Alternative Assessments
Inclusive approaches to support student assessments
Fortunately, for much of the time, Dalhousie faculty and students are able to teach and learn as planned in the syllabus. However, whether due to weather, travel, or illnesses like COVID-19, there are times when these plans need to be adjusted. This resource offers approaches to making these adjustments, especially in the area of assessment.
In times of significant disruption, the key goal is to help students get the support they need to meet your most essential learning outcomes. Teaching in times of disruption may involve thinking creatively about how to build students’ knowledge and skills in different formats to complete the same assignment. An example of this adjustment includes delivering a virtual lecture and then having students complete the original exam using the Quizzes tool in Brightspace.
However, instructors may also wish to think creatively about the assignment itself, through an approach that may not be intensively digital. For the purposes of inclusion, it is important to be mindful that some students have limited access to laptops and data plans. An assessment that relies on face-to-face interaction (e.g., discussion, presentations, debates) might be completed in Collaborate, or it could be substituted with an assignment in a different format that meets the same course outcomes. One example of a "low tech" adjustment includes asking students to write a pro/con issue comparison memo in lieu of participating in a classroom debate.
Below, we describe the most frequently used assessments in Dalhousie courses and offer low- and higher-tech options for helping students to complete them.
If you are using an assignment type that is not detailed below, contact the Centre for Learning & Teaching (CLT) to talk through options specific to your teaching context.
References
Bean, J. (2011). Engaging ideas: The professor’s guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gooblar, D. (2019). The missing course: Everything they never taught you about college teaching. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
LaVaque-Manty, M., & Evans, E. M. (2013). Implementing metacognitive interventions in disciplinary writing classes. In M. Kaplan, N. Silver, D. LaVaque-Manty, & D. Meizlish (Eds.), Using reflection and metacognition to improve student learning: Across the disciplines, across the academy (122-146). Stylus Publishing.
** This document has been adapted from "Inclusive Approaches to Support Student Assignments During Times of Disruption” created by the Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University.