Webinars and talks
There have been several national calls in the US to increase critical thinking in college classrooms, particularly in science classrooms. Despite improving the cognitive level in instruction and classroom activities, assessments are often poorly constructed and measure low-level cognitive skills, emphasizing memorization. In 2018, HHMI BioInteractive partnered with several biology faculty and the book’s authors, The College Instructor’s Guide to Writing Test Items: Measuring Student Learning to situate these evidence-based practices in the biology context. Since 2019, BioInteractive has provided professional development opportunities around Backward Design and assessment writing and design. In 2022, BioInteractive will be launching the tool Assessment Builder to support faculty and highlight exemplar items submitted by the community.
Learning objectives and assessment items should address the field’s breadth of complexity, and thinking skills and instructional learning objectives should convey what a student will do as a result of instruction. This session will highlight the importance of communicating clear, well-written learning objectives with your students and aligning them to assessment items. We will share our learnings over the last three years and tools to take back to your classroom to improve your articulation of expectations to students and your ability to assess students fairly.
Professor, Collin College, Plano Texas. Rebecca teaches introductory biology for science majors. She has a passion for investigating strategies that result in more effective learning and retention and is a certified Team-Based Learning Collaborative Trainer Consultant. She is a co-author of Campbell Biology and Campbell Biology in Focus and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) BioInteractive Ambassador.
Co-director Educational Equity Resource Center, Campbell Leadership Chair, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota. Michael is the founding co-director of the Educational Equity Resource Center and the Campbell Leadership Chair in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. His is co-author of The College Instructor’s Guide to Writing Test Items: Measuring Student Learning. Michael’s research focuses on understanding the psychometric properties of tests, including the effects of item formats and the use of constructed-response versus multiple-choice items and issues related to improving accessibility of assessment of students with disabilities and English language learners.