Formative Assessment: Video vs. Written Reflection Effectiveness

As effective teachers, we must recognize that students are gifted with a variety of intelligences.  In fact, Dr. Howard Gardner has identified eight distinct intelligences.  Unfortunately, all too often we structure our formal assessments to allow for students to utilize very few of these intelligences in assessing student learning.  The following experiment will allow for the comparison of multiple forms of intelligence in formative assessment. 

This formative assessment will attempt to compare the effectiveness of two reflection methodologies in students’ learning and readiness in the study of victimology to prepare for the final semester examination.  Students in group A will write four reflection papers throughout the semester answering the following questions in preparation for the final exam.  Students in group B will create four video reflections throughout the semester answering the same questions.  After the final examination, test scores from both groups will be compared to determine the effectiveness of each reflection methodology.  Results will be evaluated over two semesters.