I ensure that direct and indirect measures of assessments are aligned with learning outcomes of class objectives, NAS minor program objectives, and, when applicable classes, General Education objectives. Here are some of my best practices and examples of assessing those outcomes for my online classes.
Clear Instructions
|
|
Direct Assessment of Course Objectives
- Native American Studies Blog: For my NAS111: Introduction to Native American Studies, I provide opportunities for students to engage with blog writing as a direct assessment of course objectives. Blogs facilitate the learners' formative progress towards Native American academic studies and digital literacy by requiring them to regularly write for an academic audience and by receiving feedback in the comments from their class peers and myself. At the end of their semester, they may select one of their blogs to appear in the Diné College Libraries' blog: https://lib.dinecollege.edu/blog/Finding-Indigenous-Identity-in-Education
- Written Media Analysis: For my NAS 200: Decolonization and Self-Determination, learners watch Indigenous series such as Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Hills, or Molly of Denali to explore class themes. In my NAS250: Colonization and Ethnopolitics, learners watch movies and/or episodes from series such as The English to explore representation and ethnopolitics. These media analyses focus on visual sovereignty and require students to demonstrate their critical thinking, analytical, and media literacy skills.
- Indigenous Environments Trail Project: For my Indigenous animal studies courses and NAS370 Traditional Ecological Knowledge class, learners study concepts such as co-existence and walking-in-place as well as realities of ecocolonialism and Indigenous stewardship and land management and applies them to their own geographies to (re)connect with our indigenous lands, animals, and ways of knowing. With this direct assessment, our class then creates an interactive experience for those who walk-with the Diné College Fitness and Botanical Trail. https://www.christineami.com/dighadilyeed-fitness-and-botanical-trail.html
- Original Indigenous Research: Undergraduate students enrolled in NAS413 Indigenous Research Methods and graduate student enrolled in NAS513 Indigenous Research Methodologies are responsible for creating an IRB approval project according to Diné College and Navajo Nation IRB regulations. Ethnophilosophies and Indigenous research methods are strongly encouraged. NAS498 Undergraduate Indigenous Research allows learners to foresee their from project proposals into data collection and scholarly writing phrases. https://tribalcollegejournal.org/my-kind-of-waste-of-time-indigenous-student-research-at-dine-college/
Tribal Critical Thinking Rubric
- In my NAS classes, my grading is based off of Michael Yellowhair's “Tribal Critical Thinking Centers” in dialogue with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) "Integrative Thinking Value Rubric." This allows the NAS minor students to build across curriculum and across disciplines: "from making simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex situations with and beyond the campus.”
Feedback Timeline
Within my syllabus I have a Plan of Interaction Policy that address timely turn around expectations for email communication and assignment feedback
- Plan for interaction: In addition to regularly scheduled office hours, the instructor will maintain consistent interaction with students. This includes a 48-hour window to respond to emails from Sunday through Thursday. If for some reason, there is no response within that 48-hour window, please resend your email in the chance that there was an error in sending/receiving. Additional, assignments will be graded within a one-week window of the submission date. There are certain assignments that require a quicker response time and those will be addressed via gradebook and announcements to remind students to check for feedback.
Modes of Feedback
Feedback plays an important role in the students mastery of learning outcomes. Without feedback, participants are can feel unsure if they have grasped a concept or may continue to perform a task incorrectly. Additionally, timely feedback increases motivation, provides direction and clarity, facilitates learning and development, encourages self-reflection, and improves communication. I try to provide various modes of feedback including commentary at group and individual levels.
- Group Feedback:
- Recap Videos: At the start of every week, I provide a 10-15 minutes video recap/look forward.
- Exam Review: For major exams, I compile a ppt. and build a post assessment activity to review answers together.
| |||
- Peer Review:
- For scholarly papers in my 400 and graduate level classes, I utilize the peer review function in canvas. Students peer reviewers are provided with a guide so that they may address areas of title, tone, content, style, and citations. This allows to students to learn how to provide critical yet constructive feedback.
- Student do not have to implement the peer review feedback they receive; however, just like with article/manuscript feedback, they must address what they will and will not implement and why.
|
|
