Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SF7-O020 Invited Talk
ENGINEERING EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENT LEARNING:
HOW PSYCHOMETRICS IMPROVE MEASUREMENT CAPACITY
Toni Sondergeld 1
1 Drexel University, School of Education, United States.
Think about the measurement tools used when collecting data for scientific
experiments. Instrument precision plays a key role in obtaining valid and reliable
results. Now consider the tools used to determine if students have
demonstrated course content mastery (e.g., tests, quizzes, labs, papers). As with
the construction of physical measurement tools, it takes time to develop
psychometrically sound instruments that are well aligned with instruction, and
produce the most accurate and dependable measurement of student learning.
While assessment represents a large amount of any classroom instructor’s
activities regardless of the content area or grade level, most instructors have
had no formal training in developing assessments and thus do not possess the
skills necessary to develop high quality assessments. The discipline of
psychometrics is rooted in the fields of psychology and education, and its
research focuses on objectively measuring cognitive and affective traits.
Through careful study, our team of psychometricians have developed and
refined guidelines for creating high quality classroom assessments that can be
implemented in any content area. Our typical audience for delivering this
content includes primarily students and leaders in the fields of education or
medicine. However, we recently had the opportunity to deliver similar lessons
to a cohort of STEM doctoral candidates (e.g., engineering, biology, chemistry,
physics) who are interested in developing better pedagogical practices for future
academic positions. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight best
assessment practices taught through this course and share lessons learned
along the way. If scientists and engineers wish to “think big and think differently”
about instruction and pedagogical issues in order to produce a future
generation with better problem solving and critical thinking skills, assessment
practices must be purposefully aligned in order to have the greatest impact on
student learning. Assessment cannot be ignored if the paradigm shift traditional
to evidence-based instruction is to result in meaningful measurements of
student learning.
Keywords: Classroom Assessment, Student Learning, Psychometrics
Presenting authors email: tas365@drexel.edu