We examined the correlations between students' scores on the "Inventory of Learning Processes" (Schmeck, Ribich, & Ramanaiah, 1977) and on the different assessments in a cognitive psychology course (and the total points). We determined that many of the assessments evaluated the type of learning the instructor wanted the students to…

An analysis of interviews, focus-group discussions, assessment instruments, and assignment prompts revealed that within general education, faculty assessed critical thinking as faceted using methods and criteria that varied epistemically across disciplines. Faculty approaches were misaligned with discipline-general institutional approaches.…

This article examines how to prepare professional social workers for real-world nonprofit leadership roles. A pilot course assignment that incorporates a quasi-organization fieldwork simulation developed by the author is described. Development and application of critical thinking skills are reviewed, the course objective is explained, and methods…

Linking assessment to everyday classroom instruction requires a shift in both thinking and practice. For many, the term "assessment" simply means "grade". "Using Classroom Assessment to Improve Student Learning" shows how teachers can move away from using tests, letter or numerical grades, or passing or failing as…

This article seeks to illuminate the gap between UK policy and practice in relation to the use of criteria for allocating grades. It critiques criterion-referenced grading from three perspectives. Twelve lecturers from two universities were asked to "think aloud" as they graded two written assignments. The study found that assessors made…

This paper describes a one-year introductory robotics course sequence focusing on computational aspects of robotics for third- and fourth-year students. The key challenges this curriculum addresses are "scalability," i.e., how to teach a robotics class with a limited amount of hardware to a large audience, "student assessment,"…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of blogging and portfolio keeping on a group of pre-service teachers' writing skill in a compulsory writing course at a tertiary level English language teaching (ELT) programme in Turkey. The study specifically looked into to what extent receiving feedback from course instructor and peers…

This study compares students' experiences of two types of criteria-based assessment: in-text commentary and rubric-articulated feedback, in an assessment design combining the two feedback channels. The main aim is to use students' responses to shed light on how feedback strategies for formative assessment can be optimised. Following action…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate instruction in individually mentored piano classes in nursery and kindergarten teacher training programmes. Questionnaires were developed and administered to piano class students; using the resulting data, relationships among the variables that affect student's satisfaction with piano classes and their…

The challenging of assessing formal and informal online learning at scale includes various issues. Many universities who are now promoting "Massive Online Open Courses" (MOOC), for instance, focus on relatively informal assessment of participant competence, which is not highly "quality assured". This paper reports best…

The present article focuses on in situ social comparison among junior high school students. Rather than studying social comparison as an individual phenomenon in experimental situations, which has been common in previous research, the study analyzes social comparison as a real-life social practice. The results show that the practice of social…

This study investigated the nature of self-assessment and blind peer- and teacher-assessment in L2 writing. The type of feedback students gave to themselves and peers, the type of feedback used in the revision process, and the source of the feedback used were all analyzed. Additionally, student perceptions of self- and peer-assessment, feedback,…

A WebQuest is an Internet-based and inquiry-oriented learning activity. The aim of this work is to outline the creation of a WebQuest entitled "Power Generation Plants: Steam and Gas Turbines." This is one of the topics covered in the course "Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer," which is offered in the second year of Mechanical…

Allowing students to improve their grade by revising their written work may help students learn to revise, but it gives them no incentive to turn in quality work from the start. This article proposes a way to invert the process, thereby teaching students how to revise, while enforcing a more disciplined approach to good writing. (Contains 3…

The purpose of this documentary account is twofold. First, we describe two strategic instructional assignments embedded in university courses at a large research institution in the United States that were designed to help teaching candidates move toward mastery. Second, we explicate candidates' performances on the assessments as well as evidence…