Prompt Feedback
Faculty assist students in frequently assessing their knowledge and competence while providing them with opportunities to practice, receive suggestions, and reflect on their learning.
Formative Feedback
- Feedback as an Example of Teaching Presence - UC Davis Canvas article with examples about Teaching Presence
- Improving Feedback to Students in Online Courses - Nursing Education Perspectives, Bonnel, W., 29(5), (2008).
- The Challenge of Providing High-Quality Feedback Online: Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement in an Online Course for Adult Learners - The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship & Pedagogy, Hodge, E., Chenelle, S. 28(2), (2018).
Alternative Assessments
- Seven Ways to Assess Students Online and Minimize Cheating - from the author of the excellent book, Small Teaching Online
- Five Guidelines for Developing Good Online Assessments - a helpful overview of both the design elements of assessments and the advantages/disadvantages of various formats
- Tips for Remote Exams and Alternative Assessments - detailed guide from Rutgers University with sections on exam alternatives and special advice for open-book assessment in quantitative courses
- Revitalizing Classes Through Oral Exams - practical suggestions for the virtual classroom
- One Educator's Rationale for Student Self-Assessments by Laura Ross, Maryville University. The Scholarly Teacher Blog Post, 2020.
Online Exams & Academic Integrity
- Ask better questions
- Probe higher order thinking: explain, analyze, evaluate (Examples of Critical Thinking Question Stems, PDF Guidebook, p. 52-55)
- Vary question formats
- Use terms and examples that aren't as easy to Google as those found in textbook test bank questions
- Talk to students about academic integrity (Pew FTLC resources)
- Optimize features of Blackboard Tests, Surveys, and Pools tool
- First question on a test/quiz: an I AGREE statement about upholding academic integrity
- Use a variety of question types (17 different types)
- Set a time window of test availability as well as a timer (can be individualized for students needing accommodation)
- Randomize order, pull from question pools
- Display one question at a time
- Limit feedback displayed to students (correct answers, etc)
- Practice online assessments–helps you and your students
- Best Practices for Offering Exams Online - practical suggestions from Kansas State University
- Best Ways to Stop Cheating in Online Courses? Teach Better - Hear me out and click through to view the wonderful list of ten ideas, “small, scalable changes for improving academic integrity”
- Fourteen Simple Strategies to Reduce Cheating in Online Exams - succinct, tactical suggestions
Online Proctoring Applications
- Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor, Teaching with Technology Support
- Before implementing applications such as Respondus or Zoom to monitor students, carefully weigh the criticisms and concerns around equity, exacerbation of test anxiety, increased cognitive load of learning to take exams in new ways, as well as student privacy. See, for example:
- Inside Higher Ed, May 11, 2020
- The Science of Learning vs. Proctoring Software, Joshua Eyler blog post, October 2, 2020