Eating an Elephant

One Bite at a Time

This week we look at two methods that act as an assessment tool in a more micro-cosmic way. The instructor gets feedback from the students at the end of a lesson or class period and is then able to alter his or her approach to insure that students are learning and retaining the material they need most.

The "One Minute Paper" - This is a highly effective technique for checking student progress, both in understanding the material and in reacting to course material. Ask students to take out a blank sheet of paper, pose a question (either specific or open-ended), and give them one (or perhaps two - but not many more) minutes to respond. Another good use of the minute paper is to ask questions like "What was the main point of today's class material?" This tells you whether or not the students are viewing the material in the way you envisioned. (Angelo and Cross. 1993.)

Muddiest (or Clearest) Point - This is a variation on the one-minute paper, though you may wish to give students a slightly longer time period to answer the question. Here you ask (at the end of a class period, or at a natural break in the presentation), "What was the "muddiest point" in today's lecture?" or, perhaps, you might be more specific, asking, for example: "What (if anything) do you find unclear about the concept of 'inertia?" (Angelo and Cross. 1993.)

If you have time and don't want to wait for the next bite, you can find the rest of the toolbox in myOzarka under the "Ozarka Resources" tab.

Or you can follow this link:

http://www.ozarka.edu/files/resources/teachingtoolbox.doc

I will be posting each section in the Student Success Center Blog. So if you are interested in checking out "back bites," you can find them there.

Or you can follow this link:
http://www.ozarka.edu/blogs/success/index.cfm/Weekly-Postings-for-Faculty-

Hope you enjoyed it.