Category: Assessment Implementation

Deliver assessments with purpose and precision to honour their intended goals.

Scaffolding: An Overview

Reading Time: 6 minutesBy Dr. Ada Sharpe, Dr. David Baidoo-Anu, and Dr. Monsurat Raji. Defining scaffolding  In education, “scaffolding” refers to the use of assessments and instructional strategies to progressively build students’ capacity in completing a task. A scaffolded approach provides structure to increase the complexity of learning tasks over time while reducing the amount of support provided to the learner. Such an...

Fostering Positive Conceptions of Assessment Among Students

Reading Time: 8 minutesThe way students perceive assessments can significantly influence their engagement and overall experience in your course (Barnes et al, 2017). For many, assessments are seen as judgments of their worth rather than opportunities to improve their learning (Baidoo-Anu, 2023; Brown & Hirschfeld, 2008). How often have you observed students becoming disengaged or unmotivated as assessments approach? Now, imagine the possibility...

Practicing Student-Centered Assessments in Contemporary Classrooms 

Reading Time: 4 minutesContemporary classroom assessment emphasizes ongoing feedback, student involvement, and diverse assessment methods to enhance learning outcomes. It reflects a shift from traditional testing and grading to more holistic, student-centered approaches catering to diverse student demographics.  Research suggests a connection between faculty’s past assessment experiences and how they implement assessments and evaluate students in contemporary classrooms (Brown et al., 2019). For...

Designing and Implementing Socio-Culturally Responsive and Equitable Classroom Assessments 

Reading Time: 5 minutesThis post was co-authored by Dr. David Baidoo-Anu and Dr. Monsurat Raji, Assessment of Learning Consultants. Given the increased diversities in our classrooms today, student assessment should recognize and value the unique perspectives and experiences of all students and help them demonstrate their learning in a more meaningful way. Therefore, instead of accommodating assessment to meet the specific needs of...

What Did I Do Wrong? What Academic Integrity Means to the International Students

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Dr. Nasreen Sultana, Teaching & Learning Consultant While no study indicates that international students plagiarize more frequently, there are worries that these students might be at a greater risk of committing plagiarism (Valentine, 2006). International students may often need to realize what makes a work plagiarized. For example, Sanni-Anibire et al.’s (2021) research in the Canadian post-secondary context noted...

In-Person Proctoring How-To’s

Reading Time: 4 minutesIn-class proctored tests and exams offer the opportunity to measure student learning in the moment, under observation. These types of assessments can also present you with challenges in upholding integrity and can cause uncertainty in responding in the moment if you suspect a student has cheated. In this Hub post, we will explore best practices for in-class proctoring of tests...

Pre-Assessments in Lesson Planning

Reading Time: 2 minutesWondering what students already know about a topic and how this informs our lesson planning? This post will provide a short explanation as to why pre-assessments are important in lesson planning and examples you can try with your students. Pre-Assessments are included in lesson planning for several reasons, these include guiding your lesson in finding out what students know about...

Uses of Student Work: What You Can and Cannot Do

Reading Time: 2 minutesStudents have intellectual rights under Canadian copyright law to the work they create during their post-secondary education. They also have privacy rights that mean student work cannot be used or shared without their permission. You cannot submit student work to any internal or external technology without a student’s express permission. Likewise, you cannot use student work – excerpts or in...

Peer Feedback: Grading Tool vs. Assessment Tool  

Reading Time: 3 minutesPeer feedback is a powerful classroom assessment tool that you can leverage to support students’ learning (Patchan et al, 2015; Yu & Schunn, 2023). Particularly if your goal is to shift towards a more student-centered teaching approach. Are you interested in learning more about peer feedback? Consider reading these Faculty Learning Hub posts:  Post 1: Planning and Facilitating Effective Peer...

Leveraging Peer Feedback as a Learning Tool

Reading Time: 4 minutesPeer feedback or review refers to a process where students review and make judgements about the work of their peers (Nicole et al., 2014). During peer feedback or review activities, students have the opportunity to both give and receive feedback on work in progress. Peer feedback can be a valuable classroom assessment strategy if you are aiming to integrate more...

Using Exemplars to Support Student Success with Assessments

Reading Time: 3 minutesExemplars are “carefully chosen samples of student work which are used to illustrate dimensions of quality and to clarify assessment expectations” (Carless & Chan, 2017, p. 1). Exemplars can help students increase their understanding of the skills, content, or knowledge and internalize established criteria or standards (Sadler, 2010). Particularly, through exemplars, your students can get a clear idea of the...

The Optional Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Assessments 

Reading Time: 3 minutesAre you considering inviting students to use generative artificial intelligence (genAI) in completing an assessment in your course? Is knowledge of genAI required for workplace preparation in your industry? Do you want students to learn about the ethical and critical use of genAI platforms? This post walks you through some of the questions you will need to consider in integrating...

Proctoring Technologies for Test & Exams

Reading Time: 3 minutesEffective test and exam proctoring is an important part of the work that we do as faculty to ensure integrity and create supportive spaces for students to participate in assessments. This guide will provide you with strategies and considerations for the use of technology in support of proctoring practices across the various modes of delivery at Conestoga. For courses taught...