Assessment in HIST 104
This page deals with assessment, which is one of the ways we try to improve instruction at NDSU. Reading below, you'll discover that assessment also is important to your participation in this course. What is it?
Assessment means asking the question, "How are we doing?" Within a department we gather data in order to assess whether our student majors are learning what they need to learn as they go through the program. Across the university we gather data to assess whether students are getting the basic skills and general knowledge they need. Within a course, we check now and then to make sure things are going as planned and moving toward the goals of the course. As the terms are used here, "assessment" is different from "evaluation." I evaluate your individual work in the course, through such devices as exams, in order to determine grades. At the end of the course you evaluate my work with the standard student evaluation of instruction form. Assessment is the things we do in addition to these individual evaluations to see how we are doing. In assessment we’re not concerned with individual performance; items are not graded. We’re concerned with how things are going for the group. How does it work?
Simple. Most every day I ask you to give me some feedback on the progress of the course. Generally I ask you to fill out a questionnaire or card in class. Just follow along, and you'll know what to do. If it's not graded, why should I do it?
Two reasons. The first is to help out. Just one little way of making a better university. The other reason is concrete and personal. In this course participation counts. Although items for assessment are not graded, your participation, or lack thereof, is noted. |