Re-Imagining Assessment Strategies in the Transition to Online Instruction

Designing quality assessments involves understanding a complicated web of factors which is further complicated by the recent rapid shift to online teaching. This session will be an active workshop allowing participants to rethink their current assessments mechanism and consider ones that are more suited to online environments in general, while also taking into account the ethical, technological, and pedagogical factors that play roles in quality assessment. We will discuss best practices for assessment in online courses and how to design quality assessments for courses of all types (large courses, writing intensive, etc.), and disciplines (STEM, humanities, social science, etc.), and the different considerations that come into play when designing assessments for different classes. First, the presenters will identify specific areas of consideration, strategies, and issues that come into play with online assessments. Second, break-out groups will focus on the different nuanced aspects that the participants want to explore in greater detail (STEM, large classes, project based assessments etc.).

Rachel Stern is an Instructional Technologist with the Queens College Center for Teaching and Learning. Her focus is online course development, collaborating with faculty in embracing and utilizing best practices for teaching online.

Corinna Singleman is the Director of Communications for the HSI-STEM Bridges Across Eastern Queens project at Queens College and Queensborough Community College. She also teaches many courses at Queens College including upper level biology courses, a science honors seminar and a science-based seminar course for transfer students. She has worked for years on incorporating new assessment and pedagogical practices in her teaching.

Nathalia Holtzman is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Biology Department at Queens College. She recently completed a 5 year term as the Associate Director of the Queens College for Teaching and Learning. Dr. Holtzman’s research includes cardiovascular development and the impact of environmental toxins on embryonic development, as well as educational research.