Evaluating Learning

Throughout their time in school, obviously, students are taking in a bunch of information from their instructor. During that time, they are being evaluated on how well they are learning such information no matter what subject it to be.

We as future Agricultural Educators have the open door of many opportunities in evaluating our students. And the great part about it is that there is no "set" way to evaluate. I absolutely love having a variety of techniques (being that I am one of those people who get bored rather quickly) to use in each of my units.

What are the Types of Evaluation?

There are two main forms of evaluation. They are classified as either formative or summative assessment. Other forms include: direct and indirect assessment.

Summative assessment includes thing such as tests and quizzes which are usually cumulative, and they include an end-of-unit grade.

Formative assessment is different in the fact that the students are constantly being graded. They are evaluated not just at the end of the unit, but in fact throughout the course. Whether it be the teacher helping them on assignments or the student answering an in-class question, assessing our students formatively is continuous.

Direct assessment is based on a student's' ability to apply their knowledge into a real-world situation. Whereas, Indirect assessment is completed after the students have taken the course; this can be conducted in a survey format.

How Will I use These Methods?

I am super excited to implement many different methods of evaluation. Call me the evil teacher, but I enjoy giving tests; however, not all of my tests are written.

I already use formative and summative assessments with my 4-H kids, so using that in the classroom should not be too much of a hassle, In my electrical unit, for example, I will be giving an assignment to have the students layout the wiring for a house with using a maximum of a certain amount of watts. Throughout the unit I can constantly test their identification knowledge by asking them to grab certain tools. 

In the case that I will be teaching students with IEPs, I plan on accommodating and modifying my assessments in the appropriate matter based on that individual students needs. I found this article that seems to have exactly what I agree with when evaluating students, which can also be changed up for exceptional learners.

Overall, I cannot wait to hand out my first assessment, whether it be to tear down and rebuild an engine or to list the function of the four stomachs in a ruminant. Here's to hoping it will all go well.