is  imperative  that  assessment  is  
provided  to  check  the  depth  of  students’  learning.  Looking  back  at  the  learning  objectives  and  design  documents  
(e.g.,  Course  Blueprint)  can  help  answer  assessment  questions.    For  instance  Riley  et  al.  (2014)  suggest  that  
faculty  ask  themselves:  “How  well  does  your  course  make  connections  between  learning  objectives,  course  
activities,  and  selection  of  site  tools  to  accomplish  the  assignments?  How  well  do  face-­to-­face  and  out  of  class  
time  learning  activities  complement  each  other?”  (p.  164).  
The  most  crucial  step  needed  in  each  unit  of  instruction  is  the  preparation  for  students’  transfer  of  learning  to  new  
contexts.  If  learning  is  not  transferred  from  the  place  of  learning  to  practical  application,  there  can  be  no  positive  
return  on  investment  of  the  time  needed  to  create,  implement,  and  evaluate  instruction.  Students  are  smarter  than  
we  might  think.  If  the  lesson  doesn’t  apply  to  something  tangible  or  if  it  can’t  be  used  in  real  life,  you  can  expect  
them  to  ask,  “When  are  we  ever  going  to  use  this  stuff?”  Make  sure  that  your  objectives  are  made  clear  to  the  
students.  The  learning  standards  must  be  addressed,  yes,  but  also  find  a  real  life  application  to  better  your  
students’  understanding  of  the  materials  covered.  If  this  is  not  done,  much  of  your  time,  and  your  students’  time,  
has  been  greatly  wasted.  A  second  look  to  ensure  that  students  have  indeed  learned  the  objectives  might  trigger  
revisions,  allowing  for  more  (or  better)  class  activities  and  instructor  feedback.  This  should  be  done  before  any  
evaluation  strategy.  Technology  is  useful  in  simplifying  this  task  of  transferring  the  learning  strategy.  Many  times  a  
lesson  taught  with  the  use  of  online  instruction  or  with  technology  as  its  main  tool  provides  a  built-­in  application.  
Students  see  more  clearly  how  the  concepts  are  used  in  real  life  situations,  and  because  the  lesson  was  applied  
practically,  the  student  retains  the  information  and  skills  much  longer.  
Despite  the  importance  of  real  life  application  of  knowledge  and  skills,  perhaps  the  most  common  type  of  
assessment  is  still  the  traditional  multiple  choice  exam.    Placing  such  tests  (or  non-­graded  self-­assessment  
versions)  online  is  one  of  the  most  popular  approaches  to  blended  assessment  of  learning.  (As  a  result  we  will  
devote  a  portion  of  this  chapter  to  considering  issues  associated  with  implementing  traditional  tests  in  blended  
courses.)  Instructors  designing  such  assessments  might  ask  themselves  more  detailed  questions  such  as:    “Is  my  
test  content-­valid,  based  upon  the  methods  of  content  presentation?”  “Should  my  test  include  a  short  review  time  
via  a  traditional  classroom  setting,  or  would  an  online  review  better  prepare  my  students  for  assessment?”  “Should  
the  test  be  performed  online  or  in  the  presence  of  the  instructor?”  
Online  tests  make  for  easy  and  quick  grading  by  the  instructor  or  teaching  assistant,  but  security  of  the  test  might  
be  diminished  depending  on  the  software  and  implementation  methods  used  by  the  instructor.  Tests  taken  
exclusively  in  the  classroom  setting  using  paper  and  pencil,  however,  negate  the  affordances  of  technology.  
Faculty  who  evaluate  their  students’  performances  by  using  a  mixture  of  tests  –  some  online,  some  offline  –  have  
experienced  more  fruitful  outcomes.  Supplying  examples  to  read  as  text  online  or  offline  proves  to  be  helpful.  
Presenting  video  explanations  or  examples  online,  where  students  can  view  a  snippet  of  the  content  repeatedly  
gives  enough  exposure  to  solidify  an  idea  or  concept.  Any  tool  that  can  be  afforded  the  student  should  be  
considered  to  improve  learning.  For  instance,  Riley  et  al.  (2014)  observe  that  when  implementing  online  tests,  
“‘scaffolding’  –  the  integration  of  [online]  self-­assessments  and  review  modules  –  is  integral  to  a  more  in-­depth  
understanding  of  the  material”  (p.  170).  
Caution  must  be  practiced  when  using  online  tests  in  a  blended  course.  If  this  method  was  never  practiced  during  
the  preceding  unit  of  instruction,  the  student  finds  herself  at  a  bit  of  a  disadvantage  when  being  tested.  Instead  of  
devoting  proper  time  to  the  non-­technical  concepts  taught,  the  student  might  be  fighting  her  way  through  the  
technical  tool  she  must  use  to  perform  the  task  at  hand.  Conversely,  Walker  et  al.  (2014)  found  that  non-­credit,  
online  practice  exams  can  actually  benefit  student  performance  on  in-­class,  graded  exams.  
The  online  environment  does  provide  blended  learning  instructors  with  opportunities  to  implement  a  variety  of  
learning  assessments  using  new  and  innovative  tools.  The  following  section  reviews  two  broad  categories  of  
assessments,  formal  and  informal,  that  can  help  shape  how  you  assess  your  students  in  blended  courses.  (Many  
of  the  ideas  presented  here  are  applicable  in  the  face-­to-­face  and  online  portions  of  blended  courses,  but  we’ll  
frame  each  assessment  description  for  the  online  context  specifically  given  that  most  readers  will  likely  have  more  
familiarity  with  the  face-­to-­face  environment.)  
1.   Formal  assessments  provide  a  systematic  way  to  measure  students’  progress.  These  types  of  
assessments  also  contribute  to  the  final  grade,  which  indicates  a  student’s  mastery  of  the  
subject,  e.g.,  midterm,  and  finals.  
2.   Informal  assessments  generally  provide  the  faculty  member  the  ability  to  gauge  their  students’  
comprehension  of  course  material.  It  does  not  involve  assigning  grades.  Furthermore,  they  can  be  used  to  
allow  students  to  practice  the  material  prior  to  a  formal  assessment,  e.g.,  self-­tests.  

Formal  Assessments  
Note:  The  subcategories  in  this  section  are  adapted  from  those  used  by  Wiggins  and  McTighe  (1998)  
in  Understanding  by  Design.  

Quizzes/Tests  
Multiple  choice  and  short  answer  tests  (or  quizzes)  are  useful  for  assessing  students’  abilities  to  recognize  and  
recall  content.  They  are  also  fairly  easy  to  grade;;  and  when  faced  with  a  large  class  size,  you  can  make  the  
grading  automatic  depending  on  the  question  type.  However,  these  online  tools  also  arguably  provide  students  
with  “more  ways  to  be  academically  dishonest”  (Watson  and  Sottile,  2010).  
In  the  design  of  effective  assessments  of  learning,  Hoffman  and  Lowe  (2011,  January)  note  that  the  “focus  must  
be  on  student  learning,  not  student  control.”  Particularly  when  dealing  with  online  assessment  (e.g.,  the  ubiquitous  
auto-­scored  multiple  choice  quiz  tools  within  learning  management  systems)  it  is  tempting  to  design  a  testing  
environment  in  which  all  variables  are  controlled  and  student  responses  do  naught  [do  nothing]  but  
reveal    students’  mastery  of  course  objectives.    However,  as  Dietz-­Uhler  and  Hurn  (2011)  note,  “the  evidence,  
although  scant,  suggests  that  academic  dishonesty  occurs  frequently  and  equally  in  online  and  face-­to-­face  
courses”  (p.  75).    It  is  counter-­productive  to  adopt  an  adversarial  stance  as  we  attempt  to  fence  in  students  to  
prevent  them  from  cheating  (in  any  modality).  Nevertheless,  there  are  steps  we  can  take  to  make  online  testing  
more  effective.  Many  of  these  are  applicable  to  face-­to-­face  environments  as  well.  

Creating  Effective  Online  Tests  

Hoffman  and  Lowe  (2011,  January)  identify  a  number  of  techniques  for  creating  effective  online  assessments.  
These  are  grouped  into  online  assessment  tool  features  and  assessment  design  strategies.  

Online  Assessment  Tool  Features  

Online  quizzing  tools  typically  provide  some  affordance  for  randomization  of  test  items.  Depending  upon  how  the  
instructor  uses  the  tool,  this  may  range  from  merely  randomizing  the  order  in  which  the  same  set  of  items  appears  
to  each  student  all  the  way  to  sophisticated  alternative  test  versions  in  which  test  items  in  various  content  
categories  and  at  different  levels  of  difficulty  are  dynamically-­generated  for  each  student  (i.e.,  each  student  
receives  a  different  test,  but  each  version  is  equivalent).  The  instructor  may  impose  assessment  time  limits  such  
that  the  test  is  only  available  within  a  certain  window  of  opportunity  (e.g.,  an  entire  week  or  just  one  evening).  
Additionally,  time  limits  can  also  be  placed  on  the  period  between  the  opening  of  the  quiz  and  its  submission  (e.g.,  
a  few  minutes  to  multiple  hours).  Related  to  this  restriction,  the  instructor  can  also  allow  students  to  see  the  entire  
test  at  once  or  only  one  test  item  at  a  time.  Supported  by  the  online  quizzing  tool,  the  instructor  may  choose  to  
establish  rules  for  assessment  completion.  For  instance,  students  may  be  required  to  complete  the  quiz  in  one  
sitting  once  the  quiz  is  launched,  or  they  may  have  the  option  to  start  the  quiz,  log-­out,  and  come  back  later  (within  
whatever  time  restrictions  have  been  established).  Online  assessment  tools  also  support  proctoring  if  the  
instructor  (or  institution)  chooses  to  undertake  the  logistical  arrangements  involved  in  vetting  proctors.  An  
approved  individual  receives  a  password  to  unlock  the  quiz  and  then  he  remains  present  while  the  student  takes  
the  test.  The  proctor  may  be  asked  to  verify  the  student’s  identity  and/or  ensure  compliance  with  certain  test-­
taking  protocols  (e.g.,  open/closed  book,  etc.).  Commercial  tools  for  remote  proctoring  have  appeared  on  the  
market  in  recent  years.  The  functionality  of  the  proctoring  programs  range  from  taking  pictures  of  students  during  
an  exam  to  a  remote  individual  watching  students  via  live  video  feed.  The  conundrum  here  is  whether  the  
institution  or  student  pays  the  fees  to  proctor  an  exam.  [See  a  review  of  online  proctoring  tools  provided  by  Faculty  
eCommons].  

Assessment  Design  Strategies  

Apart  from  the  affordances  of  the  online  testing  tools,  online  auto-­scored  assessments  may  also  benefit  from  well-­
designed  multiple-­choice  items  with  an  emphasis  on  application  and  higher-­level  thinking.  While  many  online  
quizzes  (especially  many  of  those  available  as  supplemental  instructor  resources)  focus  on  low-­level  factual  recall,  
multiple-­choice  items  may  be  written  at  the  higher  application,  analysis,  synthesis,  or  evaluation  levels.  Such  items  
often  involve  some  sort  of  scenario  aimed  at  promoting  learning  transfer  from  one  context  to  another.  Additional  
strategies  might  require  students  to  view  a  chart/graph  and  select  the  most  accurate  interpretation  from  among  
several  alternatives  or  even  to  collaborate  with  classmates  in  selecting  the  best  justification  statement  for  why  a  
given  answer  is  correct  prior  to  individually  submitting  their  quizzes.  
For  detailed  information  on  the  kinds  of  assessment  design  strategies  summarized  above  along  with  numerous  
supporting  resources,  you  may  wish  to  visit  Hoffman  and  Lowe’s  (2011,  January)  web  page  
at  https://online.ucf.edu/faculty-­seminar01/.    In  particular,  if  you  would  like  a  refresher  on  writing  effective  multiple  
choice  items  at  various  cognitive  levels,  you  may  wish  to  review  the  following  PDF  documents:  
 
•   Using  Bloom’s  Taxonomy  to  Create  Multiple-­Choice  Questions  
•   Effective  Assessment  Examples  
•   Question  Improvement  Suggestions  
Many  of  the  above  techniques  for  creating  more  effective  assessments  are  relevant  for  online  quizzes,  traditional  
face-­to-­face  exams,  and  online  testing  implemented  in  a  face-­to-­face  environment.    There  is  a  range  of  automated  
assessment  options  in  a  blended  learning  course.  

Essays/Academic  Prompts  
Assessments  that  require  a  subjective  analysis  are  often  more  difficult  and  time  consuming  to  grade,  however  this  
type  of  assessment  is  appropriate  for  gauging  how  well  students  are  able  to  apply  the  concepts  learned  in  class.  
Within  most  learning  management  systems  (LMS)  there  are  a  variety  of  tools  to  facilitate  these  types  of  
assessments.  Such  platforms  typically  include  the  following  tools  at  a  minimum:  
1.   Discussion  area  –often  used  for  generating  student-­to-­student  interaction  based  on  an  instructor-­
specified  critical  thinking  challenge.  
 2.   Assessment  tool  –  can  be  used  to  construct  essay-­type  questions  (which  must  be  manually  scored)  
3.   Assignment  tool  –  can  be  used  to  submit  papers,  essays,  or  other  types  of  assignments.  

Projects/Authentic  Tasks  

Authentic  student  assessment  strategies  for  the  online  environment  

Often  when  we  talk  of  assessment  in  an  online  environment,  we  think  of  automated  quizzes  and  grade  books.  
While  useful  in  many  circumstances,  automated  quizzes  do  not  always  accurately  reflect  a  student’s  abilities,  
especially  when  you  are  asking  them  to  achieve  a  higher  level  of  difficulty  in  the  cognitive  learning  domain,  to  
demonstrate  a  physical  skill  in  the  psychomotor  learning  domain,  or  to  evaluate  attitudes  in  the  affective  learning  
domain  (see  description  of  learning  domains  and  degrees  of  difficulty  
at    http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html).  Authentic  assessment—assessing  student  abilities  to  apply  
knowledge,  skills,  and  attitudes  to  real  world  problems—is  not  only  possible  in  an  online  environment;;  it  is  getting  
more  popular.  
When  you  consider  what  types  of  online  assessment  strategies  to  choose,  the  list  will  be  very  similar  to  the  print-­
based  strategies  that  you  know  and  already  use.  However,  there  are  a  few  additional  assessment  strategies  that  
the  online  environment  makes  possible.  The  list  below  is  not  comprehensive  by  any  means.  It  also  does  not  show  
which  tools  could  be  used  to  facilitate  the  different  types  of  assessment  strategies.  Some  of  these  activities  may  
require  students  to  have  access  to  equipment  or  software  applications  to  complete.  
Table  14.1.  Assessment  strategies  and  disciplines  that  may  commonly  use  them  

Disciplines  that  might  use  each  assessment  

Type  of  assessment  strategy   strategy  
Text-­based  
essay   multiple  
glossary   multiple  
lab  manual   physical  sciences  
computer  code   computer  science  
technical  writing   technical  and  professional  writing  
reflection   teacher  education,  health  education,  social  work  
observation  log   teacher  education,  nursing,  laboratory  sciences  
Media  
image  gallery   art,  industrial  design  
web  page  or  website   multiple  
presentation   business,  public  administration  
audio   language  acquisition  
video   theatre  arts  (monologue),  marketing  

   
Notice  that  some  assessment  strategies  require  participation  by  someone  other  than  the  student.  For  example,  a  
K–12  master  teacher  would  submit  an  observation  log  for  a  credential  student  performing  his  or  her  student  
teaching.  Similarly,  a  health  clinic  supervisor  would  submit  an  observation  log  for  a  nursing  student  related  to  his  
or  her  abilities  to  draw  blood  for  testing.  A  theatre  arts  student  may  need  someone  to  record  his  or  her  monologue.  
Some  assessment  strategies  allow  students  to  get  creative.  It  is  important  to  make  sure  that  students  have  access  
to,  or  ability  to  use  the  technologies  required  to  complete  the  tasks,  but  once  you  do  that,  you  could  ask  students  
to  create  a  video  advertisement  that  demonstrates  the  application  of  marketing  principles,  an  audio  recording  that  
demonstrates  mastery  of  inflection  and  tone  when  speaking  Mandarin  Chinese,  or  a  PowerPoint  slide  show  with  
audio  clips  that  demonstrates  competency  with  teacher  education  standards.  The  age-­old  practice  of  storytelling  
has  been  “remastered”  as  digital  storytelling  through  blogs,  wikis,  podcasts,  and  more.  Students  are  taking  
advantage  of  these  new  media  formats  to  illustrate  that  they  have  met  certain  requirements.  In  some  cases,  each  
product  becomes  an  “asset”  or  “artifact”  in  a  larger  electronic  portfolio  that  contains  items  for  a  single  class,  an  
entire  program  or  department,  or  all  curricular  and  co-­curricular  work  that  a  student  does.  
Regardless  of  what  products  students  provide  to  show  their  abilities,  you  need  a  way  to  evaluate  their  work.  

Defining  Expectations  
After  determining  how  students  will  show  how  they  can  meet  the  learning  objectives,  it  is  time  to  choose  an  
evaluation  method.  You  can  use  a  number  of  tools,  ranging  from  a  simple  checklist  of  criteria  to  a  rubric  that  
contains  the  same  criteria  as  well  as  a  range  of  performance  and  degrees  to  which  students  meet  the  criteria.  
You  can  use  qualitative  or  quantitative  degrees  to  evaluate  criteria  (see  Table  14.2  for  an  example  of  each).  Share  
the  checklist  or  rubric  with  students  before  they  begin  the  assignment,  so  they  know  what  will  be  expected  of  
them.  In  some  cases,  instructors  create  the  entire  rubric,  or  portions  of  it,  with  the  students.  
Table  14.2.  Portion  of  a  student  presentation  assessment  rubric  
Range  
Criteria   4   3   2   1  
Student  supports   Student   Presenter   Presenter   Presenter  
main  presentation   effectively   used   used  some   did  not  use  
points  with  stories   used  stories   storiesand/or   unrelated   stories  or  
or  examples.   and/or   examples   stories   examples  to  
examples  to   somewhat   and/or   illustrate  key  
illustrate  key   effectively  to   examples   points.  
points.   illustrate   that  
some  key   distracted  
points.   from  key  
points.  
Comments:  
   
   
   
   

Cover  project   Presentation   Presentation   Presentation  

completely,   covered  all   Presentation   covered  2  or   covered  1  or  
including:  1)   6  of  the   covered  4  or   3  of  the   0  of  the  
Needs   areas  to  the   5  of  the  areas   areas  to  the   areas  to  the  
Assessment   left.   to  the  left.   left.   left.  
Objectives,  2)  
Extant  Data   Comments:  
Analysis,  3)  Data  
   
Collection  
Methods,  4)  Brief      
Summary  of  Data,  
5)  Collected  Data      
Analysis,  6)      
Recommendations  

Preparing  an  Assignment  for  Assessment  

The  first  step  to  assessing  online  work  is  to  prepare  each  assignment.  Since  students  may  not  have  you  around  to  
ask  questions,  you  need  to  anticipate  the  types  of  information  that  students  need.  There  are  some  standard  items  
to  include  in  your  instructions  for  all  types  of  online  assignments:  
•   Name  of  the  assignment  (This  should  be  the  same  name  as  listed  in  the  syllabus).  
•   Learning  objective(s)  to  which  this  assignment  relates.  
•   When  the  assignment  is  due.  
•   Any  resources  that  you  recommend  using  to  complete  the  assignment.  
•   Expectations  (length,  level  of  effort,  number  of  citations  required,  etc.).  
•   Level  of  group  participation  (individual  assignments,  group  or  team  projects,  and  entire  class  projects).  
•   Process  (how  students  turn  in  the  assignment,  if  they  provide  peer  review,  how  peers  give  feedback,  how  
you  give  feedback).  
•   Grading  criteria  (include  rubric  if  you  are  using  one).  
By  including  these  items,  you  give  students  a  better  idea  of  what  you  want  them  to  do.  

Informal  Assessments  
Informal  assessments  are  an  integral  part  of  any  quality  course.  Many  blended  learning  faculty  incorporate  these  
types  of  assessments  into  their  courses  to  increase  their  presence  in  the  online  environment  and  to  keep  track  of  
their  students’  learning  using  tools  within  the  learning  management  system  (LMS)  or  publicly-­available  alternatives  
if  necessary.  Approaches  to  informal  assessment  vary.  For  instance,  some  LMSs  (or  free  online  tools)  allow  
faculty  to  create  practice  exams/self-­tests  for  students  to  complete.  While  unscored,  these  informal  assessments  
often  provide  data  for  the  instructor  to  review  as  one  indicator  of  student  learning.  As  one  example,  in  the  context  
of  an  introductory  biology  course,  Walker  et  al.  (2014)  studied  the  comparative  effect  of  non-­credit,  online  practice  
exams  on  students’  performance  on  in-­class  graded  exams.  This  rigorous  study  found  that  “students  who  took  
these  practice  exams  achieved  significantly  higher  scores  on  the  corresponding  for-­credit  exams….”(p.  
154).    Since  the  study  controlled  for  potential  intervening  variables,  “the  results  show  that  the  benefit  of  practice  
exams  is  not  simply  an  artifact  of  student  self-­selection”  (p.  154).    In  the  case  of  a  different  discipline,  Riley  et  al.  
(2014)  found  that  online  self-­assessment  quizzes  as  part  of  online  modules  in  a  blended  writing  course  were  
“crucial  for  the  students’  subsequent  execution  of  the  class’  main  essay  assignments”  (p.  168).  
As  an  additional  approach  to  informal  assessment,  summative  and  formative  evaluations  can  be  conducted  by  
collecting  anonymous  input  from  students  during  and  after  the  course  using  either  a  survey  tool  within  the  LMS  or  
one  of  the  many  free  web-­based  survey  tools.  Following  is  a  more  substantive  description  of  a  few  other  
approaches  to  informal  assessment  in  the  online  environment.  

One-­‐Sentence  Summary  
The  one-­sentence  summary  is  another  classroom  assessment  technique  that  I  adapt  to  the  online  environment.  
Designed  to  elicit  higher  level  thinking,  a  one-­sentence  summary  demonstrates  whether  or  not  students  are  able  
to  synthesize  a  process  or  concept.  Students  answer  seven  questions  separately:  “Who?  Does  What?  To  Whom  
(or  What)?  When?  Where?  How?  And  Why?”  Then  they  put  those  answers  together  into  one  sentence.  Angelo  
and  Cross  (1993)  also  describe  this  exercise  in  their  book  about  classroom  assessment  techniques.  Examples  I  
have  seen  include  assigning  nursing  students  to  write  a  one-­sentence  summary  of  a  mock  patient’s  case,  as  
nurses  are  often  required  to  give  a  quick  synopsis  about  each  patient,  and  asking  engineering  students  to  write  a  
summary  about  fluid  dynamics  in  a  given  situation.  
It  is  fairly  easy  to  use  this  technique  online.  You  can  set  up  a  discussion  forum  to  collect  the  student  entries.  The  
online  environment  also  makes  it  fairly  easy  to  engage  students  in  a  peer  review  process  and  to  provide  timely  
feedback.  
When  looking  at  the  results  of  the  students’  summaries,  you  can  identify  areas  where  large  numbers  of  students  
did  not  demonstrate  an  understanding  of  the  topic  or  concept.  The  most  common  problem  area  for  students  
revolves  around  the  question  “Why?”  Figure  24.4  is  an  example  of  a  one-­sentence  summary  submitted  via  
discussion  thread.  The  instructor’s  reply  gives  suggestions  for  improvement  and  shows  the  student  how  the  
instructor  interpreted  the  sentence  components.  
   
    

My  Sentence  
by  Student  B—Friday,  2  September,  12:35  PM  
   
In  order  to  adequately  address  teaching  effectiveness  an  instructor  needs  to  use  an  effective  tool  to  
measure  specific  activities  or  deficiencies  in  student  performance  by  using  techniques  including  but  
not  limited  to:  surveys,  analysis  of  performance,  and  questionnaires.  
   
Re:  My  Sentence  
by  Instructor—Sunday,  4  September,  08:31  PM  
This  is  a  good  start.  WHEN  does  it  happen?  Keep  in  mind  that  the  process  does  not  end            with  using  
a  data  collection  tool.  There  is  analysis  of  the  process  before  the  course        begins,  and  after  collecting  
the  data.  Also,  WHERE  does  it  happen?  Is  this  online,  in  the  classroom,  or  both?  
—–  
In  order  to  adequately  address  teaching  effectiveness  [7  WHY]  an  instructor  [1  WHO]  needs  to  use  an  
effective  tool  to  measure  specific  activities  or  deficiencies  [2  DOES  WHAT]  in  student  performance  [3  
TO  WHOM]  by  using  techniques  including  but  not  limited  to:  surveys,  analysis  of  performance,  and  
questionnaires  [6  HOW]  

Figure  24.4  Example  one-­sentence  summary  student  submission  with  instructor’s  reply  

Student-­‐generated  test  questions  

Ask  students  to  create  three  to  five  test  questions  each.  Tell  them  that  you  will  use  a  certain  number  of  those  
questions  on  the  actual  test.  By  doing  this,  you  get  the  benefit  of  seeing  the  course  content  that  the  students  think  
is  important  compared  to  the  content  that  you  think  they  should  focus  on.  You  can  make  revisions  to  your  
presentations  to  address  areas  that  students  did  not  cover  in  their  questions.  If  there  are  enough  good  student  
questions  you  can  also  use  some  for  test  review  exercises.  

Conclusion  
In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  how  formal  and  informal  learning  assessments  might  be  implemented  in  
blended  courses.  We  have  focused  on  the  online  environment  of  blended  courses,  but  many  of  the  assessment  
principles  are  applicable  to  the  face-­to-­face  context  as  well.  As  we  turn  our  attention  in  the  next  chapter  to  the  
experiences  with  content  and  activities  we  design  for  students  in  blended  courses  we  need  to  remember  that  the  
content  and  activities  are  merely  a  means  to  an  end  (i.e.,  assessment  of  students’  learning)  rather  than  the  ends  
themselves.  

   
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