COVID-19 and increased attention to how institutions of higher education (IHEs) serve an increasingly diverse student population have brought conversations about “standard” practices from the margins to the center as faculty explore how to improve learning and student success for all students. Historically, IHEs were built by a privileged class for a privileged class, a system, and structure built on specific epistemologies, practices, and habits of mind and language that replicate privilege and leave many students underserved in their academic pursuits. One way faculty have increased equity in their college classrooms is through the use of alternative assessment (alt-assessment) practices. This volume aims to share the experiences of faculty who have leveraged “non-traditional” grading paradigms for the sake of increasing student learning, a sense of belonging, and equity in their classrooms. Meant to orient faculty who are considering how to implement alt-assessment in their own classes as well as those who are already employing various grading frameworks, this volume will celebrate new and innovative approaches, share lessons learned, and invite a broader coalition of faculty into the stream of conversation about pedagogical innovation. Faculty, educators, and practitioners share their approaches to alternate assessment in this volume, as well as the critiques, lessons, and outcomes associated with their pedagogical decisions. Written by practitioners for practitioners, we hope the book will provide theoretical and practical guidance for alternative assessment practices such as ungrading, contract grading, standards-based grading, and labor-based grading across various disciplines and within different academic contexts.

The grading process can yield rich information about student learning. Effective Grading enables faculty to go beyond using grades as isolated artifacts and helps them make classroom grading processes more fair, time-efficient, and conducive to learning. Classroom assessment of student learning can then contribute to departmental and general-education assessment in ways that meet the needs of institutions and accrediting agencies. Tailored to specific needs of faculty members who seek to make grading a valuable part of student learning and motivation, Effective Grading balances assessment theory and hands-on advice. It offers an in-depth examination of the link between teaching and grading and provides concrete guidance on such critical steps as setting and communicating grading standards, developing assignments to grade, managing time spent on grading, and providing feedback for students.

Lessons from the Virtual Classroom, Second Edition The second edition of the classic resource Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom offers a comprehensive reference for faculty to hone their skills in becoming more effective online instructors. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect recent changes and challenges that face online teachers, Lessons from the Virtual Classroom is filled with illustrative examples from actual online courses as well as helpful insights from teachers and students. This essential guide offers targeted suggestions for dealing with such critical issues as evaluating effective courseware, working with online classroom dynamics, addressing the needs of the online student, making the transition to online teaching, and promoting the development of the learning community. Praise for Lessons from the Virtual Classroom, Second Edition "Palloff and Pratt demonstrate their exceptional practical experience and insight into the online classroom. This is an invaluable resource for those tasked with creating an online course." — D. Randy Garrison, professor, University of Calgary, and author, Blended Learning in Higher Education: Framework, Principles, and Guidelines "Faculty will deeply appreciate and make use of the many explicit examples of how to design, prepare, and teach both blended and fully online courses." — Judith V. Boettcher, faculty coach and author, The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips "Lessons from the Virtual Classroom is filled with insightful caveats and recommendations, pointed examples to enhance your practice, succinct summaries of the research, and engaging visual overviews. Each page brings the reader a renewed sense of confidence to teach online as well as personal joy that there is finally a resource to find the answers one is seeking." — Curtis J. Bonk, professor of education, Indiana University-Bloomington, and author, Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing

Both educators and their students are involved in the process of assessment – all parties are expected to meet and exceed expectations in the face of competing conditions. New practices are being developed to enhance students’ participation, especially in their own assessment, be it though peer-review, reflective assessment, the introduction of new technologies, or other novel solutions. Though widely researched, few have measured these innovations’ effectiveness in terms of satisfaction, perceived learning, or performance improvements. Innovative Practices for Higher Education Assessment and Measurement bridges the gap between political discourse, theoretical approach, and teaching practices in terms of assessment in higher education. Bringing new insights and presenting novel strategies, this publication brings forth a new perception of the importance of assessment and offers a set of successful, innovative practices. This book is ideal for educators, administrators, policy makers, and students of education.

Assessment has provided educational institutions with information about student learning outcomes and the quality of education for many decades. But has it informed practice and been fully incorporated into the learning cycle? Conrad and Openo argue that the potential inherent in many of the new learning environments being explored by educators and students has not been fully realized. In this investigation of a variety of assessment methods and learning approaches, the authors aim to discover the tools that engage learners and authentically evaluate education. They insist that moving to new learning environments, specifically those online and at a distance, afford opportunities for educators to adopt only the best practices of traditional face-to-face assessment while exploring evaluation tools made available by a digital learning environment in the hopes of arriving at methods that capture the widest set of learner skills and attributes.

It is impossible to control another person’s motivation. But much of the instructor’s job involves stimulating learner motivation, and learning environments should ideally be designed toward this goal. Motivational Design for Learning and Performance introduces readers to the core concepts of motivation and motivational design and applies this knowledge to the design process in a systematic step-by-step format. The ARCS model—theoretically robust, rooted in best practices, and adaptable to a variety of practical uses—forms the basis of this problem-solving approach. Separate chapters cover each component of the model—attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction—and offer strategies for promoting each one in learners. From there, the motivational design process is explained in detail, supplemented by real-world examples and ready-to-use worksheets. The methods are applied to traditional and alternative settings, including gifted classes, elementary grades, self-directed learning, and corporate training. And the book is geared toward the non-specialist reader, making it accessible to those without a psychology or teaching background. With this guide, the reader learns how to: Identify motivation problems and goals Decide whether the environment or the learners need changing Generate attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction in learners Integrate motivational design and instructional design Select, develop, and evaluate motivational materials Plus a wealth of tables, worksheets, measures, and other valuable tools aid in the design process Comprehensive and enlightening, Motivational Design for Learning and Performance furnishes an eminently practical body of knowledge to researchers and professionals in performance technology and instructional design as well as educational psychologists, teachers and trainers.

Faculty, educators, and practitioners share their approaches to alternate assessment in this volume.

Teachers spend much of their time on assessment, yet many higher education teachers have received minimal guidance on assessment design and marking. This means assessment can often be a source of stress and frustration. Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education aims to solve these problems. Offering a concise overview of assessment theory and practice, this guide provides teachers with the help they need.

A comprehensive, nontechnical, engaging, look at how assessment is used to improve student learning and motivation. Drawing on recent research and new directions in the field, this concise, engaging book shows teachers how to use classroom assessment effectively for improving student learning and motivation. Key strategies and techniques are demonstrated through practical, realistic examples, suggestions, and case studies. The new edition emphasizes formative assessment and includes more in-depth coverage of self-assessment, the impact of standards-based accountability testing, 21st century knowledge, dispositions and skills, technology-enhanced items, and assessment of culturally diverse students. Each chapter provides aids to help readers learn and practice the skills of that chapter, including new Teacher Corners features illustrating actual teachers’ thinking about classroom assessment, introductory case studies, chapter concept maps, new figures, suggestions for action research, self-instructional review exercises, and links to digital resources. Also available with MyLab Education Designed to bring learners more directly into the world of K-12 classrooms and to help them see the real and powerful impact of the assessment concepts covered in this book, MyLab™ Education provides practice using classroom assessment concepts in teaching situations, helps students and instructors see how well students understand the content, and helps students more deeply process assessment concepts and strategies and also better understand how to use those concepts as a teacher. The online resources in this MyLab include: Video Examples. Throughout the eText, embedded videos provide illustrations of sound assessment practices in action. Self-Check Assessments. Throughout the chapters, students will find self-check quizzes that help assess how well students have mastered chapter learning outcomes. The quizzes consist of self-grading multiple choice items that provide rationales, both for questions answered correctly and for questions answered incorrectly. Application Exercises. These scaffolded exercises, tied to learning outcomes, challenge learners to reflect on assessment and to apply what they have learned to real classroom assessment work. MyLab Education includes the Pearson eText version of the book. Note: This is the standalone ISBN and does not include access to MyLab Education. To order MyLab Education plus the book, use ISBN 0134522087.

Achievement assessment has undergone a major shift, from what some call a `culture of testing' to a `culture of assessment'. Nowadays, a strong emphasis is placed on the integration of assessment and instruction, on assessing processes rather than just products, and on evaluating individual progress relative to each student's starting point. This book addresses assessment issues in light of the present state of affairs. The first part discusses new alternatives in the assessment of achievement in various subject areas, focusing on agenda, practice, impact and evaluation of the assessment. The second part deals with issues related to assessment of the learning process, specifically: questions concerning the assessment of individual differences in prior knowledge, learning skills and strategies.