Sara D. Miller

September 12, 2013

Mich igan State Univers i ty L ibrar ies

Ar t o f L ia ison, Inst ruct ion , and Se lect ion Ser ies

CLASSROOM

ASSESSMENT

TECHNIQUES:

CATS

“The quality of student learning is directly, although not

exclusively, related to the quality of teaching. Therefore, one

of the most promising ways to improve learning is to improve

teaching.”

-An g e lo a n d C ro ss , p . 7

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS FOR CATS:

NO, NOT THAT KIND OF CAT.

“Classroom assessment helps individual college teachers

obtain useful feedback on what, how much, and how well their

students are learning. Faculty can then use this information to

refocus their teaching to help students make their learning

more efficient and more effective.”

-Angelo & Cross, p.3

SO, WHY THEN EXACTLY?

Learner-centered

Teacher-directed

Mutually beneficial

Formative

Context-specific

Ongoing

Rooted in good teaching practice

- Angelo & Cross

CHARACTERISTICS OF CATS

Skills:

Can students identify and locate things, such as a specific database

or book in the stacks, or identify appropriate uses for different types

of information?

Are they confused about how to do anything?

What skills do they bring with them to class?

Attitudes:

Do they feel comfortable contacting a librarian?

How confident are they about using what they’ve learned?

What preconceptions do they bring with them to class?

WHAT CAN CATS TELL YOU ABOUT

LEARNING?

Reactions:

Do students think the session was helpful?

What would they have preferred to be different?

How could the instructor be clearer?

Is there something that students want to know more about?

WHAT CAN CATS TELL YOU ABOUT

TEACHING?

CATs can’t tell the future:

if students…

are actually locating or using sources effectively for their class

project (this is summative assessment)

will come back to or use the library after the session

have developed critical thinking skills that will stay with them for a

lifetime

will become library donors, or even informed, responsible citizens

Localized vs. generalized assessment:

If you are the most amazing teacher in the library – or the opposite

If all freshmen are clueless about the library – or not

Data are for informing, not proving!

WHAT CAN’T CATS TELL YOU?

Your teaching or student learning?

It’s possible to do both; easier to focus on one at a time.

SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

To assess learning, you’ll need a learning outcome.

What you want students to be able to do as a result of the

session? Think specifically.

Example: As a result of this session, students will be able to

identify characteristics of a scholarly article.

How will you be able to tell that they are able to do this?

That’s a job for a CAT.

ASSESSING LEARNING

How many students have had previous library instruction, used a

specific tool, or worked on this type of project/assignment before?

Which one is a primary source? Scholarly article?

What are characteristics you’d look for in trying to determine if a

source is a good fit for your assignment?

What kinds of materials are available in the library catalog?

Find (a type of source), in a group. Explain how you found it, what

your thought processes were in searching, and why it stood out to

your group.

Do you usually write your paper first and find sources later, find all of

your sources first and then write, or go back and forth between

searching and writing?

Put together the parts of this citation in correct order.

MEASURING SKILLS: QUESTIONS

Techniques:

Polling: Hand raising or anonymous

Written responses

Word problem: You’ve been asked to find information on a specific way

that advertising has impacted culture. What keywords, besides advertising

and culture, would you use to search for information? How would you find

more keywords?

Misconception/Preconception Poll (anonymous)

“Human Tableau” (Citation Chain)

Process Analysis: “showing your work.”

Grid to fill out: Tool names by types of info, or genre by

characteristics (i.e. pop/schol)

MEASURING SKILLS: CATS

CAT Tools:

Group or individual worksheets or outlines – You can collect these!

Poll software – use real time for in-class results

Concept map

Demonstration and discussion (keep written record, or look at

browser history on demo computer)

The whiteboard or the monitor

Double Duty/Active Learning Bonuses

MEASURING SKILLS: TOOLS

What is your top concern or question about using this resource?

How confident are you that you’ll be able to find the sources that you

need for this assignment?

What part of your research assignment do you think wil l be the

most dif ficult?

In one word, how would you describe the library?

What are the reasons why you are inclined to choose one source over

another?

In your opinion, what would you say is the main purpose of the

library?

MEASURING ATTITUDES: QUESTIONS

Techniques:

Ranking

Pro/Con Grid or list (for perceived appropriateness of use for different sources, or approaches to searching)

Opinion Polls

Chain Notes

Tools:

Polling software

Hand-raising

Fill out grid as a class (on board/computer) or in groups/individually (worksheets)

Index cards and envelope

Double Duty/Active Learning Bonuses

MEASURING ATTITUDES:

CATS AND TOOLS

What was the most helpful/unhelpful part of today’s session?

In what area would you like more instruction or help?

What was the “muddiest point” of today’s session?

During the session today, do that feel that you learned the most from

a) the group activity

b) searching on your own,

c) the librarian’s presentation

d) class discussion

What do you think the instructor should do differently?

MEASURING REACTIONS: QUESTIONS

Techniques:

Instructor-Designed Feedback

Minute Paper/Muddiest Point

One-Sentence (or one word, five words, etc) Summary

Tools:

Polls

minute paper

feedback form

Double Duty/Active Learning Bonuses:

MEASURING REACTIONS:

CATS AND TOOLS

What is it you want to know?

Do you want real -time data in class, or will you look at the

data afterwards?

How active do you want the participation to be?

CHOOSING A CAT AND A TOOL

Time considerations

Try it out yourself first

If it’s not the place for a CAT, then it’s not. Principles trump

methods.

PRACTICALITIES TO REMEMBER

What can you do as a result of the data?

Example: One word to describe the library

CLOSING THE LOOP

Libguide:

http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/CATs

Angelo, Thomas A., and K. Patricia Cross.

Classroom Assessment Techniques: A

Handbook for College Teachers. San

Francisco: Jossey -Bass, 1993.

THANK YOU!