Why assess?
Assessment helps us design and deliver instruction. We want to know what the student knows before we deliver our instruction and what they learn after we meet with them. Assessment helps us understand if they've understood the lesson. Could they apply what they've been taught to future research?
Librarians often have limited classroom time, so we have a few assessment options to obtain immediate feedback. We also have options to evaluate student knowledge and work.
Formative Assessment Examples
Baseline and Recall
A brief questionnaire is given at the beginning of a session to get a sense of student baseline knowledge in order to decide where to begin instruction. In next session, ask students about what was covered in previous class.
Reflection
Students reflect on something that they learned and something that is still unclear to them. We collect the responses and follow up with the instructor post-class, or at the next instruction session.
Summative Assessment Examples
Pre-test and Post-test Assessment
We have created a 10 question (multiple choice) pre-test which allows us to determine student knowledge level before an instructional session. A 10 question (multiple choice) post-test would determine what students learned and if the instruction was successful.
Research Log
Students create a record of library research including methodology, sources consulted, and keywords searched.
Annotated Bibliography
The annotated bibliography assignment allows students to find, evaluate, and synthesize information. An information literacy rubric assesses student evaluation of resources.
