Assessment and Measurement

Assessments are integral to the learning process and are designed to evaluate learner progress in achieving the stated learning objectives or mastering the competencies.

The assessments measure the achievement of the stated learning objectives or competencies

Evidence

The observation and discussion assignments show clear measurement of their stated course learning objectives. The Build Pages assignments show measurement of the general learning outcomes that they claim to support.

Suggestions for Improvement

Completing alignment through all the assignments and assessment questions will help clarify whether all learning objectives are adequately measured.

The course grading policy is stated clearly at the beginning of the course

Evidence

The How We Will Track Your Learning page of the syllabus tables how each assignment category counts toward the overall point total of the course and how the point total converts to a letter grade. The How We Will Deal With Unusual Circumstances page of the syllabus explains how submission deadlines are dealt with.

Suggestions for Improvement

• Students may do well with an explanation of how and when rubrics are used with assignments and the connection to learning objectives
• Students may appreciate instructions on how to use Canvas’s What-If grade projection feature

Specific and descriptive criteria are provided for the evaluation of learners’ work, and their connection to the course grading policy is clearly explained

Evidence

28 assignments have rubrics implemented through the learning management system.

Suggestions for Improvement

50 of the other assignments, those other than the quizzes and surveys, would be better aid student learning by using the same format of rubrics as the other assignments.

The assessments used are sequenced, varied, and suited to the level of the course

Evidence

• Sequences:
  • Each module follows a reading check → build pages → group & class discussions → learning check → reflect progression
  • The course as a whole follows a preterm exam → modules → midterm exam → modules → final project → final exam progression
  • The archaeoastronomy project builds from initial library and cultural modules into source identification, presentation slide draft, presentation feedback and revision, final presentation, and exam question design.
  • The community-based learning project starts with contacting the community partner, selecting a role, engaging, and reflecting in three engagements over the course of the term with the last engagement based on the archaeoastronomy project presentation.

• Variety:
  • Students are assessed on sketching their observations of the night sky
  • Students are assessed on building web pages to show their knowledge construction
  • Students are assessed on discussing topics in online discussion boards
  • Students are assessed on creating and delivering a presentation on a multiweek research project

• Suitability to Level:
  • As a 100-level course, most assessments focus on direct observation and identification with a limited number of one- or two-step inference from observational data.
  • Students are provided templates to work from in the creative aspects of the course (archaeoastronomy presentation).

Suggestions for Improvement

Students may find greater success if page building and observation assignments provided clear templates

The course provides learners with multiple opportunities to track their learning progress with timely feedback

Evidence

• The When We Will Learn page lays out the dates and the learning cycle components as activities
• The module order guides the students from the beginning to the end of the course with appropriately named Start Here, Pause Here, and End Here modules
• Students may take the reading checks as many times as they wish to ensure that they picked up the details assessed by those checks
• The archaeoastronomy presentation includes a feedback and revision cycle
• The weekly learning cycle gives students feedback regularly

Suggestions for Feedback

• Students may track their progress in te community-based learning project if the activities are incorporated into the other modules
• Model observations and project presentations may improve student feedback

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