Describes a feedback method for teaching interviewing skills that requires dual evaluation of a student's performance by both the student interviewer and the interviewee. Illustrates benefits of this method with an analysis of 139 paired assessments of students' information-gathering skills in a "career interview" assignment. (PD)

Uses two direct writing assignments to show that performance assessment denotes the kind of student response to be examined, whereas authentic assessment denotes assessment context. Although not all performance assessments are authentic, it is difficult to imagine an authentic assessment that would not also be a performance assessment. Educators…

The assessment of student learning in general education courses is of critical importance in higher education. This study examined the utility of a particular writing assignment, application essays, as a course assessment tool in a basic communication course. Application essays are one page compositions asking students to describe a communication…

Describes a way of making weekly typing assignments effective means of student motivation. Advantages and disadvantages of this technique are also listed. (HD)

Describes how a first-grade teacher often concludes the study of a topic with a "what we've learned chart" (which adapts paragraph frames to extend the well-known K-W-L chart) to assess student learning and provide opportunities for nonfiction writing. (SR)

Discusses problems with using tutorials for digital art assignments in higher education, including plagiarism, and suggests focusing on concept mastery and customizing assignments for better assessment. Provides three examples, including using shapes to draw a series of objects, designing a thumbnail gallery of 10 images, and creating a computer…

Suggests that, despite the expanding variety of the university population, despite diversity and challenges to the literary canon, writing assignments continue to be uninspired and outdated. Describes an "Alternative Responses to Literature" course whose aim was to open up the communal readings, the forms of response to them, and the…

Presents an evaluation method for written assignments in which students develop an evaluation checklist. (SR)

Describes how short assignments such as peer critiques, progress memos, and practice documents can be fairly assessed by incorporating them in a performance review at the middle and end of the business writing course. Notes that such a review also helps prepare students for the evaluation process they will face and use in the workplace. (SR)

Included herein is the conference proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference on the Teaching of Psychology: Ideas and Innovations, sponsored by the Psychology Department of the State University of New York at Farmingdale. The conference theme for 2013 was: The Science of Learning. The Conference featured a keynote address by Victor Benassi, Ph.D.…

In traditional programming courses assignments usually consist of problems that are somewhat closed in nature. That is, students are usually given a rigidly defined problem statement and are provided with a set of data that they are to use to test their program to produce a unique result. While this approach makes evaluation easy, it discourages…

A teacher's careful planning and administering of writing assignments can help stimulate the student's desire to write well. In planning assignments, teachers should have an overall view of the structure of the course, know what can reasonably be expected of the students, find topics close to the students' interests and experiences, encourage…

This paper discusses rubrics as models of evaluation within a constructivist learning environment. Reasons why rubrics are an appropriate way of evaluating assignments and aspects of importance that are addressed by rubrics are listed. Several World Wide Web sites to gain an understanding and knowledge base through which to further discuss rubrics…

This paper presents 10 extemporaneous presentation assignments which are designed to review, test, and give students practice on every aspect necessary to become an effective public speaker in many situations. The paper begins with a description of the introductory communication course requirements and guidelines for grading of practice…