Index of all tools

Approach C

Index of All Posted Tools

This page contains links that take you directly to the page of each posted "complete" assessment tool. (Note: some posted tools are simply those portions of "complete" tools which pertain to certain topics of special interest. To access these pages see Approach B. for a general introduction to what we refer to as "content" vs. "process" assessment tools, then follow Building an assessment tool to meet your needs.) The active links below are in blue bold font while pages that are currently under development are listed in regular black font. The links are divided into two groups:

Assessment tools that are content oriented, i.e., specifically oriented to the assessment of student mastery in a particular discipline such as math, chemistry, physics or engineering. Thus, concept tests, challenge problems, lab and other projects will be found in this group. Tools based on the use of longitudinal student records are also listed with this group.

Assessment tools that are oriented towards assessing the "process" by which students learned. Generally speaking, these are tools that although they may have been developed and tested in the context of a particular discipline, they are easily adaptable to other contexts. These tools include classroom surveys, interview protocols, as well as survey analysis software tools.

Content Oriented Assessment Tools:

Concept Tests: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative

Challenge Problems/Group Learning/Special Projects: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform

Chem 110 Oral Exam Experiment: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative-- This page describes a novel experiment comparing the gains in higher order cognitive abilities of "student-focused active learning" methods to a more traditional lecture format in the context of a freshman honors analytical chemistry course. Sample results from this tool are available for download on the page.

Weekly Reports: this tool was developed by professor Eugenia Etkina from Rutgers in the context of an introductory course in physics for non-majors, but it is easily adaptable to other contexts. Sample results from this tool are available for download on the page.
MC2/ChemLinks Retention Experiment: this page presents the experimental design which assesses what areas of content mastery a student brings from a given course to a subsequent course. Sample results from this tool are not yet available.
Longitudinal Student Records: the development of longitudinal databases for the assessment of the impact of course and curricula innovations on student pathways through science programs was one of the first projects undertaken by the New Traditions Initiative via the LEAD Center. Recent progress in database design and delivery has made this type of assessment feasible for faculty, departments, and colleges with minimal outside help from programmers. Sample results from this tool are available for download on the page.
Longitudinal Impact of NT Innovations: methods and techniques of database analysis described in the previous link are applied to a preliminary assessment of the longitudinal impact of New Traditions innovations in second-semester general chemistry.
Interactive spreadsheet software: the New Traditions Initiative (via the LEAD Center) is currently developing interactive spreadsheet applications that will automate much of the analysis and graphing of student performance and survey responses. These Visual Basic modules will make it easy for faculty to analyze, graph, and correlate NT (or other) student performance measures and NT (or other) survey results. These routines should be available on the FLAG Fall 1998.
Assessment of collaborative skills: from the Molecular Science Project-- SRI International designed several templates for scoring rubrics to be used to assess the special projects developed by the Molecular Science Project. . Sample results from this tool are not yet available.
Assessment of problem solving skills: from the Molecular Science Project-- SRI International designed several templates for scoring rubrics to be used to assess the special projects developed by the Molecular Science Project. . Sample results from this tool are not yet available.
Assessment of understanding of concepts and principles: from the Molecular Science Project-- SRI International designed several templates for scoring rubrics to be used to assess the special projects developed by the Molecular Science Project. . Sample results from this tool are not yet available.
Assessment of scientific communication skills: from the Molecular Science Project-- SRI International designed several templates for scoring rubrics to be used to assess the special projects developed by the Molecular Science Project. Sample results from this tool are not yet available.
Assessment of Gateway Coalition "core" skills: from the Gateway Coalition-- Evaluators for the Gateway Coalition designed a template for faculty assessment of Freshman Engineering design team projects. Sample results from this tool are not yet available.

Process Oriented Assessment Tools:

Beginning-of-semester student survey: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative-- This page presents a survey designed to assess students' confidence and interest in chemistry as well as their typical strategies for solving problems and understanding difficult concepts. It can easily be adapted to disciplines outside chemistry . Sample results from this survey are available for download on the page.

End-of-semester student survey: from the New Traditions (NT) Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative-- This page presents a comprehensive student attitude/behavior survey which includes follow-up questions for the New Traditions beginning-of-semester survey. Although, it contains many questions focused on specific NT innovations it can easily be adapted for other disciplines. Sample results from this survey are available for download on the page.

SJSU end-of-semester survey (Before & After version): from the New Traditions (NT) Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative-- This version of the comprehensive NT end-of-semester survey has been used extensively at San Jose State University. It is designed to obtain before and after information on student confidence and interest while at the same time requiring only one administration and data gathering. Students are asked to compare their confidence and interest at the beginning with that at the end of the course. Sample results from this survey are available for download on the page.

Learning Gains survey: from the MC2 & ChemLinks Consortium-- This page presents an alternative to the traditional end-of-semester classroom evaluation. Rather than students evaluating the instructor the student is asked to evaluate how much they "gained" from the course (e.g., in terms of understanding the depth and breadth of the material) and the extent to which different aspects of the class pedagogy helped or hindered their learning. The survey is readily adapted to courses in other disciplines. Sample results from this survey are not yet available.

Classroom Activities survey: from the ECSEL engineering coalition-- This page presents an end-of-semester survey similar to those above, but of additional value due to the demographic information it requests including: the amount of time students spend per week working at jobs, the nature of their living situation, their educational aspirations, and their parents educational background. Sample results from this survey are not yet available.

Student Interview Protocols: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative-- the LEAD Center developed, used and refined several student interview protocols. Those presented on this page were designed to assess a "Topic Oriented approach to second semester general chemistry. As such these protocols were created on the basis specific research questions which include the determination of the degree to which the course professor's learning goals were achieved as well as the nature of the students' learning processes. Sample results from this tool are available for download on the page.

Student Interview Protocols: from the MC2 & ChemLinks Consortium-- A total of 292 students from the eight institutions were interviewed following the interview protocol available for download above. (Some interviews were one-on-one; others were conducted in focus groups.) The findings described in this report are built up from almost thirteen thousand (N=12,993) coded elements (i.e., coded student comments). Some consortia participants have expressed interest in our methods of analysis, in part, because they can be used to analyze any qualitative data--including teaching notes and records--that are entered into a word processor. Sample results from this tool are available for download on the page.

Faculty Interview Protocols: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative--A LEAD Center researcher interviewed the professor of the Chem 104 (2nd semester general chemistry) Topics Oriented Approach (TOA) twice: once at the beginning of the Spring semester 1997; and once after the semester had ended. The purposes of the faculty interviews were to clarify the research questions for this study, to fully understand the intent and form of the course teaching innovations, and to obtain the professor's estimation of the degree to which his student learning goals were achieved. Sample results from this tool are available for download on the page.

Faculty Survey: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative-- This survey was designed to query faculty about their perceptions of the importance of each of a variety indicators related to the effectiveness of instructional or curriculum reform. The indicators range from students' performance on different types of exam questions to their choice of major and general interest in chemistry. Forty-nine surveys were distributed during the Fall semester of 1996 to all faculty members and five lecturers in the UW-Madison Chemistry Department. Twenty-three surveys (47%) were returned. Sample results from this survey are available for download on the page.

Teaching Assistant Interview protocols: from the New Traditions Chemistry Curriculum Reform Initiative-- In March and April of 1997, LEAD Center researchers interviewed 7 out of the 8 Chem 104 (2nd semester general chemistry) Topics Oriented Approach (TOA) teaching assistants (TAs) using this open-ended protocol. Sample results from this tool are available for download on the page.

Interactive spreadsheet software for New Traditions survey tools: the New Traditions Initiative (via the LEAD Center) is currently developing interactive spreadsheet applications that will automate much of the analysis and graphing of student performance and survey responses. These Visual Basic modules will make it easy for faculty to analyze, graph, and correlate NT (or other) student performance measures and NT (or other) survey results. These routines should be available on the FLAG Fall 1998.

Gateway Coalition student survey of "core" skills: from the Gateway Coalition-- Evaluators for the Gateway Coalition designed a survey to obtain student feedback regarding the extent to which a given course provided them with opportunities to learn and practice certain "core" skills consistent with the goals of ABET 2000. Sample results from this tool are not yet available.

Gateway Coalition faculty survey of "core" skills: from the Gateway Coalition-- Evaluators for the Gateway Coalition designed a survey to obtain faculty feedback regarding the extent to which a course they taught provided students with opportunities to learn and practice certain "core" skills consistent with the goals of ABET 2000. Sample results from this tool are not yet available.