February 2015

I traditionally assess whether students are reading using a 10-question multiple choice quiz per chapter.  Students asked if they could use their notes and/or books.  I allowed students in my MWF PSY230 course to use their notes/books for the quizzes while those in the T TH  section were not allowed to do so.  I kept track of how long it took students to complete the quizzes and their average quiz scores over a ten week period.

This assessment is intended as an alternative to the syllabus quiz. It is primarily for use in online and hybrid courses, but could be used in face-to-face classes that utilize Canvas. Students are required to preview each module of the course in the first week of classes. Students open each module and preview each assignment, activity and due dates within each assignment. Students then write a summary of what is required for each module. This gives students a clear picture of what will be required of them throughout the semester and first hand experience negotiating Canvas.

This is the questions I wanted to answer:

Should I spend the first day of classes demonstrating how to register for the eBook and how to navigate McGraw Hill Connect- a robust LMS- or should students watch the videos at home?

In my SPA101 hybrid class, in addition to Canvas, we use an eBook and Mc Graw Hill's Connect

Last semester, students watched video tutorials to register for the eBook.

During the second week, some students complained the LMS was too complicated and, as a result, they had missed assignments. What could I do?

Intervention background:

In my TTH hybrid class, students complete assignments every MWF. Some assignments include grammar video tutorials and questions based on the videos.  

In-class group work and HW scores told me students had mastered the use of double object pronouns.  However, students performed poorly (79.8% average) on the timed chapter exam (50 seconds per question).

In this CATS, I will attempt to assess the effectiveness of the newly created online class, MST157DB. This process will measure the students’ progress by administering a 10 question quiz in the first week of class on various key topics covered over the length of the semester. In the final week, I will once again administer the same quiz. The quizzes will be compared to ascertain if learning has indeed occurred.