Assessment Strategies for Deeper Learning in the Active Classroom

Activate Prior Knowledge

Activating prior knowledge is a crucial strategy in the learning process, particularly in the context of deep learning or deep structured learning. When learners possess relevant prior knowledge, they can better connect new information to their existing mental frameworks, enhancing their understanding and retention. To facilitate deep learning, instructors should structure their classes in a way that encourages thoughtful engagement with the material. Encouraging students to move beyond surface-level comprehension, which involves merely absorbing information, is key. Instead, students should be challenged to explore the ‘why’and ‘how’ aspects of the subject matter, involving both declarative knowledge and lower-level skills.

By setting up learning opportunities that build upon prior knowledge, educators create an environment that fosters critical thinking and problem-solving. It is essential to understand that learning can be challenging, but that challenge is part of the growth process. Students should be encouraged to embrace a growth mindset, where they see failure as a valuable learning tool rather than a deterrent. By engaging students slightly above their comfort level, instructors can create a stimulating learning experience that motivates them to tackle new concepts with confidence and curiosity.

Mass versus Mixed Practice

Mass practice and mixed practice are two distinct approaches to teaching and learning that can significantly impact the retention and long-term understanding of the material. In mass practice teaching, the instructor focuses on presenting one topic to completion before moving on to the next. This method is characterized by concentrated and repetitive learning of a single concept until it is mastered. On the other hand, mixed practice teaching involves incorporating various strategies like spaced practice, interleaving concepts, spiraled teaching, and varied practice.

In mixed practice, spaced practice refers to distributing learning sessions over time, allowing for intervals between review sessions. Interleaving concepts involves mixing up different topics or skills within a single study session. Spiraled teaching entails repeatedly revisiting concepts that students have previously learned to reinforce their understanding. Mixed practice encourages learners to engage with the material in diverse ways, such as discussing with peers, writing about it, or blending it with other related concepts.

Research has shown that while mass practice may initially lead to higher immediate recall (around 89%), it often results in lower retention in the long run. Conversely, mixed practice might initially yield lower immediate recall (around 60%), but it offers significant benefits in the long term, with retention improving to 63% one week later (when the retention rate for mass practice dropped to 20%). The varied and distributed nature of mixed practice allows for more profound and lasting learning, as it strengthens neural connections and facilitates better memory retrieval. Therefore, mixed practice teaching is recommended as a more effective approach to enhance long-term understanding and knowledge retention.

The Danger of ‘Illusions of Knowing’

The "illusion of knowing" refers to a phenomenon where students mistakenly believe they have a strong grasp of the material because they have engaged in certain passive learning strategies like restudying or rereading. However, when it comes to applying that knowledge in exams or real-world contexts, they struggle to do so effectively or cannot transfer their understanding to new situations. This illusion is particularly common among college seniors who might have relied on such ineffective learning methods throughout their academic journey.

To counteract the illusion of knowing and promote more effective learning, instructors can employ active learning techniques. One useful approach is using iClicker questions. These questions prompt students to quiz themselves and actively engage with the material. Instead of passively reviewing the content, students are encouraged to talk about the concepts out loud, quiz themselves, or quiz others using iClicker questions. This active involvement in the learning process enhances memory consolidation and retrieval.

To truly understand how learning works in the brain, students should move beyond rote memorization and passive studying. They should actively engage with the content by discussing it, quizzing themselves, and practicing the material in different ways. By doing so, they reinforce neural connections and improve their ability to recall and apply the knowledge in various contexts. Active learning strategies foster deeper comprehension and help students overcome the illusion of knowing, leading to more successful learning outcomes.

Testing Effect

The Testing Effect studies the efficacy of varied studying and testing routines. This study considered three different studying and testing routines (in which S=Study and T=Test): SSSS, SSST, and STTT. It also considered the immediate results of these routines, versus retention rates after delayed learning.

The SSSS group demonstrated higher scores immediately after studying. However, these students did not retain the material because there was no testing to help them apply what they had studied.

In contrast, the STTT group, who only studied once and then continually tested themselves, saw the highest retention rates of the three test groups. The students in this group were able to use immediate feedback from the repeated tests to challenge themselves and apply new learnings.

A Note on Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy is a hierarchical framework that categorizes cognitive learning objectives from basic remembering to more advanced levels such as creating, evaluating, and analyzing. The taxonomy recognizes that novice learners benefit the most from low-level questions, while experienced learners thrive when challenged with higher-level thinking. To maximize students' motivation and engagement, it is essential to present them with tasks that lie just above their comfort level. When learners are pushed beyond their current abilities, they are more likely to stay motivated and actively participate in the learning process. As students become more familiar and comfortable with higher-level thinking, they naturally start asking deeper questions, signaling their progress in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The Power of the Pause

The power of the pause in teaching refers to the intentional practice of instructors incorporating brief breaks during their lectures, typically three times for two minutes each. During these pauses, students are encouraged to engage in various activities such as thinking, discussing with peers, sharing notes, or answering clicker questions. Research has shown that implementing these pauses can lead to a significant increase in students' learning, up to 30% more. The brain is a complex organ that makes connections in multiple ways. While activities and exercises are essential for reinforcing knowledge, the real learning happens during moments of reflection and thinking. These pauses provide valuable time for students to process the information they have received, make connections with prior knowledge, and interpret the material on a deeper level.

Tips for Using iClicker for Assessment

Summative Assessment Strategies Using iClicker

Within iClicker, teachers have various options for using summative assessments to evaluate student learning. Summative assessments are employed at the end of a project, unit, course, or semester to gauge students' knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities. iClicker supports different types of summative assessments, including constructed response, products, performances, and process-focused assessments.

Process-focused assessments involve high-level multiple-choice questions that require students to synthesize information from class studies to understand and interpret the question. This type of assessment tests the content understanding rather than just reading ability. Similarly, performance-based assessments present high-level multiple-choice questions with scenarios as options. Students must sort through the terms in the scenarios to choose the appropriate answer. Practice with these questions is recommended before using them for high-stakes evaluations, as they may require more time and effort from students.

Turning "why" questions into multiple-choice format involves providing four possible options for the "why" aspect, and students must select the most appropriate one. Novice learners may need additional practice with these high-level multiple-choice questions.

Interpreting cause and effect is another form of summative assessment that requires students to think through in-class exercises and apply their knowledge to answer. This type of assessment often requires spiraling, which involves repeatedly returning to concepts students have previously learned.

For product-based summative assessments include lab reports, portfolios, display boards, spreadsheets, and audio/video projects. In these assessments, students showcase their understanding by presenting their work or research findings, and they may need to infer and synthesize the information they have learned.

Formative Assessment Strategies Using iClicker

Often referred to as a “check for understanding,” formative assessments are quicker and take place throughout or within instruction. These assessments serve to identify gaps in student understanding that might be impeding their progress or processing of material. Formative assessments also help students to self-identify their own level of understanding or sort through “illusions of knowing” . These assessments are an opportunity to discuss misconceptions or add-on to students preconceived understandings.

Common formative assessments that can be administered as a quick, mid-lesson check-for-understanding include:

• Thumbs up/Thumbs down: “Do you understand what we just discussed?”

• Fist to Five: Students hold up fingers from 1-5 to demonstrate their comfort level with the material.

• Can you provide the best example/non-example of what we discussed?

• Name 2 things you learned today/yesterday/etc.

iClicker is a great tool to engage the whole class in a quick check-for-understanding.

• This could be processed-focused; for example, “name one method/tool you are planning on using in the lab today.”

• Or, it could be used to ask students to solve a problem, evaluate a claim, develop a case study, etc.

Other examples of 5-minute formative assessments that can be conducted in iClicker include:

Red-Yellow-Green (to demonstrate comfort level):

• Q: Do you think you could define (concept)?

• Q: Do you think you could explain (concept) to your peers?

3-2-1

• 3 things you learned; 2 things that surprised you; 1 question you still have (are curious about)

One minute “family”:

• Main point; most surprising concept or detail; most confusing part of class; one word summary; one sentence summary

• Ranking questions: which of the following items is needed most for success during this exercise? Why?

• Where is the error? (find the common error from previous students)

Section Nine Header

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Maecenas imperdiet lorem vel orci accumsan tristique. Maecenas a molestie lacus. Pellentesque sit amet mauris luctus, consectetur neque quis, porttitor nisl. Pellentesque vel varius neque, sed mollis turpis. Pellentesque tortor neque, iaculis non euismod vel, venenatis ut nunc. Duis rutrum turpis lacinia turpis porttitor, ut faucibus lorem pharetra. Nullam fermentum, ligula sed commodo scelerisque, mi ipsum fermentum nisi, semper rhoncus odio ex ac purus. Aliquam ex nisl, pellentesque ac sapien luctus, venenatis dictum est. Phasellus sem justo, sagittis id elementum ut, suscipit sed risus. Fusce accumsan ex porttitor eros efficitur, ut dictum magna rhoncus. Aliquam at efficitur arcu. Nunc ut nunc placerat, feugiat ex a, accumsan purus.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer condimentum euismod enim in rutrum. Integer ut neque est. In vehicula facilisis tellus, id dignissim nibh aliquet quis. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Morbi cursus massa tellus, et pretium erat fermentum id. Curabitur ac erat sed lorem pharetra semper nec a massa. Quisque neque purus, aliquam vel varius blandit, suscipit et nisl. Phasellus faucibus hendrerit quam et venenatis. Rhoncus dapibus placerat quis, accumsan cursus massa. Curabitur massa neque, sodales et interdum non, aliquet eu erat.

Maecenas imperdiet lorem vel orci accumsan tristique. Maecenas a molestie lacus. Pellentesque sit amet mauris luctus, consectetur neque quis, porttitor nisl. Pellentesque vel varius neque, sed mollis turpis. Pellentesque tortor neque, iaculis non euismod vel, venenatis ut nunc. Duis rutrum turpis lacinia turpis porttitor, ut faucibus lorem pharetra. Nullam fermentum, ligula sed commodo scelerisque, mi ipsum fermentum nisi, semper rhoncus odio ex ac purus. Aliquam ex nisl, pellentesque ac sapien luctus, venenatis dictum est. Phasellus sem justo, sagittis id elementum ut, suscipit sed risus. Fusce accumsan ex porttitor eros efficitur, ut dictum magna rhoncus. Aliquam at efficitur arcu. Nunc ut nunc placerat, feugiat ex a, accumsan purus.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer condimentum euismod enim in rutrum. Integer ut neque est. In vehicula facilisis tellus, id dignissim nibh aliquet quis. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Morbi cursus massa tellus, et pretium erat fermentum id. Curabitur ac erat sed lorem pharetra semper nec a massa. Quisque neque purus, aliquam vel varius blandit, suscipit et nisl. Phasellus faucibus hendrerit quam et venenatis. Vestibulum neque dolor, rhoncus dapibus placerat quis, accumsan cursus massa. Curabitur massa neque, sodales et interdum non, aliquet eu erat.

Maecenas imperdiet lorem vel orci accumsan tristique. Maecenas a molestie lacus. Pellentesque sit amet mauris luctus, consectetur neque quis, porttitor nisl. Pellentesque vel varius neque, sed mollis turpis. Pellentesque tortor neque, iaculis non euismod vel, venenatis ut nunc. Duis rutrum turpis lacinia turpis porttitor, ut faucibus lorem pharetra. Nullam fermentum, ligula sed commodo scelerisque, mi ipsum fermentum nisi, semper rhoncus odio ex ac purus. Aliquam ex nisl, pellentesque ac sapien luctus, venenatis dictum est. Phasellus sem justo, sagittis id elementum ut, suscipit sed risus. Fusce accumsan ex porttitor eros efficitur, ut dictum magna rhoncus. Aliquam at efficitur arcu. Nunc ut nunc placerat, feugiat ex a, accumsan purus.