user guide for educators
While the intention of “Collection Collective” is for recreational learning, educators may choose to adopt this tool into their curriculum, where formal assessment is needed. As educators, it is necessary to look beyond assessment as a one dimensional means of measuring what students learned, but view it as an iterative, formative process of evaluating learning as it occurs (Nicol, 2007). Our assessment model aims to use a simultaneous combination of tools, pedagogy and feedback to support and empower meaningful learning. It blends formative and embedded technology-supported assessment strategies and tools to increase learning potential and verify the educational space’s learning objectives, including its active capacity to scaffold learners’ knowledge of objects and collections, inspire experiential responses, and prompt reflective thinking through the lens of their chosen item(s). The qualitative and quantitative data collected is valuable to us for improving and updating the learner relevancy of the space, and we invite educators to adapt any of the components to their curriculum.
Formative Feedback Strategies
As mentioned above, learning will be assessed formatively to promote recursive and autonomous learning processes. Drawing upon Nicol’s (2007) key principles of feedback strategies to promote formative and self-regulated learning, we encourage educators to provide direct feedback on activities, promote peer-to-peer and peer-to-educator interactions, and extend the conversations on the website’s embedded Padlets and discussion boards. Meaningful feedback and interaction with the learners should 1) clarify learning expectations and goals, 2) facilitate self-assessment and reflection, 3) encourage meaningful dialogue, positive beliefs, and sharing of high-quality information, 4) increase self-esteem and motivate lifelong learning, 5) provide a space to close the gap between the current and desired learning performance, and 6) shape teaching strategies. These strategies are crucial to maintaining a closely knit, learner-centred online community that facilitates individual performance awareness and self-regulation (Nicol, 2007).
Educators are encouraged to record ongoing observations to assess learners’ activity and interaction with their peers and the collective community. Learners’ application of critical and reflective thinking can be observed through discussion boards, Padlets, and Tumblr interaction functions as long as contributions are submitted. These mindful observation notes will support action and reflective teaching practices. In the case that there is a need for a more structured assessment on learners’ level and quality of participation and understanding of the knowledge presented in this website, we have created a rubric (linked below) that can be adapted to the curriculum.
Qualitative Data
“Collection Collective” hopes to inspire authentic, intimate experiences individual to the perceptions of each learner. To measure the effectiveness of this experience from an individualized, personal perspective, qualitative data is collected using a Google Forms survey and Tumblr “ask” and “submit” functions throughout the website. Learners may choose to suggest new collection and resource topics, and ask us questions. Since these submissions are voluntary, educators are encouraged to invite learners to complete the Google Form on the Comments page after the experience, and send in their suggestions and questions as they navigate the site. The survey prompts for feedback on the technical design of the website, the usability of the interface, the helpfulness and depth of the materials and content, the relevance and stimulation of the content, and other items related to this learning environment. This data can be used to analyze the depth and breadth learners invest into the experience, which can help us optimize the space.
Embedded Analytics
An embedded assessment model using Google Analytics is integrated into the website to gauge the viewership, participation rate, and activity. Google Analytics also measures the following: session duration, dates of visits, activity over selected timeframes, language and location demographics of learners, systems used to access the website, means of arriving at the website (referral, organic search, direct), frequency and engagement, and the age, gender, and interests of learners. These quantitative statistics will help us investigate whether the collection contributions and multimodal content have an effect on viewership and activity, and if the website stimulates interest and further engagement. This valuable “big data,” with the consent of learners, can be used to track and visualize the process of learning and the sequences of time spent on tasks, further allowing us to closely hone the design of this space (Khan, 2011).
If you would like to implement this method of assessment, you may consider using “Collection Collective” as a model to set up your own collective learning environment. For further information on integrating Google Analytics, check out their website.
Click here to access a suggested rubric for use in the formal assessment of students' participation of "Collection Collective".