Assessing Students in a Hybrid Format
One of the differences between in-person school and hybrid school is taking in-class assessments. Some classes have stuck to a traditional assessment system, while others have gone for a more inquiry-based learning and giving more at-home assessments.
Andrew H. ‘21 attends his online classes at Browning during an in-person week, Sept. 29, 2020. This school year, students in Grades 6-12 alternate on a two week schedule due to accomodate social distance guidelines. (Photo: Da Ping Luo)
“Taking assessments in-class is an experience that is difficult to recreate online,” Will B. ’22 said. “It has been interesting to see how my teachers have been finding ways to assess me and my fellow peers. Platforms like Canvas and Flipgrid have allowed me to express my learning in new ways”
The majority of teachers only see a few of the students that they are teaching in-person. As a result, it can be difficult for them to know if their students understand the material. Teachers such as Matthew Bratnick, an Upper School Math Teacher, use Canvas, a website where teachers can post their lessons and other resources.
“I am carefully crafting each lesson on Canvas, making sure they are easy to follow. I am ‘zooming’ during each lesson, whether we are online or in person,” Mr. Bratnick said. “This allows us to all have access to each other and allows us to do breakout rooms, where kids can work together.”
In addition to Canvas being a helpful tool to teachers, students also see it as a helpful resource for multiple reasons.
“I like Canvas because I am able to see all my grades at once,” Joe F. ‘22 said. “In previous years, I would not know my grades in some of my classes because the systems were not transparent. Additionally, Canvas centralizes all of my work.”
The Math Department has stuck to a more traditional assessment system, giving students several low-stake quizzes, which are smaller versions of quizzes to make sure that students understand the material. Mr. Bratnick is one of the teachers who has stuck to a more traditional assessment system.
“I adapted as best I can,” Mr. Bratnick said. “When a student is taking an assessment, he has his camera on. A lot of the trust is the honor system.”
Other teachers, however, have changed the way they are assessing students. Brian Plane, a History Teacher, believes that by not having live, in-person classes, students can assess themselves in new ways.
“When students post their ideas on a discussion board or on Flipgrid, they are able to learn from each other, not just learning from their teacher,” Dr. Plane said. “A way I can make sure students are not cheating on an in-class assessment is by giving them different questions or by asking a student to do the work of a historian, rather than summarizing their knowledge. I am giving fewer tests, but more writing.”
Dr. Plane sees a silver lining in the online testing format. He has found new ways for his students to demonstrate their academic capabilities.
“Flipgrid has made it possible for my students to do an oral exam. Students demonstrate their learning in a greater variety of ways instead of just writing. There are other valuable assessing tools.”
The pandemic has led to significant changes in the way students are learning and being assessed. However, the new ways that teachers have found to assess their students and make sure students are staying on track have been a success for teachers.