The Classroom Assessment Techniques -- CATs (Angelo and Cross, 1993) within the FLAG are succinct, self-contained, self-instructional, web-based modules that introduce a broadly applicable technique for use in college or university SMET courses. Each CAT has been written by a college or university instructor who currently uses the technique, and has been reviewed by the FLAG Editorial Board for accuracy and consistency with current professional standards of assessment. In most cases, the technique has an extensive history of research to support claims of reliability and validity. The CATs are linked to a set of discipline-specific "tools" that can be downloaded for immediate use. Assessment techniques are linked to the relevant research literature as well as to web sites showing exemplary use of each assessment technique.
Type of Material:
This site includes assessment information and an interactive web page that aligns course goals and objectives with classroom assessment techniques
Technical Requirements:
Need Adobe Acrobat. This can be downloaded free.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Provide university faculty resources that will enable them to develop more effective assessment of student learning. In-service teachers and with guidance, pre-service teachers at the secondary level, will also benefit from this site.
Target Student Population:
Instructors of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Can also be used by other higher education faculty and secondary teachers.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Must have a clear statement of the course goals and learner outcomes and understanding how they will be used to achieve both Lower and Higher Order Thinking Skills.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The FLAG site includes the basic knowledge of assessment and shows the reader how matching goals and objectives to CATS will assist in the development of measurable goals and achieve efficient ways to assist student achievement of the course goals.
An excellent multi-use site to assist in the understanding of assessment and an interactive program that aligns course goals and objectives with classroom assessment techniques. The reviewers suggest that the first time user of this site, go through each section without accessing the hyperlinks. Then on a second pass through each section, the use of the hyperlinks is warranted.
Concerns:
User must be cautious when accessing the many embedded hyperlinks. It is easy to get lost
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The FLAG site has the potential for assisting higher education faculty, as well as secondary school faculty, with the design and implementation of assessment techniques that align themselves with the learning outcomes of the specific course. The section entitled, ?On Collaborative Learning?, guides the instructor through a 1, 2, 3 Step process to the development and implementation of Collaborative Learning. For many university and secondary faculty, this is a new and very different teaching style.
A useful educational tool that could be of benefit to higher education faculty.
Concerns:
Quite complete and complex with intermixed navigation that can be confusing.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Interactive in section for designing classroom assessments. The interactive tables are easy to use and produce a list of classroom assessment techniques to measure learner outcomes. The assessment techniques are hyperlinked to definitions and explanations.
The ability to download the Attitude Survey and Classroom Assessment Techniques into a PDF file is excellent. These two documents can be modified (giving the authors credit) to meet the specific needs of a classroom (course). The instructor then can post these into a course management system,
or on to his or her own web page.
Concerns:
Animations on the home page, while fun, are not necessary and can be distracting. It is easy to get lost when one accesses the many hyperlinks.
Creative Commons:
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