Q: Are skill standards-based assignments and assessments special?
A: Yes! Standardized testing is helpful for diagnosing a student's ability to perform a discrete skill or recall discrete information. Because the skill standards in question here are industry skill standards, the kinds of assignments and assessments need to be able to measure more "real world" skills such as problem solving, working in teams, and planning and implementing projects. In order to teach and assess such skills, new kinds of assignments and assessments that focus on these skills, in addition to content, need to be devised. Skill standards-based activities require students to apply what they have learned to new situations. Scenario-based assignments, project-based activities and team learning help teach these skills. Rubrics help assess them. Skill standards-based assignments and assessments are more authentic and utilize alternative assessment methods.
Of course, well structured assignments share more than being skill standards-based and real world-focused. Characteristics that all well structured assignments exhibit can be viewed in this list of characteristics that we've developed, along with an example of how one faculty member chose to tailor that list.
Q: Why should I do these kinds of assignments?
A: To prepare your students for successful future employment! Once you've interviewed industry and you've looked at the market trends for jobs in IT, you recognize that the traditional models of teaching and learning are no longer a good fit for the kinds of work that your students will have to do once they graduate. Take a look at Step 8 of the curriculum development toolkit for resources and reading on how the world of work has shifted. There is currently a paradigm shift occurring in the world of IT work specifically and it is heavily impacting how IT workers work and what they do.
Q: How do I design assignments that address skill-based learning?
A: Taking the time to think through the design of an assignment will help ensure it accomplishes the learning goals you want students to master. Designing assignments requires defining the goals, context, content, teaching method and how the assignment will be assessed. As you work on designing an assignment, ask yourself the following questions:
Goals: What do you want the assignment to accomplish? What specifically do you want your students to know and/or be able to do after completing the work?
Context: What pre-requisite knowledge must students have to successfully complete the assignment. How will attainment of the assignment objectives be measured? How does the assignment align with the students' interests, abilities and expectations concerning the course and the assignments given? How much time should it take to teach and complete the assignment? What might go wrong or be misunderstand about the purpose and content of the assignment? How does the assignment address different learning styles?
Content: At what level of Bloom's Taxonomy (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis or evaluation) is the assignment designed? Does the assignment provide reality-based, problem-solving by students? Does the assignment create connections between disciplines or real-world applications? Does the assignment provide age-appropriate content? Does the assignment clearly state the directions, expectations and desired outcomes or products?
Method: What teaching method is most appropriate for this assignment? Will students work alone or in groups? How will groups be selected and evaluated? How can students get help? Will students be able to see examples of complete work as a guideline?
Assessment: What type of assessment(s) will best measure what students should have learned or be able to demonstrate? Will feedback be given throughout the assignment or only at the end? How will the assignment be graded or evaluated. Will students have an opportunity for self-evaluation or to re-do the assignment to improve their grade?
Adapted from:
<http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infotrac/tips/cd_questions.pdf>
Q: How long should it take me to design skill standards-based assignments and assessments?
A: Moving from traditional pencil and paper assessments to skill standards-based assessments takes time. Choose a few simple assignments to start. Evaluate student achievement against the written skills and objectives. Gradually rework your current assessments. Keep in mind that skill assessment is an ongoing process.
Q: How do I effectively assess assignments that go beyond the simple right and wrong answer or multiple choice test?
A: Assessing the assignment is often as complex as designing the assignment. To help out with this process, we've developed a list of some excellent resources on how to design assessments for performance tasks - access it here. Make sure you know the answers to these two key questions about rubrics: For what kind of assessment do you use a rubric? What are the key features of a good rubric?
Resources:
- Explore web tools to help you make rubrics.
- Visit the tips on making rubrics from scratch.
- Another excellent resource on designing complex performance assignments and assessments is the book, Performance Standards and Authentic Learning by Allan A. Glatthorn and published by Eye on Education, 1999. This publisher offers a number of texts on designing rubrics for a variety of content areas in the K-12 space.
- Here's a resource on Redefining Assessment, by Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Ed.D, that describes the process of adding student performance assessment to traditional standardized testing assessments to achieve a more comprehensive picture of student learning.
It can be difficult to imagine how a rubric would apply to an assignment in a networking course, so we've developed a
sample assignment and
assessment rubric to consider.
Q: Are there any good textbooks that have already done this work for me?
A: No, however the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges has developed an excellent set of resources to help professional and technical college instructors in developing standards based assignments and assignments. You can view these resources online in the Curriculum Guide for Professional-Technical College Instructors. See Courses 2 and 4 for specific applications.
You can also get professional training and ideas from the Case Files, a website resource for real-world, scenario-based teaching.
