How to Improve Your Library Instruction: Assessment in Five

Minutes

Sarah Steiner

March 4, 2015

During Today’s Session, We Will…

• Analyze the purpose and benefits of quick assessment in one-shot instruction sessions.

• Draft learning outcomes for a session using Bloom’s Taxonomy (with an eye to the new IL framework).

• Compose assessment instruments based on our learning outcomes.

• Select appropriate assessment tools based on your instruction goals and population.

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Our Focus

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• Classroom assessment (versus programmatic or institutional)

• Fast and free assessment tools

– Polls

– Interactive exercises

– Quizzes/Questionnaires

– Minute papers & muddiest point

What Can Quick Classroom Assessment Do?

• It can identify instructional gaps or disconnects.

• It can help you determine how you spend class time.

• It can build your confidence.

• It can provide evidence of efficacy and impact.

• It should be a basis for change.

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What Should I Assess?

• To assess:– Comprehension of integral concepts

– Retention

– Achievement of learning outcomes

• Not to assess:– Your personal shortcomings

– Your speaking mistakes

– Your hairstyle

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Have you ever written learning objectives or outcomes?

• Nope, not yet.

• Yes, a few times.

• Yes, regularly.

• I’m not sure.

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Outcome Versus Objective

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Learning Outcomes

“A Learning Outcome is a statement of what the student should understand and be able to do as a result of what she has learned ... ‘the essential and enduring knowledge, abilities, and attitudes or dispositions’ that enable a learner to practice and apply her learning in the real world.”

-Valencia Community College

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A Good Learning Outcome Will…

• Identify the audience.

• Set a time frame and a context.

• Be jargon-free.

• Be measurable.

• Be action-oriented.

• Be brief.

• Be linked to learner needs.

• Be appropriately narrow.

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Determine the Class Priorities

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• Choose two to five.

– What must the students accomplish?

– What must they comprehend in order to accomplish it?

– What is likely to trip them up?

– What do they already know/find obvious?

Write the Learning Outcomes

Stem + Verb + Product/Outcome

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Stem

By the end of this class, you will be able to…

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Verb: Bloom’s Taxonomy

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Choose Verbs: Knowledge

Students will…

define, describe, identify, know, label, list, match, name, outline, recall, recognize, reproduce, select, state

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

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Choose Verbs: Comprehension

Students will…

comprehend, convert, defend, distinguish, estimate, explain, extend, generalize, give an example, infer, interpret, paraphrase, predict, rewrite, summarize, translate

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Choose Verbs: Application

Students will…

apply, change, compute, construct, demonstrate, discover, manipulate, modify, operate, predict, prepare, produce, relate, show, solve, use

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Choose Verbs: Analysis

Students will…

analyze, break down, compare, contrast, diagram, deconstruct, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, identify, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, select, separate

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Choose Verbs: Synthesis

Students will…

categorize, combine, compile, compose, create, devise, design, explain, generate, modify, organize, plan, rearrange, reconstruct, relate, reorganize, revise, rewrite, summarize, tell, write

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Choose Verbs: Evaluation

Students will…

appraise, compare, conclude, contrast, criticize, critique, defend, describe, discriminate, evaluate, explain, interpret, justify, relate, summarize, support

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Add Product or Outcome

What do they need to leave with?

• A thesis statement

• Keyword search strategies (basic or advanced)

• Understanding of the research process

• Ability to critically analyze a source

What is the context?

• A class assignment

• A real-world scenario

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All Together Now!

Stem + Verb + Product/Outcome

By the end of this class, you will have the skills to construct a usable and adaptable thesis statement for your class paper.

This session will equip you with the tools you need to critically analyze a scholarly work.

Today, we will explore methods that you can use to select the best resources for you through the article collection called PsycINFO.

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What’s Wrong Here?

Today I’ll talk about…1. The library website.

2. Database searching for peer-reviewed journals using boolean logic and the thesaurus.

3. Where you click to search the catalog,

search the databases, and place an ILL request, and every step you’ll take to accomplish these processes.

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Question Time

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Have you ever assessed student learning in class?

• Nope, not yet.

• Yes, a few times.

• Yes, regularly.

• I’m not sure.

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Today’s Assessment Tools

• Polls

• Interactive exercises

• Quizzes/questionnaires (pre and post or post only)

• Minute papers & muddiest point

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Polls

Poll Example Questions

• How many of you have had a library instruction class here before?

• Is this an article or a journal?

• Is this source peer-reviewed? / Is this source scholarly or popular?

• Who is the author of this book?

• Are you confused about topic x?

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Quizzes/Questionnaires

Questionnaire Example Questions

Questionnaire Example Questions

Questionnaire Example Questions

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Minute Papers & Muddiest Point

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Minute Paper Example Questions

Best Practices for Question Drafting

• Convert your learning outcomes to questions.

• Include three to five “meaty” questions, two or three general questions.

• Eliminate overly easy or “all of the above” answers.

• Avoid nebulous or complicated questions.

• Work in terminology to ensure it’s understood.

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Best Practices for Question Drafting

• Get a reviewer.

• If at first you don’t succeed….

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Review Responses

• On the spot? Yes!

• Look for…

• Percentage of correct answers.

• Trends in missed answers.

• What to change next time.

• Keep your chin up.

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Verbal Setup

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Question Delivery Tools

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Question Delivery Tools

• SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com

• Poll Daddy: http://polldaddy.com/

• Poll Everywhere: http://www.polleverywhere.com/

• Google Forms: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/forms/

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SurveyMonkey

PollDaddy

Poll Everywhere

Google Forms

Review

• Write learning outcomes.

• Base your questions on the outcomes and on your needs.

• Review and reflect on the answers you get.

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Thank you!

Contact me at sksteiner@wcu.edu

Other Resources• Ambrose, Susan et al. How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for

Smart Teaching. Jossey-Bass, 2010.• Bloom et al.’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain.

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/bloom.html• Clay, Ben. Is This a Trick Question? A Short Guide to Writing Effective Test

Questions. http://www.k-state.edu/ksde/alp/resources/Handout-Module6.pdf• Educational Oasis, “Framework of Learning Outcomes.”

http://www.educationoasis.com/instruction/bt/learning_objectives.htm• London Deanery, “Setting Learning Objectives.”

http://www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk/e-learning/setting-learning-objectives• Oakleaf, Megan. “A Roadmap for Assessing Student Learning Using the New

Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.” In The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 40.5, 510-514. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0099133314001451

• TheTeaching Center, “Asking Questions to Improve Learning.” http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/strategies/Pages/askingquestions.aspx#.VPXu1uHG_nM

• Utah State University Library, “Assessment.” http://library.usu.edu/instruct/assessment/index.php