Impact of Maintaining Assessment Emphasis on Three-Dimensional Learning as Organic Chemistry Moved Online
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Ryan L. Stowe [1] ; Brian J. Esselman [1] ; Vanessa R. Ralph [1] ; Aubrey J. Ellison [1] ; Jeffrey D. Martell [1] ; Kimberly S. DeGlopper [1] ; Cara E. Schwarz [1]
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[1] University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
City of Madison, Estados Unidos
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- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 97, Nº 9, 2020, págs. 2408-2420
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
The affordances given to a structured, timed, and proctored paper exam are not as readily applicable in a digital medium. Accordingly, the rapid shift from in-person to online enactments may have forced instructors to consider changing their assessment practices and priorities. As assessments convey strong implicit messages about “what counts” in a given learning environment, altering what is assessed may have a profound impact on what students view as important in a course. Our four-instructor team sought to examine whether we were able to maintain emphasis on assessing how and why chemical phenomena occur online while minimizing negative impacts to students, teaching assistants, and ourselves. To support claims regarding the degree to which online assessments emphasized sensemaking relative to past exams, we characterized all summative assessments given in organic chemistry II enactments from 2016 to the present using the three-dimensional learning assessment protocol. To examine the impact of enrolling in a rapidly assembled online organic course on student outcomes, we examined the distribution of students who performed above, at, or below the final exam score predicted by their midterm performance and compared this distribution with historic norms. Results suggest that we were able to maintain emphasis on student sensemaking as our course moved online (∼50% of points on exams administered remotely were dedicated to 3D performances). Additionally, the distribution of students enrolled this past spring who scored above, at, or below the final exam score predicted by their midterm performance was in line with historic norms. When taken in aggregate, our analyses suggest that organic chemistry-enrolled students maintained their ability to make sense of chemical phenomena after the pivot to online instruction. Consistent emphasis on assessing 3D learning online was achieved without adding appreciably to the burden on instructors or teaching assistants due to our assessment writing practices, streamlined approach to online grading, and pre-existing course resources. Instructional implications for assessment design, enacting team grading, and tracking student trajectories are provided in addition to a suite of assessment items with the potential to engage students in sensemaking.
