Hello class and welcome aboard. Thank you for taking EDF 6432, foundaaons of measurement online course.

Transcription

1 Hello class and welcome aboard. Thank you for taking EDF 6432, foundaaons of measurement online course. For informaaon on your instructor for this course, check out the instructor biography in the Start Here secaon of Blackboard. 1

2 This orientaaon will guide you through the layout of this course online. We will cover the purpose and objecaves for this course, and discuss grading. An online course has specific policies regarding posang homework and taking tests which we will discuss in detail. The course schedule includes weekly acaviaes and two projects. You will also find out the three easy steps for successfully uploading assignments in Blackboard. All of this informaaon is available in the Course Syllabus. Since this is an online course, all the teaching materials will be placed on Blackboard. The last part of the orientaaon will show you how to navigate the course in Blackboard. 2

3 There is a required text for this course, called EducaAonal TesAng and Measurement by Kubiszyn & Borich. We are using the 9 th ediaon, but the 8 th ediaon is also acceptable. Page numbers for the text assignments will be available for both ediaons. AddiAonal readings from sources other than the text will also be assigned. 3

4 The main purpose of the course is to help you develop a conceptual understanding of, and the skills necessary for, conducang effecave measurement and evaluaaon in educaaonal sexngs. This includes: the development of instruments for classroom or other purposes; an understanding of technical and pracacal issues related to test development and use; knowledge of marking or grading systems; and applicaaons of standardized tests and score profiles. To apply measurement concepts, you must also master some basic staasacal concepts. 4

5 The first half of the course is focused on the development of objecave tests and alternaave assessment. We will cover the following topics in the first half: - The purpose of tesang and types of tests - WriAng InstrucAonal goals and Measuring learning outcomes - WriAng objecave test items and performance- based tasks - WriAng and scoring essay items - Grading and reporang 5

6 The second half of the course is focused on applying staasacal concepts to item analysis and the interpretaaons of test score. Measurement concepts that are related to item analysis such as item difficulty, item discriminaaon, validity, and reliability will be covered in the second half. Furthermore, the staasacal concepts that are related to the interpretaaons of test scores such as mean, mode, median, standard deviaaon, the z score, the normal distribuaon will also be covered in the second half of the course. Finally, standardized achievement tests will be introduced. 6

7 Your grade in the course will be based on weekly paracipaaon, two projects, and the midterm and final exams. The weights of the course elements and grading criteria are as follows: Weekly paracipaaon: 10% Each project: 15% The midterm and final exams each: 30% The weighted total scores from 90% to 100% will obtain an A, from 80% to 89% is a B, from 70% to 79% is a C, and below 70% is a F. 7

8 There are different course elements related to your grades. The first of these elements is the weekly acaviaes. In addiaon to weekly presentaaons, there will be different types of acaviaes for your pracace every week, such as discussion, mulaple- choice online tesang, or staasacal computaaons. Some acaviaes will not be graded, but some of them will contribute to your paracipaaon points. 8

9 Take responsibility for the quality of your weekly acaviaes. The deadline for weekly acaviaes will be every Saturday by 11 pm. 9

10 There are two projects for this course. For project 1, you have two opaons: Op#on 1 is construcang an objecave item test in which you will develop a Criterion Referenced Test for use in the subject, grade level and topic of your choice following the pracaces and methods covered in the first half of the course. Op#on 2 is creaang a performance assessment in which you will develop an AlternaAve Assessment for use in the subject, grade level and topic of your choice following the pracaces and methods covered in regarding alternaave assessments. Detailed requirements for each opaon as well as rubrics and review sheets will be made available by the second week of class. Review sheets are for use by independent reviewers to help guide project development. The due date for project 1 is the week before the midterm, Saturday at 11 pm. For more informaaon on project 1, refer to the Projects folder on Blackboard. 10

11 Project 2 will focus on item analysis and the interpretaaon of test scores. The scenario will be provided two weeks aeer the midterm. To complete project 2, you will need to conduct an item analysis, convert test scores to make comparisons, and summarize and report student performance. The due date for project 2 is the week before the final, Saturday at 11 pm. For more informaaon on project 2, refer to the Projects folder on Blackboard. 11

12 Both projects and some of the weekly acaviaes will be submifed via Blackboard. Your work will not be collected by . The easiest and safest way to submit your projects and assignments is to type your work in a word processing program (such as Word) and save the file (this guarantees that you will have a copy of your work). Upload the file on Blackboard via the assignment link for that week. 12

13 The midterm and final exams are mulaple choice tests of approximately 50 items each. The midterm covers the first half of the semester; the final covers the second of the semester. The exams will be given in person on campus on Saturday. Refer to the syllabus for the exact dates. If you cannot take the exam in person, contact your instructor for alternaave tesang opaons. 13

14 For this course, we start the week on Saturday and end on Friday. All assignments for the week are due by Saturday at 11 pm giving you an extra day to work them. If you have technical problems with Blackboard, first review the Tech Support area in this course. If you sall have problems, contact the help desk at IT.usf.edu. To ensure the best online experience, be sure that you have the latest versions of your browser, Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader. 14

15 The policy for cheaang is the same for any course. All work must be original. 15

16 Remember to employ proper neaquefe when responding to discussion threads, posang on a wiki, or when sending . It s important to keep a supporave environment in an online course by being polite and considerate to others in the course. Inappropriate posts on a discussion thread or wiki will not be tolerated. When you send to the instructor, please be sure to include the instructors name in the body of the message so your doesn t end up in the junk mail folder! 16

17 All course materials are posted in Blackboard. The instructor will use your official USF to send announcements and other s. Discussion boards will be available on a weekly basis for any comments or concerns regarding that week s assignments. There will also be a discussion for technical issues. The instructor will monitor these boards once per week. Use them to collaborate and share with others in the course. 17

18 In this last secaon, you will take a quick tour of this online course. 18