Adult Learner Assessment

hand roughly scholar Assessment T presentsa Ann Hayden, M. A. , Ed. S. Classroom Assessment in commandment Dr. Kelli Ligeikis Capella University June 15, 2011 Adult Learner Assessment Classroom mind is critical to the bill of fiter doing. As stated in Angelo and Cross, (1993) Classroom perspicacity helps individual college t severallyers stick usageful feedback on what, how much, and how considerably their pupils atomic number 18 erudition the pattern is to produce the high schoolest realiz sufficient quality of school-age child discip rakehellto help schoolchild learn much tellingly and efficiently than they could on their give birth (p. ). Student cultivation is the boilers suit end-place stage of grooming the disciple may be a child, an heavy(a), an folksy prentice, or a shital scholar regardless of which symbol of learner he or she is, the purpose is to learn brand-new concepts, topics, and opens. The mastery of that subject matter is the charge of ii the t distri b arlyivelyer and the savant.In aiming troika concepts minded(p) to come apartroom valuatements for adult learners, judging rehearses back be utilize for mensuration entry executing (placement sagaciousness), monitoring reading progress ( changeive and diagnostic judgement), or measuring end-of-instruction achievement ( philiamative appraisal) (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, p. 14). This translates to the disciplineroom as pre-test, or p brush up (to physical composition skills, for example) on-the-spot recognition of opport building blockies for improvement, feedback and post-testing, whether its verbal, execute verb whollyy, or a nonher sagacity.Classroom perspicacity is ordinaryly, star of the last qualitys doed in the education of adult learners. However, judicial decision of a students abilities before, during, and after dogma back end excessively be performed. First, the teacher plans and prep atomic number 18s instruc tional headings which atomic number 18 in line with the instruction institution, state, and local objectives.These objectives moldiness to a fault be Guided by what the students argon anticipate to learn while the instructional objectives argon overly in accord with the discernment produced these should also be stated in terms of the student instruction execution to be demonstrated and those observ couple skills much(prenominal) as uttering, or a product such(prenominal)(prenominal) as a written subjectand typic all in ally a colour, scale, or a checklist of some suit is used (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, pp. 43 44). Teacher Effectiveness harmonize to Effective Classroom pedagogics (2004)Effective layerroom instruction refers to the practise of the teacher in force(p)ness variables, that is, those variables that rush been demonstrated to bear the strongest relation to student achievement. These variables involve epoch on t subscribe to, content coverage, pacin g, scope and sequence, head wording, feedback, and praise. cause awaylineatic application program of these elements has been demonstrated to increase academician achievement. Behavioral outcomes ar the initial objectives in place before either of the instruction takes place.In addition, the characteristics of classroom assessment include that it is learner-centered, teacher-directed, mutually beneficial, formative, con schoolbook-specific, on sacking, and grow in good-teaching practice (Angelo and Cross, 1993, pp. 4 6). In laypersons manner of speaking, the typical activities of a teacher and where they fit into the characteristics of student-achievement learning include Teachers furnish behind use various proficiencys and tools to facilitate the learning of the students which is learner-centered.The teacher forget impart intimacy and the student bequeath obtain acquaintance is teacher directed. The opport building blocky for both teachers and adult students to me et in an purlieu conducive to learning with a ordinary goal of acquaintance the teacher to impart knowledge and the student to obtain knowledge is mutually beneficial. Using internal and external feedback to substitute lessons is formative and ongoing. The assessment on the part of the teacher comes from goal- rophyting at the commence of the turd, semester, etc. ith regard to the quantity and quality of concept and skill knowledge involve for the students to learn is context-specific. Teachers result use various techniques and tools (altering these to the microculture of the classroom) to facilitate the learning of the students is rooted in good-teaching practice (Angelo and Cross, 1993, pp. 4 6). season it may attend obvious, teacher effectiveness is tantamount to meeting and exceeding planning, executing, and analyzing for improvement instructional objectives, assessment instruments, and measuring feat objectives.When the adult student finds that all of this is perti nent to his or her ain and academic objectives, and on that point atomic number 18 instructional objectives which be interconnected to the personal and academic goals of the student, thus there is student achievement and teacher effectiveness. This is illustrated where a diagnosis of contours occurs by the teacherthis may be a pre-assessment therefore the teaching begins then the teacher may assess the situation by obtaining results from the assessment tool and whatever adjustments or modifications be call for be determined and then put into place and they the teacher assesses the learning again. See Appendix, p. 1). This is the visual flow of a teachers work-in-progress of diagnosing, teaching, and assessing results, and then modifying teaching, and then teaching, assessing, and modifying, and so on. Type and Purpose of the Assessment The type of assessment to be used is a multiple-choice question, dependable-false question, and unaw atomic number 18s-essay exam. The purpose of the exam result be to determine whether the students film mastered the concepts of honorable theories this bequeath aid them in making quick decisions in a work environment or in an h unityst dilemma. Context and discipline SituationThe class universe taught is Ethics which has several contrary honest theories available through the textbook Ethics guess and Practice textbook. The applications of the opposite honorable theories and their tenets atomic number 18 applied to dissimilar relevant scenarios. The students depart put down in class discussion and reserve their opinions freely in an open-environment. The goal here is to keep the students interest in the subject of ethics, as a whole, by victimisation assorted circumstances, where the student might contrive to curb split- twinkling ethical decisions in the work environment. This depicts the adult learner applic capability and immediate relevance.Student Demographics The student demographics inc lude the educational program of Criminal nicety with the adult students and are the adjacent 1. Ranging in age from 18 to 50 twelvemonths and beyond. 2. The gender of the group is 55% male and 45% egg-producing(prenominal) 3. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree an Associates of accomplishment degree in Criminal Justice. 4. The academic attainment before accounting entry college of all students includes either a G. E. D. certificate or a high school diploma. 5. Some students flip completed prior college way of lifework some cast other interrelates degrees. . The adult students in this assessment are European-Ameri dejection, Hispanic-Ameri crapper, Asian-American, African-American, and Mixed Ethnicities. 7. The students come from Lower Class, Working Class, and Lower Class backgrounds. suppositious Learner Subject Taught The subject being taught in this scenario is Ethics, and the students are expect to develop sound ethical think and judgment through the break down of practical applications of ethical theories. Topics studied include ethics as it relates to deplorable nicety, health care and nursing, society, and the environment.Emphasis is on practical applications of ethical principles and analytic methods. In grumpy, the students are exposed to diametric scenarios involving reason and judgment in the context of the degree-seeking program. Learner Outcomes The adult learners are expected to learn the chase at the completion of the Ethics class 1. Apply the Consequentialist (Teleological) ethical theories to different scenarios presented as if a proponent of consequentialism. 2. Apply the Nonconsequentialist (Deontological) ethical theories to different scenarios presented as if a proponent of nonconsequentialism. . Discuss the origins of Virtue Ethics, and explain which cultures might be more predisposed to use this type of ethics due to its origin. 4. function ethical problems exploitation despotism and Relativism 5. Describe and explain the difference amid Determinism and Free Will 6. Perform critical view in ethical dilemmas using both Reward and penalisation. Adult Learner Assessment Instruments some(prenominal) type of assessment should always be congruent with the instructional objectives, as well as the content taught to those instructional objectives (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009).To assess students properly, the students essential be made aware of the instructional objectives, low gear, at the beginning of the term, while finish the framework in the syllabus, and then throughout the term, at the opening of each class meeting. This way, the students are kept on track as to what is expected of them to learn, and the daily instructional objectives are in alignment with the overall learning objectives. College and university policies should come into fun regardless of the type of assessment (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009), alone the assessment instrument can be tailored depending on the type of ma terial which is being measured.There are different types of skills which can be evaluated in any one college subject. The assessment used in this scenario is at the destination of this telephone circuit allow be cumulative, and leave assess all of the concepts using criterion-referenced assessment, which asks the question, Did the student learn the concepts? and then also using norm-referenced assessment, which checks for, How did the student fine when compared to other students cognitive operation? The Adult Learning ScenarioThe assessment used to contain the adult learners ranging in ages from eighteen to fifty plus, with dominant demographics of 75% Hispanic, and 15% European, and 10% African American, will be a closing Project, culminating the get outs learning in an Ethics program in an associates degree program in Criminal Justice. In addition, of the 75% Hispanic students, at least half of them are working as English as a second diction learners. This quarrel r uns dozen workweeks and will cover ten main ethical theories and each of their sub-theories. The specific(a) Needs StudentOverall, the adult learner has galore(postnominal) challenges in going back to school, the ESL student has even more challenges. The foundation for education and the lookout of all students is aptly stated as Many students today win that it is the teachers job to educate them, tell them what they need to know or give them the answers. Moreover, because they have been taught to be passive learners, they think that their job is to listen without guard and to try to learn as trump out as they can, and, in some cases, verbatim what they are taught.Many students, in fact, accept everything they strike as factual culture (Baitlinger, 2005, p. 1). Adult Learners in the Southwest region of the get together States, whose basic linguistic communication is typically Spanish, and English is their second language, are in good company. Often times, classrooms of adult learners are filled with several different students of many ethnicities and cultures. This is one of the beauties of reenforcement in the Southwest there are typically Spanish mouth people who are the bulk of bilingualist speakers in cities such as Vista, which is a suburb of San Diego, California, where the Ethics class is located.In this particular classroom of thirty- both, nearly 24 (75% of the class) will speak Spanish fluently some will speak English fluently, that there is also a large population who have been in the social united States for only a few eld, and there are challenges as an adult when it is tempting to stay in the native language with friends, plainly whose specializements and assessments are all either spoken, written, or lectured in English. These sideline are some of the challenges that both teacher and student hardiness when the student is English as a Second address (ESL) learner.As far as the educating of these adult learners whose Englis h language is still in the practice stage, there are many students who are very open and willing to learn the new culture, the new language, and the new academia. However, there are challenges that face many who are non so nestleable due to emotional issues such as embarrassment, shame, or resistance, which can even turn into stubbornness. The Teaching Strategies The decision maker will use the following teaching strategies throughout the extend of instruction 1. speech communication 2.Board work 3. Demonstration 4. Classroom exercises 5. Class discussion 6. casebook exercises 7. Practice quiz questions 8. Case studies and reading appellations 9. Guest speakers 10. Group and duo work 11. Verbal presentations 12. Pencil and make-up examinations In addition, all students will be required to demonstrate proper use and application of the estimator and the different software required, and the materials located in the Learning Resource digest throughout the business. The Teac hing Strategies for Special Needs StudentsThe teaching strategies for the special require students which are comprised of 75% of this class population will include not only accommodation for the ESL student in the teaching stage, but also in the assessment stage. This will be accommodations for the assessment will be covered later in the account. Many lessons may need to be repeated the teacher may need to work tenaciously side-by-side at the desk with the ESL student until he/she sees the material the teacher may exercise untrammeled patience and also need to use metaphors or analogies in fellowship to find other avenues of reaching the student.Professors can be challenged to their limit when marking an ESL adult students written study. Many times, there are intelligence operations which are used which are not words at all in forming sentences. For example, a student who has only heard the word limelight in observing his non-ESL counterparts, may mistake it for the word fai l light. This type of error can perplex a professor who is diffident of what the student is trying to convey. It isnt serious, but the point is, in order to build an assessment, the teacher essential first teach, and the student must first have lots of practice and drill with reinforcement by the teacher. other challenge for ESL adult learners is learning how to conjugate verbs many bilingual and multilingual adults have undergo this. For example, if an adult learner, who spoke English first, and he or she were attempting to learn Spanish, the result is the homogeneous with conjugation of verbs. If a child grows up with correction by his mother or father when he says, I goed to the store, with the parent saying, No, Honey, you say, I went to the store, then this child has at least 20 years of practice.This is another challenge when place any type college document many ESL adult learners will use substantially incorrect verb tenses. In addition to these challenges, most ESL learners do not have the immense mental lexicon in English that many lifelong English speakers do of bod, this is the alike for the inverse relationship and any other languages where the learner speaks a different first language and is learning another language. The estimated recognition vocabularies of fluent readers ramble from 10,000 to 100,000 words (Johnson and Steele, 1996 cite Nagy and Herman, 1987, p. 48) English or Composition teachers understand that reading, piece of music, and speaking are all tie in. In fact, students build a vocabulary by doing all of the above. Because reading is fundamental to all education and it follows that being able to save and speak the language ESL students know this because their challenges snowball into one another. The prevail Outcomes The course outcomes which align directly with the instructional objectives in each unit are what the student is expected to perform to upon completion of the course. The students should be able to 1. nvestigate the importance of sound ethical judgment and reasoning for responsible living 2. analyze significant case studies using key ethical concepts 3. believe significant ethical issues using respectful, fleet, and incisive argumentation 4. explain, defend, and assess personal ethical perspectives on issues of significance in their own lives 5. discuss application of course knowledge in professional settings in the criminal justness arena. The Course Outline The course outcomes will be achieved by the following outline of topics 1. Unit One opening to Ethics and Morality . Unit Two Consequentialist and Non-Consequentialist Theories of Morality 3. Unit Three Virtue Ethics, Absolutism, and Relativism 4. Unit quaternary Freedom, Determinism, Rewards, and Punishments 5. Unit Five Setting Up a Moral System 6. Unit Six good Applications Dishonesty 7. Unit Seven Ethical Applications Personal Relationships, Business, and the Media 8. Unit Eight Ethical Applications Abortion and B ioethics 9. Unit nightspot Ethical Applications Life and Death 10. Unit Ten Ethical Applications environmental Ethics and Course Reflection The Assessment InstrumentThe actual student assessment handout (See Appendix, p. 2) that is developed by the educator is a Final Project, which is written in a research constitution format this paper should incorporate each of the ten main ethical theories, as well as each sub- possibleness which belongs under the main ethical theory presented. The theories, along with their sub-theories, are covered, as well as the students must show that they can apply each theory to a real-life criminal justice situation, albeit hypothetical, but realistic to a situation they might find themselves in as a police enforcement officer.Directions for the Students The student must use and reference the text book, Ethics Theory and Practice, 10th edition, by Thiroux and Krasemann. The expected deliverables must be in American Psychological tie-up (APA) formatte d paper it must be between ten to twelve pages in length it must have a cover page a references page there must be no less than twenty resources used, with at least tether print books (including the textbook), and at least two peer-reviewed journal articles and lastly, there must be fifteen in-text citations.In addition, the paper must be in Arial, 12 point font, double-spaced, and written in third-person perspective there must be a thesis statement at the beginning of the paper, and to categorise the topics, there must be bold and centered sub-headings. The Page stripped and Resource minimum are non-negotiable if the see does not meet these particular criteria, then the paper will not be manikind. This project is outlay 30% of the students overall course grade.The content must include each of the ethical theories, including the sub-theory and each should be first adumbrate with a rendering of the theory or sub-theory, and at least three examples of how this theory can be ap plied. Following the definition and basic application of the theory, the student will produce an ethical dilemma in a complex scenario which might occur in the life of a uprightness enforcement officer, where each of the theories are applied as though the student is fetching on the role of the decision-maker exercising ethical judgment as a Consequentialist, Determinist, etc.Essentially, the students are putting themselves in the place of each type of ethical theorist. The student must perform this decision-making for each theory and sub-theory these theories are shown in the following split. The Ethical Theories The theories with their sub-theories are as follows as cited in Thiroux and Krasemann, (2008) 1. Consequentialism (Teleological) a. Psychological Egoism b. Ethical Egoism c. Utilitarianism d. Care Ethics 2. Nonconsequentialism (Deontological) a. mo Nonconsequentialism b. Rule Nonconsequentialism 3. Virtue Ethics a. Aristotles Nichomachean Ethics b. Confucius Ethics . Ab solutism 5. Relativism 6. Freedom and Free Will 7. Fatalism 8. Determinism a. Hard Determinism b. Soft Determinism 9. Reward 10. Punishment Directions for Special Needs Students The special needs student who is an English as a second language learner will have the same expectations for tangible deliverables as any other student. However, there will be some accommodations made. The ESL student will more time to complete the concluding examination project paper due to a slower reading-comprehension speed these students are knowing, they just have a special need, and if more time is necessary, then that is also practicable.For example, if it is warranted, the special needs student will be wedded the utmost project specifications cut sheet up to two class periods sooner than the other students. This is so that the teacher has time to explain verbally each of the instructions in a more step-by-step fashion. If a teacher has a student who is truly struggling, then it is possible for that student to be assigned additional practice assignments so that he or she can practice the concepts.Another accommodation might be to assign daily dictionary readings by the student (along with their own language dictionary), so that the students vocabulary increases, and he or she practices reading. This also whole kit with childrens books assign the student stories to read out loud to the teacher after class this will enable the student to practice his or her American accent and will help acculturate the student to the English-speaking, reading, makeup environment.Prior to the final project assignment, the teacher can take the ESL student aside to check for understanding of the directions. The teacher can also read the final project specifications to the student with an English-Spanish interpreter so that any challenge words are truly understood. In addition, the teacher can show samples of quality papers to the ESL students so that they understand the format and comprehen siveness of the assignment given them. Lastly, the ESL adult student still needs lots of encouragement.While a teacher insists on keeping this fair amongst all students in the class, it doesnt hurt to encourage these ESL students in the hall, in private, and in bm of his or her peers. Direction for Assessment executive director Since the assessment will be administered by the educator, the direction that she will follow includes 1) checking for each component required of the students as outline in the directions to the students, 2) verifying the adherence to the APA format standards using The Official Pocket Style Guide From the American Psychological Association 6th ed. Concise Rules of APA Style, in every aspect of the paper 3) confident(p) that the students used all of the ethical theories and sub-theories as depict in the directions to students, by comparison to those in the textbook, Ethics Theory and Practice, by Thiroux and Krasemann, 2009, to those that the student ou tlined in the paper, 4) Making certain that the definitions and applications for each theory is, in fact, correct, and 5) attesting that the scenario produced and the ethical decisions made are aligned with those made by each of the ethical theories and sub-theories.Assessment Items Linked to Learning Objectives The assessment items linked to the learning objectives are in table-format and illustrate each assessment item in the final project assigned and its link to the learning objectives or course outcomes outlined above. (See Appendix, p. 3 4) Assessment Consistent with Learning Environment The assessment chosen, the final project which is written as a comprehensive paper by the student is aligned with the course outcomes, as well as the course outline of units covered.In addition, the adult learners environment, whether it be in a opposite classroom or an online course is conducive to a comprehensive written paper, as this is the medium for showing definition, application, and creativity in producing scenarios, in which the concepts conditioned can be used in immediate, relevant, and real- conception situations. This is directly in line with Angelo and Cross (1993) states, Creative thinking is the ability to interweave the familiar with the new in unexpected and stimulating ways (p. 81). It is also consistent with Knowles assumptions of adult learners where An adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience which is a teeming resource for learningthe readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her special roleadults need to know wherefore they need to learn something (Knowles, 1984 1980 1968, as cited in Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007).In fact, a final project in the form of a written paper is the ruff format to use the adult learners life while utilizing a performance instrument that is closely related to his or her special role. Above all, adults will find that the instrument is relevant to s omething they need to learn for their upcoming professions in criminal justice. Interpretation of ResultsInterpretation of a course assessment is the last step after administering a classroom assessment technique it is the step that the teacher is most interested in after providing the instruction able opportunities for practice and drill of concepts planning and implementing procedures which are equitable to all formulating the criteria for unceasing observation and timely and detailed one-to-one student coaching and the outline of each students improvement or the necessity for review and then the assessment tool is administered (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009).Only then can the variation of the assessment be articulated. In the adaptation step, the teacher seeks answers to the wherefore questions of the students incorrect replys (Angelo and Cross, 1993, p. 54). Because interpretation is the goal of all teaching by teachers, and the learning by students, then it is crucial that t he foundation of the teaching, the tasks and tools used, and the learning objectives are all synchronized with the assessment tool, and the interpretation of the results should align with the learning objectives.As outlined in Gronlund and Waugh (2009), assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning-assessment process. Assessment Development and Use For the Ethics class presented, the assessment tool used is a research paper which offers the close of the entire course. This type of assessment is a criterion-referenced instrument due to the personality of the course subject, and criterion-referenced interpretation is especially important for instructional uses of assessment results (Gronlund and Waugh, p. 27).This assessment will suggest results which correlates to each individual students learning of the ethical concepts the application of said concepts to invented scenarios the application to realistic criminal justice events the proper use of the American Psychological Association (APA) format and the students research, organization, paragraph construction, and mechanics skills in using written communication. This final paper is a hybrid between the supply-response assessments which are higher in realism and can measure the ability to originate, integrate, and express ideas and the summative assessment which checks the extent to which the students have achieved the intended outcomes of the course instruction and performance assessments using extended response which includes a high degree of realism (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, pp. 9 10 27). The supply-response speaks to the format of the final paper which is written using research, but the students must also integrate their own ideas.The summative portion is the overall assimilation of ideas and concepts to the make up scenarios, and lastly, the performance assessment illustrates the knowledge and skills necessary to perform on-the-job in a criminal justice capacity. The assessment will gauge not only the students understanding of the concepts presented, but will also measure the ability of the student to develop everyday scenarios, and ultimately, devise realistic events in which the different concepts can be applied.This may find ethical stability on the part of student-then-officer while enhancing his or her decision-making ability when faced with ethical dilemmas where the law and ethics may overlap, run parallel, or do neither in some cases. In addition, the student would be assessed on his or her written communications skills which include formatting the paper in its entirety in the APA format. The other skills which would come into play include research, organization, paragraph construction, and the overall mechanics of the paper.The quality of the content and the application of the concepts and principles would be burden more heavy at 75% of the total assessment, with the APA format, paragraph construction, and mechanics would be weighted less at 25%. Assessment Interpretation and Grading correspond to Gronlund and Waugh (2009), criterion-referenced interpretation is facilitated by assessment tasks that let a detailed explanation of student performancein performance-assessment this means performance tasks that make clear what the student can and cannot do (p. 5). Since the students have been given the final project subject, the directions for completing the final project in paper-form, the expectations for deliverables, the grading deed, and the assignments and tasks throughout the course have been tailored to learn the concepts and application necessary, then there should be no issues with what the criterion are for performing in a glorious manner.Although a grading rubric is considered an assessment tool used to grade using subjectivity, it can have a set of criteria and specific rhythmic pattern which link it to students learning objectives, which in this case, measure the students performance using a final project in research pape r format. Because assessment is an ongoing process with a student in a degree-seeking program, the rubric is aimed at accurate and fair assessment for all students, by fostering understanding, and indicating the way to proceed with subsequent learning, re-learning, and teaching and re-teaching.This is the integration of performance and feedback which occurs prior to each assessment, and during the course of the class term, so that by the time the student is nearing the end of the quarter term, he or she should be able to articulate the items presented in the rubric using the final project directions adhering to the expectations for deliverables. According to Flash (2009), when students are apprised of grading criteria from the start, they can be more obscure in the process of working toward success.According to Mansilla, Duraisingh, Wolfe, and Haynes, 2009 Rubrics are generally estimate to promote more consistent grading and to develop self-evaluation skills in students as they mo nitor their performance relative to the rubric. However, rubrics are not without their critics who are touch that rubrics can never truly capture the complexity of written work. If rubrics are to be useful, they must capture all the actual objectives of an assignment (p. ). In this case, the rubric (See Appendix, p. 5 6) is given to the students at the third week of the quarter term the directions are explained in detail with opportunity for questions answered, with the actual objectives outlined in the rubric along with final project specifications. As mentioned previous(prenominal)ly, this rubric, along with the final project specifications, is given to the student at the third week of the quarter. ConclusionIn summarizing adult learner assessment, first, it is know that the adult learner is motivated differently than other learners. Therefore, the teacher who teaches adult learners must be aware of not only the learners diversity and culture, but also his or her motivators. T hen, the teacher must identify the initial abilities of his or her class align the course objectives along with the teaching activities verify that the teaching is aligned with the assessment instruments then, analyze the results.After completion of this cycle, the educator can them adjust or modify the teacher, or the re-teaching, in this case and then the cycle starts all over again. In summarizing assessment procedures, an assessment, in and of itself, is the procedure which measures the entire student learning during a course, and the teachers teaching, facilitating, observing, and coaching, it is the interpretation of those performance results which are invaluable.As long as the educator plans for assessment during the planning of the learning, then it probable that the assessment will gauge student learning, and will meet the instructional objectives (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). In this case, the final project is one of the crush assessment tools when measuring students cumula tive learning, this is as long as several mini-assessments are given throughout the quarter, and adjustments are made to teaching, if the students do not understand the material. In addition, an verall assessment is do on the students writing skills, as well as his or her direction to the proper writing format. However, it is possible that the assessment often generates more questions than it answers, (Angelo and Cross, 1993, p. 54) and it is superjacent upon the educator to answer these questions of whythe students respond the way they do (p. 54), during all of the previous assessments administered throughout the quarter term, so that there are few to none, by the time the final project is due.Lastly, in reflecting how the process of interpreting assessments will partake teaching, it is important to note that in teaching, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, meaning, in this case, that without analyzing the end product of learning then it is difficult to deal an ass essment tool and the types of results that can occur which makes it nearly impossible to understand how to assess students after teaching has occurred it will be fruitless to set initial learning objectives if it is not understood what it is the educators would like to teach the students and to key when they build the student pre-assessments.Each section is bound to the other in seamless alignment, with the opportunity for improvement at each juncture it is in this way that goals and classroom assessment drive everything in education, and in learning, in general. In teaching, there can be no greater impact than to learn that each of these components is critical to the goal of facilitating the obtainment of knowledge, and it is a bright insight to teachers of all philosophies, experiences, and tenure. References American Psychological Association. (2010). The official pocket mood guide from the American Psychological Association Concise rules of APA style (6th ed. Washington, DC Am erican Psychological Association. Angelo, T. A. , Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed. ). San Francisco Jossey-Bass. Baitlinger, K. (2005). agreeable adult learners in writing/ESL Classroom. College Quarterly, 8(1),1. Create Rubrics for your Project-Based Learning Activities. (2000 2008). Rubistar. Retrieved from http//rubistar. 4teachers. org/index. php? screen=NewRubric mental faculty=Rubistar Effective Classroom Instruction. (2004). Encyclopedia of applied psychology. Retrieved from http//www. redoreference. com. library. capella. edu/entry/estappliedpsyc/effective_classroom_instruction Flash, P. (2009). Grading writing Recommended grading strategies. Retrieved from http//writing. umn. edu/tww/responding_grading/grading_writing. html Gronlund, N. E. , Waugh, C. K. (2009). Assessment of student achievement (9th ed. ) Upper rouse River, NJ Pearson Education. Johnson, D. , Steele, V. (1996, February). So many words, so l ittle time dower college ESL learners. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 39, 5 ProQuest Education Journals. . 348. Mansilla, V. , Duraisingh, E. , Wolfe, C. R. , Haynes, C. (2009). Targeted assessment rubric An empirically grounded rubric for interdisciplinary writing. Journal of Higher Education. 80(3), 334-353. Merriam, S. , Caffarella, R. , Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood A comprehensive guide (3rd ed. ). San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass. Thiroux, J. P. , Krasemann, K. W. (2008). Ethics Theory and practice (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall. - Top of yearBottom of FormAdult Learner AssessmentRunning head ADULT prentice ASSESSMENT Adult Learner Assessment Enter Student give Here Capella University August 26, 2012 ED7712 Classroom Assessment in Education All students are familiar with assessments. They have been assessed on various levels all through primary and secondary school, and if they attended school afterward theyve experienced asses sments in postsecondary school as well. Why do we do assessments? Assessments are necessary they not only tell the teacher how well the students are doing but they also tell the instructor how well they are teaching. and there is much more to assessments than that.Assessments can be an excellent instructional method to provide understanding of what adults are learning, how they are thinking, what their progress is, and which learning problems to address (Wlodkowski, 2008). This paper will demonstrate this. The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate an assessment of the adult learning of students who are enrolled in IS100 Introduction to Databases, a course at Two Rivers Community College. This course covers topics that include basic concepts of comparative entropybase constitutions, infobase architectures, data storage, and data mining.This course utilizes problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is an education strategy that uses problem-solving for optimal learning and is particularly useful in environments such as information technology. The benefits are twofold students not only buzz off knowledge but they also develop problem-solving skills necessary for real world application (Williams, Iglesias & Barak, 2008). Therefore the shell type of assessment for this course will include a problem-based learning assessment.The learners are students who have been allowed to enroll in this course for one of three reasons (1) it is a required course for the training Systems major, (2) it is a being taken as an elective for another major, or (3) they are undecided on which major they sine qua non to pursue and want to learn more about this aspect of information systems career path. The majority of the students who attend this course are predominately post-adolescent white males who range in ages from 18 to 23 years old and are in their first year at the community college.These students typically complete their associates degree here prior t o continuing their education to obtain a bachelors degree in either Computer Science, Information Systems Management, or Industrial Technology. However, in recent years there have been an increasing number of adult learners who are of flux nationalities, range between 28 to 35 years old, and are returning to the community college environment due to job loss or a change in career path. These individuals have chosen the community college environment because of the short duration of time to complete a degree as compared to the traditional four year university.Three Learning Outcomes The overall learning objective of this course is for students to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of database systems. To ensure this, students will be assessed on the following three learning outcomes throughout the course 1. Unit 1 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the theory, history, and evolution of the relative database. 2. Unit 2 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of good relational database design. 3. Unit 3 Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of data mining and storage.Adult Learner Assessment The assessment described here will be on assessing students learning after the first unit is covered. The first unit of instruction is designated for an overall view of databases. Topics include relational database theory, the history and evolution of databases, types of database shapes, database query languages, and an overview of databases in use today. It is imperative that students have a good understanding of this information before moving on the attached unit, therefore an assessment of this understanding needs to be evaluated.The two most widely used types of test items are selection-type items and supply-type items. The use of selection-type items will gauge how well the students can recognize or recall facts whereas the supply-type items will measure the more complex learning outcomes (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). Items from both of these will be used to design the assessment to get a true measurement of students learning after unit 1. The assessment is listed in Appendix A. suit Learners With Special NeedsIn accordance to the Americans with Disability Act and the policies of Two Rivers Community College, learners with special needs will have reasonable accommodations given during assessment taking. bonnie and appropriate support services that may be needed for this course could include, but are not limited to interpreters, questions and answer choices read out loud to the student, and extra testing time. Accommodations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and every means will be done to ensure the student has a fair chance to take the assessment.The instructor will also seek guidance from The Alliance for Access to figuring Careers (aka AccessComputing). This organization partners with postsecondary institutions to increase participation of people with disabilities to computing fields. This or ganization can provides optimal strategies for instructors to accommodate a student with special needs. Specific to assessment taking, they recommend Alternative, quiet testing locations and distraction free rooms. Alternative formats of the assessments, if needed. drawn-out test-taking time. Reading or scribe services. All of these recommendations are already available at the school. Directions for the Assessment Administrator and the Adult Learner The way in which an assessment is administered to students is especially important for good assessment outcomes. Assessment administrators play a key role in this occurring. The main role of an assessment administrator for this course includes 1) to give clear instructions to the students and 2) to prevent cheating. The following directions will be provided to the assessment administrator.The instructions for the students will be written on the test itself Administrator Prior to the class starting, ensure equal distance is between each student seat. Ensure there are no pieces of paper laying in or around the desks. When all the students have sired, separate each student with a desk between them, if possible. specialise the students why they are there and the purpose of the test. Explain how the test is displace out (10 multiple choice questions, 10 true-false questions, and 3 short answer questions) and how much time they have to complete it (50 minutes).Breaks will not be given unless extenuating circumstances would dictate otherwise. Once the student has completed the test, they are to bring the test to you and place the test face down on the desk. The student will gather their things and quietly leave the room. Interpretation of the Results of the Assessment Assessments provide the instructor with a relative be of students and a description of the learning tasks a student can and cannot perform (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). These two items have more to do with the interpretation of the assessment results. Crite rion-referenced vs.Norm-referenced The first item is centered around an interpretation method called norm-referenced assessment whereas the second one is centered around criterion-referenced assessment. The basic difference between the two is what the results are compared to. When an instructor is using norm-referenced assessment interpretation, they are comparing each students performances with the other students in the class whereas when an instructor is using criterion-referenced interpretation, they are comparing each students performance with a predefined set of criteria (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013).Each type of interpretation serves a specific purpose. If an instructor wants to use the interpretation of assessments for instructional decision-making, they would use the criterion-referenced approach whereas if they wanted to measure the psychometric different between students, they would use the norm-referenced approach. For the purpose of this paper, the criterion-referenced approa ch will be used to interpret the results of the assessments in this course. This will ensure the students have a clear guide to their learning objectives competency.Grading For the students, assessment is about grades. Grades tell the student to what extent they are meeting the instructional objectives. However grading is just as important to the instructor. There are three guiding principles that instructors use to determine their grading system for a course 1. choose the go around reference (standard) for the basis of grading, 2. choose the best way to combine the various assessment results, 3. choose the most effective and fair grading system (Waugh & Grunlund, 2013).Similar to the assessment interpretation types noted above, when choosing the best grading standard, instructors have a choice between grading the students performance against predetermined standard (absolute grading) or against their fellow peers performance (relative grading). The most common way is to use the abs olute grading approach by designate letter grades based on a 100 point system. This will be the approach used in this course. In choosing the most effective and fair grading system, there are a number of things an instructor can do to enlist the confidence of their students.First and foremost, the instructor should be direct from the beginning with the students about their expectations of them, explain how the students will be graded, and explain the grading rubrics for the course. Lastly, the instructor should be sure to not grade based upon innate components such as learning ability, the amount of improvement a student has achieved, or lack of or improved effort. In determine the best way to combine the various assessments, each graded item must be assessed. For this course, the students will have grades for four unit tests and one problem-based course paper.Each unit assessment will count for 15% of their grade and the course paper will count for 40% of their grade. No weighte d hemorrhoid will be used. The best way to grade the students course paper was to develop a scoring rubric. For the problem-based course paper, students are given a completed database to study. Utilizing the Classroom Assessment Technique called Problem Recognition Tasks (Angelo & Cross, 1993), they students are to 1. determine if it meets the definition of a relational database, 2. elect and explain one relational database theory about their database (i. e. the relational model, dependency, normalization), 3. determine what database program language was used to gain it, 4. discuss database design model, and 5. explain one technique theyd use to conjure data from it. The scoring rubric and letter grades for the course paper is below. Criteria2 points1 point0 points Determine if the database meets the definition of a relational database and provides supporting research to explain their reasoning for the decision. aright determines if the database meets the definition of a relatio nal database and provides supporting research to explain their reasoning the decision. Correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database and but doesnt provide supporting research to explain their reasoning the decision. Doesnt correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database. Thoroughly explains one relational database theory about their database. amply explains one relational database theory about their database. Somewhat explains one relational database theory about their database. Doesnt explain one relational database theory about their database. Correctly identifies the programming language use to take the database and thoroughly explains the programming language with supporting documentation. Correctly identifies the programming language used to create the database and thoroughly explains the programming language with supporting documentation. Correctly identifies the programming language used to create th e database and but doesnt thoroughly explain the programming language with supporting documentation. Doesnt correctly identify the programming language used to create the database. Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database and thoroughly explains the model with supporting documentation. Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database and thoroughly explains the model with supporting documentation. Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database but doesnt thoroughly explain the model with supporting documentation. Doesnt correctly identify the database design model used to create the database. Thoroughly explains what technique theyd use to extract data out of it. Thoroughly explains what technique theyd use to extract data out of it. Somewhat explains what technique theyd use to extract data out of it. Doesnt explain a technique theyd use to extract data out of it. Course Paper Letter Grades 9- 10 pts = A7-8 pts = B5-6 pts = C3-4 pts = D0-2 pts = F A series of steps were taken to arrive at the scoring rubric. First, the intended learning outcomes were evaluated and used to construct the items needed to be graded on.Second, the focus of the assessment was determined by ascertain where the emphasis should be placed. It was determined that it should be focused on a process of examining a database for certain attributes. Third, it had to be determined if this would take the form of a paper-and-pen test or a practical exam. It was determined it would be best to be a paper-and-pen test due to the time constraints of such a task. Forth, the performance situation was determine to be a identification test because the students need to be able to do this in a real world setting.Lastly, the method of observation chosen is the scoring rubric because they will provide the instructor with an objective scoring guideline, and they will give the students a clear guideline of what is expect ed of their final paper. (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). In conclusion, the goal of this paper was to demonstrate assessment in an information technology course at a community college. The overall goal of instructing is to provide the highest possible quality of learning. Assessments, in forms of varying degrees, can be utilized to ensure this is happening.Specifically, the problem solving assessment described here will be a driving force in directing students efforts toward critical thinking and real world applications. Appendix A IS100 Introduction to Databases Unit 1 Assessment Name ______________________________________ Date ____________________ Assessment Instructions This test is being given to assess your understanding of the theory, history, and evolution of the relational database. The Assessment Administrator will monitor your progress during the est to ensure students are completing their own work and not sharing their responses with others. Multiple Choice Directions For each of the following multiple-choice questions, please select the best answer for each question and circle the letter to the left of the answer you have chosen as the most appropriate response. challenge 1 Which of the following databases was an early executing of the relational model developed by E. F. Codd ? A. IDMS B. DB2 C. dBase-II D. Rbase skepticism 2 An online commercial site such as Amazon. om is an example of a(n) A. single-user database B. multiuser database C. e-commerce database D. data mining database suspicion 3 Which of the following was the first to implement true relational algebra in a database? A. IDMS B. dBase-II C. Oracle D. Rbase distrust 4 The acronym SQL stands for A. Structured Query Language B. Sequential Query Language C. Structured Question Language D. Sequential Question Language Question 5 The following are functions of a relational database draw A. creating and impact forms B. creating databases C. rocessing data D. administrating databases Ques tion 6 Which of the following databases implemented the CODASYL DBTG model? A. IDMS B. dBase-II C. DB2 D. Rbase Question 7 All the following are database models except A. Spreadsheet Model B. Relational Model C. ranked Model D. Object-Oriented Model Question 8 Todays banking systems use this type of database A. Analytic database B. Operational database C. Network database D. Hierarchical database Question 9 The term Relational Database Management System (RDMS) was coined during the A. 1950sB. mid-sixties C. 1970s D. 1980s Question 10 All of the following are popular database query languages except A. SQL B. OQL C. XML D. MySQL True-False Directions For each of the following true-false questions, indicate a True response by circling the T next to the question and a False response by circling the F next to the question being answered. Question 1 A database is called self describing because it contains a description of itself. T F Question 2 One of the reasons why OODBMS is no longe r used for todays businesses is because OOP is obsolete. T FQuestion 3 In an enterprise database system, users interact with database applications, which directly access the database data. T F Question 4 Microsoft Access is a database management system. T F Question 5 Prior to 1970, all data was stored in separate files, which were mostly stored on reels of magnetic tape. T F Question 6 SQL is an internationally recognized standard language that is understood by all database management system products worldwide. T F Question 7 Databases that contain historical and summarized information are usually called data warehouses. T FQuestion 8 As bequest file-based systems and applications become candidates for reengineering, the trend is overwhelmingly in favor of replacing file-based systems and applications with database systems and applications. T F Question 9 A central focus of database theory is on understanding the complexity and power of query languages and their connection to logi c. T F Question 10 The Object Oriented database model is best described by organizing data into a tree-like structure, implying a single upward link in each record to describe the nesting, and a sort field to keep the records in a particular order in each same-level list.T F Short Answer Directions For each question, hand write your answer below each question. If additional paper is needed, please ask the Assessment Administrator. 1. in brief explain three of the twelve rules of E. F. Cobbs relational database theory. 2. Briefly explain the three views (schema) of a DBMS. 3. List two advantages and two disadvantages of using a DBMS. References AccessComputing. The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers. Retrieved September 9, 2012 from http//www. washington. edu/accesscomputing. Angelo, T. A. , & Cross, K. P. (1993).Classroom Assessment Techniques A Handbook for College Teachers (2nd ed. ). San Francisco Jossey-Bass. Waugh, C. K. , & Gronlund, N. E. (2013). Assessment of student achievement (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson Education. Williams, P. J. , Iglesias, J. & Barak, M. (2008). Problem based learning Application to technology education in three countries. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 18( 4), 319 335. Wlodkowski, R. J. (2008). Enhancing adult indigence to learn A comprehensive guide for teaching all adults (3rd ed. ). San Francisco Jossey-Bass.