Embedded Files
Assessments of Learning
In this section I will highlight two assessments of learning that were used in this class. The first, a literature review assignment, was previously created and my role was to help students identify topics, improve their writing, and provide students with feedback on their papers. For this first assignment, I provide my thoughts on the strengths of the assignment in its current form as well as ideas for adaptation in future courses. The second, the assessment of statistics, I created to gauge my teaching clarity as well as determine what knowledge the students were gaining.
Literature Review Assignment
Throughout the semester, students worked on a literature review. This review allowed students to engage with a topic of their choosing to pursue many of the course goals. Students submitted their drafts in several stages: first, the submitted their chosen topic for feedback and to ensure their topic was specific enough; then, students submitted a short literature review which covered three to five research articles; then, students submitted a revised literature review along with a proposed methods section; finally, students submitted a final draft of their literature review and proposed methods. At each of the steps, students had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with myself or Dr. Brady to ask questions and receive guidance.
After submitting the literature review draft (stage 2), students participated in a peer-review. For this process, each student completed three peer-reviews and received three peer-reviews on their own work. This was repeated for the literature review and methods draft (stage 3). Use of a peer-review enabled students to familiarize themselves with the iterative process of revising written work and with the publication process. It also enabled students to recognize strengths and weaknesses in their writing and in their peer's writing.
At each stage, students also received teacher feedback to help guide them in the assignment and ensure they were completing the requirements of the assignment.
Literature Review: Evidence of Learning
Below are the students' grades on the writing portion of the literature review assignment. There was modest improvement in the final draft, with the average score increasing and the minimum score decreasing.
Statistics: Pre-test and Post-test
Before the first introduction to statistics lesson, students were asked to complete the Statistics Knowledge Survey (below) so that I could gauge their knowledge on statistics and tailor the lessons so that they were appropriately informative and challenging. The survey revealed that the majority of students did not understand the concepts, so I knew that my lectures and activities needed to start at a base level.
At the end of each lesson, students were asked to write down any questions they had about the lecture that day and anything they wanted to share based on the lesson (i.e., likes/dislikes, confusing points, etc.). The purpose of this for each lesson was to determine what concepts were confusing to students after the lecture and activity. Using this feedback, I could better prepare for the next lesson by going over difficult concepts once again.
Statistics Knowledge Survey
The purpose of this survey is so that I can determine how much you already know about statistical analysis. That way, we can both make sure you get the most out of the statistics lectures and activities!
You don’t have to answer all the questions if you don’t know the answers. If you do not know the answer or what the question is asking, you can leave it blank.
What is the difference between categorical and continuous variables? Provide an example of each.
What does it mean that a variable is nominal? Ordinal? Binary? Interval? Ratio?
What is the difference between descriptive statistics and inferential statistics?
Provide examples of descriptive statistics:
Provide examples of inferential statistics:
What is the null hypothesis?
What does a p-value of p = 0.04 indicate/mean?
After the introduction to statistics unit was completed, students once again filled out the Statistics Knowledge Survey. This enabled me to determine how much information students were able to retain and synthesize. Students largely knew the difference between categorical and continuous variables, the null hypothesis, and the meaning of p-values. However, students still struggled to differentiate descriptive and inferential statistics and provide examples of each. They also had difficulty with measurement scales. Since the purpose of the introduction to statistics lessons was to familiarize students with concepts and terminology so that they can become critical consumers of research, I believe the lessons were largely successful.
Statistics: Final Exam Questions
Below are example questions for a final exam. These questions are about statistics, and cover some of what students were expected to learn from the introduction to statistics lessons.
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