# data[].attributes.body
This website is really great for rubrics, classroom materials, and professional development.

Has some really KEY resources for scaffolding materials in the classroom.

Includes cost-effective, virtual and informational professional development sessions aimed to improve your teaching.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The NEW Building Better Rubrics Website Rubric Tools and Templates Make sure you check out the new Wordsmith dictionary! Rubriques - Tools Rubriques - Templates Gabarit grilles d'évaluation (download Word document) Gabarit grilles d'évaluation (version agrandie) (download Word document) RubricsIn Action Learn More Book Study for Building Better Rubrics Learn More Rubric Tools and Templates Learn More Rubrics In Action ...

# data[].attributes.body
This online app includes in-depth and AI-generated content to help you build assessments, test questions or rubrics while considering your age and grade group. The Magic School can generate outcome-based assessment questions based on content, stories or YouTube videos.

# data[].attributes.body
This online app involves using artificial intelligence to help you build lessons, assessments, and study guides or questions to help you along the way in your planning and assessment.

# data[].attributes.body
QuestionWell for teachers is a website dedicated directly towards creating outcome based questions for assessment. This app is great for creating source-based questions as well as outcomes. You can select the grade and outcome you are wanting students to meet and it will build questions targeting the age and grade of your students! You can also paste texts, or pick YouTube videos into the question generator to narrow down the specificity of your questions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
QuestionWell | Create High-Quality Quizzes and Question Sets

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create high-quality quizzes and question sets with QuestionWell. Generate multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer, and essential questions aligned to learning outcomes. Then export to Kahoot, Quizizz, Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Gimkit, Moodle, Canvas, Blooket, and Quizlet.

# data[].attributes.body
Diffit is an instructional, artificial intelligence website that educators can use to create 'just right' resources to cater to different reading levels for students. This website allows you to put the grade level of students to gather useful and appropriate resources for students based on topics presented in class! We have adapted reading passages, Key vocabulary words and multiple-choice questions for educators to utilize.

# data[].attributes.body
EdPuzzle is a resource that was used within my practicum classroom to do formative assessments for students. EdPuzzle is an interactive video lesson resource that can be used by all students in a non-formal formative way to assess student knowledge. I think this resource is particularly helpful when reviewing before a quiz, or for leaving open-ended questioning for students doing a movie/book study. I would have liked to use this resource during my science unit in my sixth-grade classroom. I think having students watch a video on forces and following the concepts leave questions for students to respond to!

# data[].attributes.body
This document is essentially a 'cheat' sheet for rubric building in the sixth grade for the Alberta Program of Studies. I received this rubric from my mentor teacher in response to a question about rubric building. I have yet to use this resource, but I know it would be helpful if I were to be in a sixth-grade class. The resource also mentions EMAB and how we benchmark student achievement based on the outcomes we receive. This rubric building sheet is specifically targeting Language Arts.

# data[].attributes.headline
The University of Alberta Rubric Building

# data[].attributes.subject
The University of Alberta Rubric Building

# data[].attributes.body
The University of Alberta Centre for Teaching and Learning created a website that offers insight into how to create effective rubrics, how to align assessments and rubrics with outcomes and student learnings, writing single-point rubrics. I think this website offers a comprehensive look into rubric building and is made in Alberta!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In this video, Ellen Watson, educational developer, explains how she created an analytic rubric including criteria selection, creating weightings and values, and writing descriptors for each level for criteria. Watch here

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this video, Ellen Watson, educational developer, explains how she created an analytic rubric including criteria selection, creating weightings and values, and writing descriptors for each level for criteria. Watch here

# data[].attributes.headline
What are rubrics and how do they affect student learning?

# data[].attributes.subject
What are rubrics and how do they affect student learning?

# data[].attributes.body
This website is from Turnitin.com and explains the importance of rubrics, and the crucial pieces of building and creating rubrics centred around our outcomes. This article says that rubrics can help align our content with what students need to know, show students where they are at in their learning journey, clarify learning goals and improve feedback to students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Rubrics are guidelines for student assessments. They are best made clear to students before an assessment; effective rubrics give students transparency into how they will be assessed, what to expect on assessments, and provide next steps in learning.

And what do rubrics look like? They're more than just a checklist, but rather guidelines that focus on skills that demonstrate learning.

According to Susan M. Brookhart, there are two essential components of effective rubrics:

1. Criteria that relates to the learning (and not "the tasks")

2. Performance level descriptions against a continuum of quality

Criteria should center around learning, not tasks. "Appropriate criteria," according to Brookhart's 2018 research, "are the key to effective rubrics. Trivial or surface-level criteria will not draw learning goals for students as clearly as substantive criteria. Students will try to produce what is expected of them. If the criterion is simply having or counting something in their work (e.g., "has 5 paragraphs"), students need not pay attention to the quality of what their work has. If the criterion is substantive (e.g., "states a compelling thesis"), attention to quality becomes part of the work."

In sum, rubrics make clear what counts and what defines excellent work so that students can succeed and learn in alignment with course expectations; they define the performance instead of judging. Rubrics, just like assessments, are best when designed to connect to learning.

What are some common misperceptions about rubrics?

"Rubrics with criteria that are about the task-with descriptions of performance that amount to checklists for directions-assess compliance and not learning. Rubrics with counts instead of quality descriptions assess the existence of something and not its quality," according to Brookhart ( 2013).

Confusing learning outcomes with tasks can result in using rubrics as a checklist, which are often binary (e.g., "yes/no") in nature. But rubrics that are more descriptive and reflect higher-order thinking provide students with action items, uphold assessment with integrity, and improve learning outcomes.

Rubrics that do not align to learning goals can also limit learning. Ensure that rubrics focus on core learning goals and are in alignment with course expectations. For example, if formatting margins on an essay is not a course objective but is included in rubrics, the efficacy of that rubric may be compromised. Students may confuse what it is they should do with what it is they should learn; when this occurs, once the students complete a task, they may feel their learning has ended instead of seeing learning as a continuum.

Other misperceptions include confusing rubrics with evaluative rating scales. Rating scales are useful for grading, and involve evaluations across a scale without description (e.g., 1-5, always/sometimes/never or A-F). While rating scales are useful for grading, they don't offer students a description of quality that they can utilize as they navigate learning.

How do rubrics affect student learning?

The formative feedback process, a core element of student-teacher communication, begins with setting expectations. Rubrics are "one way to make learning expectations explicit for learners" (Brookhart, 2018). These clear and explicit expectations help students see what learning looks like so that they can then absorb feedback in alignment with those learning goals.

Jay McTighe specifies that effective rubrics do the following:

Clearly define criteria for judging student performance based on targeted standards/outcomes

Promote more consistent evaluation of student performance

Help clarify instructional goals and serve as teaching targets

Provide specific feedback to learners and teachers

Help students focus on the important dimensions of a product or performance

Enable criterion-based evaluation and standards-based grading

Support student self- and peer-assessment (McTighe, 2016)

Rubrics give students a greater chance of achieving a clear and defined target. They guide curriculum planning and uphold accurate assessments with integrity. Effective rubrics enable self-assessment and self-directed student learning.

Additionally, rubrics have the potential to advance the learning of historically marginalized students. According to Wolf and Stevens, "An often unrecognized benefit of rubrics is that they can make learning expectations or assumptions about the tasks themselves more explicit ( Andrade & Ying, 2005). In academic environments [sic] we often operate on unstated cultural assumptions about the expectations for student performance and behavior and presume that all students share those same understandings" ( 2007, p. 13). In other words, rubrics make explicit what may be too nuanced for first generation students or English learners to access.

Rubrics are, in essence, not only part of assessment but also a teaching and learning junction with the potential to increase student learning outcomes and uphold assessment with integrity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What are rubrics and how do they affect student learning?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rubrics are guidelines for student assessments. They are best made clear to students before an assessment; effective rubrics give students transparency into how they will be assessed, what to expect on assessments, and provide next steps in learning. And what do rubrics look like?

# data[].attributes.body
This is an interactive game show for students to complete questions. Similar to Kahoot, GimKit is interactive and includes in-game incentives if they complete questions correctly. Students can work at home, at school, individually or collaboratively on the assessments. I think this is a fantastic way to check student learning and see where they are at in their understanding of content!

# data[].attributes.headline
Create and Track Assessment - Edualistic (Pear Assessment)

# data[].attributes.subject
Create and Track Assessment - Edualistic (Pear Assessment)

# data[].attributes.body
This resource is a great way for educators to track assessments, and post them widely for other educators to view. Although it is an American website it can be beneficial for teachers to share resources, track formative and summative assessments and create assessments based on content. It can be adapted to fit in with the Alberta Program of Studies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We're now Pear Deck Learning!

Learn more about our expanded ecosystem of tools.

Monitor success with assessment

Easily administer district, common and classroom assessments using high-quality item banks, or curriculum-aligned assessments, create your own questions or mix and match.

Implement common benchmarks

Help every student master standards with an integrated assessment program to identify gaps and monitor progress.

Create classroom formatives

Create technology-enhanced, standards-aligned assessments and get instant data to drive instruction, for free!

In-depth data at a glance

See which areas students are succeeding - and where they need more support - with standards-aligned reporting that's easy to understand and even easier to implement.

Pear Assessment's premium versions give you additional layers of security, from browser lockdowns to dynamic passwords.

Visualize progress, drive outcomes

Pear Assessment's Data Studio gives educators a holistic view of learning to shape data-driven strategies for student success. See Pear Assessment reporting alongside external academic and non-academic data sources to inform MTSS planning at the district, school, and student level.

Get insight into attendance data, academic performance, standards mastery, and academic risk levels - all in one convenient dashboard.

See the 360 view of student progress

Understand each student's learning journey with the Whole Learner Report, so you can provide proactive support to students who need it.

Try one of our 10K free pre-built assessments

You help students. We help you.

Explore dynamic presentation features, quality content, and more.

Accelerate learning with real-time feedback, collaborative classrooms, and more.

"I use Pear Assessment for weekly assessments and daily exit tickets. Student enjoy using their devices and the tech enhanced questions to show what they know. It also prepares them for state testing, so they are comfortable with the format."

Brandie Schroeder, 5th grade Science, Social Studies, Math

ELA Central Elementary School

Real-time insights for around-the-clock tutoring

Pair the data-driven insights, automated grading, and instant reports of Pear Assessment with personalized tutoring and real-time progress monitoring of Pear Deck Tutor.

This combination allows educators to understand their students' progress in real-time, and provide immediate, personalized 1:1 tutoring support.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pear Assessment is a versatile assessment platform that combines the ease of use needed for simple classroom assessments with the customization required to deploy common assessments at scale.

# data[].attributes.body
FlipGrid is a resource that was used often in my practicum class during Language Arts and Social Studies. This is a great way to have students verbally explain answers to questions, summative or formative to gauge where they are at in their journey. I particularly liked using this for students as I had some students who could not write answers on paper, or in a document so having this resource to let students discuss their thinking and still complete the assignment is perfect for differentiation and inclusivity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Slotkuni : Situs Slot Gacor Gampang Menang, Resmi & Terpercaya

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Slotkuni adalah situs bermain slot online auto spin!, Permainan slot gacor terbaru 2025 yang Resmi & Terpercaya serta gampang jp maxwin setiap jam.

# data[].attributes.body
Formative is a free online assessment tool that teachers can use to pick from pre-made assessments, or create their own from scratch! This assessment tool offers students data for them to track student performance and offers an insightful look into progress for educators to track learning and understanding!

# data[].attributes.body
Jamboard is an interactive tool that I used in my practicum to do exit tickets and entry tickets for students during our science unit! I found this resource to be easily accessible and easy for students to use, while also being the perfect way to have students answer questions after content is presented. My students enjoyed being able to write down their thoughts to questions (pre-made) about the content that we discussed earlier in class. It was a quick way for me to provide feedback to students and engage in discussions with them.

# data[].attributes.body
Mentimeter is a tool that you can place directly into your slide deck while presenting content to students. I particularly like this website/tool for gauging student success, and having them do interactive polls during class to check for understanding. I usually used the thumbs up, middle or down method in my classroom during practicum, so this is just a way to bump up those formative checks and engage all students.

# data[].attributes.body
Although this page is under construction, this piece of the Alberta Assessment Consortium website helps educators find ways to align their summative assessments to the content. It discusses the importance of authentic and reliable assessments or revising your current assessments to make sure they align with outcomes and what you want students to know.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Create Your Own Authentic Assessment (New Resources!) - Alberta Assessment Consortium

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Authentic Assessments - New Content! This exciting new page aims to provide teachers with resources and tools to support planning authentic assessments. Because the site has just been released, there are bound to be some glitches or gaps in content, so we'd like to invite you to provide us with any feedback on any edits ...

# data[].attributes.body
Edutopia cultivates meaningful and reliable articles for educators to check in on their practice and where they are heading. This specific article discusses how to harness effective and reliable tech-friendly formative assessment tools to help students and educators alleviate the technology fear. This specific article talks about gathering formative assessment tools, planning with a purpose and where to go next once you have your formative assessment figured out.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Formative assessment is an important part of effective instruction. Teachers can use observations, checklists, and quick quizzes to gather data that will inform their instruction. Formative assessment identifies areas where students are excelling and struggling so that teachers can best alter their instruction to meet the needs of all students. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to work with a school looking to strengthen its formative assessment data collection by leveraging the power of tech-friendly tools.

Technology can make formative assessment a seamless part of everyday activities. Online tools and mobile devices can help teachers stay organized when collecting data that will make analyzing information easier and more meaningful. Formative assessment can take place throughout a unit of study during daily lessons that incorporate technology. As you examine the systems that work for you in your classroom, technology tools can make this process easier and seamless when used effectively.

Choosing the Right Tool

With the abundance of technology options available for teachers, it can be intimidating to search for and locate the right one. The correct choice for you, your students, and your school will depend on a variety of factors. One important thing to consider is when you plan to collect formative data. You may decide to embed questions into a lesson presentation using a BYOD-friendly tool like Nearpod, or to pause the whole class while taking a read of the room with a polling website like Kahoot!

When choosing the right tool, you will also want to take into account the age and ability of your students. Elementary students can "show what they know" at the end of a lesson when you capture and annotate their work using an app like Seesaw. Older students might answer quiz questions or post a short response on Schoology at the end of a class period. The goal for this type of formative assessment would be to gauge student understanding at the end of the lesson. The technology tool that you choose will depend on your goal as well as characteristics of your classroom, such as workflow and student composition.

Gathering Formative Assessment Data

Tech-friendly tools can make data collection seamless during classroom instruction. The embedded tools mentioned above can be integrated into lessons so that a quiz or poll can provide teachers with immediate feedback. They can then shift the direction of their lesson to address misconceptions or student questions. Formative assessment data gathered by teachers at the end of a lesson can also benefit from the ease of tech-friendly tools. Teachers can provide a few minutes for their quiz questions posted on Socrative or an exit slip to be completed on The Answer Pad.

Formative assessment data is often collected on checklists attached to clipboards or sheets of paper in a binder. There are also tech-friendly solutions for gathering formative assessment data that leverages the portability of mobile devices and the ability to enter data easily. Google Forms are one of my favorite formative assessment tools because they are completely customizable. Teachers can quickly create a data-entry form for a whole-class checklist, or individual and small-group conference notes. All of this collected data is automatically organized in a Google Spreadsheet, making it easy to keep track of student performance.

Planning With a Purpose

Once formative data has been collected, teachers can plan with a purpose. The tools mentioned above (including Kahoot!, Socrative, and Nearpod) organize student responses to questions for item analysis and review after a class period. Teachers can use this information to plan their next lesson and make decisions for individual students.

It may become clear, based on formative assessment data, that an entire class has misconceptions on a topic or has already mastered course content. Teachers might also find patterns in the data that can help them make decisions on how to address individual needs or how to group students. In addition to data collected on Google Forms, tech-friendly tools like Explain Everything -- which lets students record their voices and explain their thinking -- can go beyond just submitting a correct answer to help teachers figure out where students need help.

As you begin to develop a strategy for gathering and utilizing formative assessment data in your classroom, take a moment to think about how technology can support this work. Locating the right tool, building data collection into your routine, and making a plan based on student understanding are important steps to follow. Technology tools can elevate these best practices and make it easier to stay organized as you collect formative assessment data.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Empowering Teachers With Tech-Friendly Formative Assessment Tools | Edutopia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Formative assessment is an important part of effective instruction. Teachers can use observations, checklists, and quick quizzes to gather data that will inform their instruction. Formative assessment identifies areas where students are excelling and struggling so that teachers can best alter their instruction to meet the needs of all students.

# data[].attributes.body
I love padlet for formative assessment and check-ins! This website and interactive benchmarking website can have students fill out polls, multiple choice questions, exit tickets or create a board to fill with fun content ideas. I utilized Padlet often in my practicum classroom to help with exit tickets, and interactive polls and to find out where students are at in their understanding of content.

# data[].attributes.body
This Edutopia article discusses how to teach students to ask productive questions. As educators, we know how crucial it is to ask questions that prompt deeper learning, challenge traditional knowledge on a topic or clarify questions to better enhance understanding. This article provides educators with insight on how to push students to want to know more about topics, how to improve ideas and understandings and express curiosity in the classroom. When we shift our thinking from "Do you have any questions" to "What kinds of questions do we have" we can put aside surface-level questions and open the door for higher level learning and curiosity to foster curiosity, comprehension and understanding.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Improve engagement, comprehension, and critical thinking by teaching students the process of asking insightful questions.

Jacob Lund / Shutterstock

In a recent piece for MiddleWeb, teacher and author Jackie Walsh disputes the commonly accepted classroom expectation that teachers ask the questions and students answer. "Student-generated questions put learners in the driver's seat," she writes. "They advance both learning and engagement."

There are natural barriers to shifting to this more student-centered approach: "many think that asking questions might lead teachers to believe they're not smart or suggest to their peers that they're not cool." But Walsh offers step-by-step guidance for addressing those issues and fostering an environment that supports questioning by students.

The first step is to explain why questions are critical to the learning process, Walsh says. Provide students with clear rationales such as, "I use questions to understand other perspectives and to engage in collaborative thinking and learning" or "I ask myself questions to monitor my thinking and learning." Identifying the function of a question is crucial in motivating students, and these sample stems serve as prompts for students who need help to form useful questions.

For reference, Walsh has developed a comprehensive, metacognitive framework of questioning skills and matching prompts. The rubric makes the relationship between critical thinking and asking questions explicit and is a great handout for students.

Ultimately, though, the art of framing a question is one that must be practiced, Walsh writes. She suggests a "think time 1-2" practice, which emphasizes longer-than-normal pauses to ask and then process questions: Use a three-to-five-second pause after the teacher's question to allow students to determine what the question is asking and whether the students understand it, and then provide a second "think time" after a student responds. The second pause "provides the opportunity for students to process what a speaker has said and pose questions about the speaker's comment or about the topic in general."

Other simple changes can drive home the point. Asking students, "What kinds of questions do you have?" instead of the more typical "Do you have any questions?" can send the clear signal that the torch has been passed to them. She also recommends that teachers "institute a policy of 'raise your hand to ask a question-not to answer the teacher's question.'" Flipping the expectation from a class where the teacher poses questions to one where students ask the questions leads to greater engagement, comprehension, and critical thinking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Students How to Ask Productive Questions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Improve engagement, comprehension, and critical thinking by teaching students the process of asking insightful questions.

# data[].attributes.body
This document unpacks how educators can foster deeper learning through questioning. When we ask general and vague questions we are essentially asking students to recall information that we have talked about in class. The student is not critically thinking about the content and how to interpret the content to offer a variety of answers cultivated through their thinking process. This article speaks on the importance of KWL strategies, reciprocal teaching standards and how to foster classroom inquiry and discussions based on content through a different thought process than regurgitation.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about asking effective questions by asking students HOTS questions. HOTS questions expand student knowledge, reflect on understanding and consider their thinking process when going through content.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
You may want to ask questions of your class during lessons in order to:

1. Encourage student participation and recall

2. Stimulate students' deep thinking

3. Check in with students

This post provides some ideas and examples for how to form and deliver questions to achieve each of these goals.

1. Encourage Participation and Recall

Students are less likely to answer your questions if they find them confusing, vague, or unrelatable. Students are more likely to speak up when the questions are understandable, specific, and relatable. Here are some general tips for forming questions that students will want to answer in class, based on advice from Powers (2020).

Ask one question at a time (multiple questions can be confusing)

Ask short questions (long questions can be hard to follow)

Ask specific questions you want to know the answers to (if you already know the answer students may wait to hear your "correct" answer)

Don't hide the answer in the question (either the question may be too easy or it can discourage authentic responses from students)

Review a "This or That" H5P activity with examples that demonstrate these ideas: Which Question Do You Prefer to Answer?.

LOTS Questions for Recall

Students are more likely to answer recall questions that allow them to share what they already know and can do. Recall questions are lower order thinking skills (LOTS), according to Bloom's taxonomy of thinking skills (Armstrong, 2010). LOTS questions ask students to reproduce knowledge and skills. For instance, they can have students:

LOTS questions can help prepare brains to think more deeply about content and in more complex ways.

2. Stimulate Deep Thinking

According to Bloom's taxonomy, higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) questions ask students to produce knowledge and skills. They help students to dig deeper and think longer about course content. For example, they can have students:

HOTS questions expand on students' foundational knowledge, helping them synthesize information, reflect on their understanding, and even consider their thinking processes (i.e., metacognition) (Elder & Paul, 2012). Because the ability to answer HOTS questions often relies on accessing foundational knowledge and skills, HOTS questions should be asked after LOTS questions.

See this Spectrum of Effective Questioning job aid that gives examples of LOTS and HOTS questions. Use these different question types incrementally to develop and deepen students' levels of thinking.

Supporting Students Answering HOTS Questions

Students may struggle with answering HOTS questions in class. Here are some tips that can help students (Waterlook n.d.):

Be clear about what question you want to ask

Confirm prior knowledge first

Anchor questions in personal knowledge

Lead students in the right direction

Give students possible answers

Give students time to think or write

Provide opportunities for discussion, such as a think-pair-share

Explain why answering the HOTS question matters

If students cannot answer HOTS questions, you may need to return to asking LOTS questions to confirm that students have sufficient knowledge and thinking skills required to answer HOTS questions.

See this TeachThought article for 28 Critical Thinking Question Stems for Any Content Area.

Asking Questions Across the Lesson

Questions should be interwoven throughout a lesson plan to deepen learning. One way to plan questions for learning is to follow the gradual release of responsibility model (Bogdanovich, 2014). This model (see Fig. 10) has guides students in scaffolded learning activities that gradually allows them to take responsibility for their own learning. See more on the Gradual Release of Responsibility model in the post on Content Chunking.

"I Do" Activity Questions

When you lead lesson activities that explain, instruct, review, or model, you may can concept development questions to students. Most concept development questions are LOTS questions. Examples include (Bogdanovich, 2014):

In your own words, what is (insert the concept being taught)?

Which is an example of ________? Why?

What is the difference between the example and the non-example?

Give/Draw me an example of ______.

Match the examples to the definition of ______.

Which picture/poster shows an example of _______?

"We Do Together" Activity Questions

When you lead students in learning activities that provide a high degree of structure, feedback, and corrections during skill development, you can ask skill development questions. Skill development questions are often LOTS questions. Examples include (Bogdanovich, 2014):

How did I know how to (insert skill modeled)?

How did I know that this was the correct answer?

What did I use to ensure I know the correct answer?

How did I know how to interpret the answer?

"You Do it Together" Activity Questions

When you provide activities in which students practice together on their own (with limited guidance from you), you can ask guided practice questions. Guided practice questions are often HOTS questions. Examples include (Bogdanovich, 2014):

How did you know how to __________?

How did you know that this was the correct answer?

How did you use to ensure that you knew how to find the _____?

How did you know how to interpret the answer?

Which step was most difficult for you? Why?

"You Do it Alone" Activity Questions

When you provide individual activities for students to practice on their own (with minimal guidance from you), you can ask relevance and closure questions. Relevance and closure questions are often HOTS questions. Examples include (Bogdanovich, 2014):

What did you learn today?

What was most relevant for you today?

What do you still need to learn more about?

How did the lesson meet the lesson's learning outcomes?

How might this lesson benefit you in the future?

3. Checking in With Students

At the end of a lesson section, you may wish to "check in" with students by seeing if anyone has any questions or if everyone understands. These check-ins often take the form of questions, such as "Does anyone have a question?" or "Does everyone get it?" or "Am I being clear?"

However, you may find that students are uncomfortable or unwilling to answer these questions, or ask questions of their own. They may not even know what questions to ask (Czt128, 2018).

Alternative Check-In Questions

Here are some alternative prompts to check in with students and seek requests for clarification. In some cases, you may wish to provide alternatives to check-in questions altogether, and instead use "Exit Tickets" or a follow-up class survey.

We will move on after the class asks me two questions.

What do you think so far? What are your thoughts?

How well would you say you understand this concept?

One of the questions I'm asked a lot is...

What is one thing someone in the class might be unclear about?

What else do you need to know?

What questions do you have?

Is there a part of the less you would like more clarification?

What are 3 things you knew, 2 things you learned, 1 question you have (in writing)?

What is the most important idea that you know now that you didn't before the class?

Who wants to meet in a breakout room?

What is one thing you will be able to apply today?

Final Tips for Delivering Good Questions

No matter what kind of question you are asking, here are some helpful tips for preparing to deliver questions effectively (Waterloo, n.d.):

Try writing a few different versions of the same question (throw out what you don't like)

Pre-write your question on a sticky note (keep handy)

Read the question with resonance and drama

Read (or repeat) the question slowly

Pause after asking the question, giving students time to answer questions

Avoid interrupting students

Praise students who give responses

More Information

In the Conestoga Library, read this article on creating good questions for online discussions:

Toledo, C. A. (2006). "Does Your Dog Bite?": Creating good questions for online discussions. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 18(2), 150-154.

References

Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom's Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.

Bogdanovich, P. (2014). Higher order questions. https://dataworks-ed.com/blog/2014/10/higher-order-questions/

Czt128 (2018). Alternatives to any questions prompts. ID&T@PHS. https://sites.psu.edu/idtphs/2018/02/26/cats-alternative-to-any-questions-prompt/

Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2012). The thinker's guide to analytic thinking. Tomales, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Powers, B. (2020). How to ask better questions.

Waterloo University (n.d.). Question strategies.

Elan Paulson, PhD, has been an educator in Ontario's higher education system since 2004. Before joining Conestoga as a Teaching and Learning Consultant, Elan was on the executive team at eCampusOntario. She previously served as Program Director and as an instructor in professional education programs at Western University's Faculty of Education. With a Master's in Educational Technology, Elan specializes in technology-enabled and collaborative learning to support diverse learners. She has also conducted research on faculty participation in communities of practice for professional learning and self-care.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Photo by Hadija Saidi on Unsplash You may want to ask questions of your class during lessons in order to: Encourage student participation and recall Stimulate students'...

# data[].attributes.body
I received this cheat sheet for choosing assessment methods that incorporate the type of thinking we want students to exemplify, the performance verbs from the program of studies outcomes, and provide strong to poor methods of assessment to dissect each of the outcomes and how to foster student understanding. When we know where to go with our assessment, and what the verbs are in our learning outcomes we can then move into building and constructing questions, and the test to properly and effectively assess students.

# data[].attributes.body
This cheat sheet is effective in finding and incorporating Indigenous pieces into their instruction. The entire document is filled with effective and reliable curriculum connections for assessment, building questions and content to incorporate and seamlessly structure Indigenous pieces into our curriculum.

# data[].attributes.body
Although the speaker of this video is rather monotone, I think this video speaks on some wonderful strategies to provide to students before taking a test/exam. The tips discussed within the video are helpful for students who may struggle with test anxiety, or find multiple choice tests challenging.

# data[].attributes.headline
Formative Assessment to Game-Based Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Formative Assessment to Game-Based Learning

# data[].attributes.body
Edutopia does it again with their helpful teacher tips! This video shows formative assessment in a completely different light. In the video we have first hand accounts from students explaining how games help them learn and retain information better and how we as educators can embed formative assessment into our instruction through games!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Building Formative Assessment into Game-Based Learning

# data[].attributes.body
Group assessment can be challenging if we do not know how to format it. In this video we see what is called station rotation where students are assessed individually, but in groups! This way we are gathering effective information about each students learning but in a completely different format.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Station Rotation: Differentiating Instruction to Reach All Students

# data[].attributes.body
This document from the University of Tennessee discusses the importance of group work assessment, and how in a post pandemic world we as educators can still remain conscious of distance while still utilizing group work and assessment.

# data[].attributes.body
This video is a great recap of what summative assessments are, how we can create meaningful and reliable questions to reflect student knowledge and how to effectively administer summative assessments in the classroom! Bonus points for the silly skits they play in the beginning of each video.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Summative Assessments: Launch Your Classroom! Episode 59

# data[].attributes.body
This article provides some key points for educators to use to ensure they are creating effective test questions. There is points made about Bloom's Taxonomy which is a great reference when creating assessments for students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Since online learning often separates teachers from learners across time and distance, we rely on evaluations - in the form of tests, quizzes and assessments - to judge each student's successful comprehension of the content (and to judge how well the course designers presented their information).

But what makes a good test question? Is it meant to challenge a student? Should it stump as many students as possible? If every student answers a question correctly, does that mean your question is too easy, or is it a perfect example of an effective test question?

To find out, let's begin by reminding ourselves why we test our students in the first place.
The Purpose of a Good Test Question
As a general rule, a good question tests the 6-levels of intellectual understanding, as espoused in Bloom's Taxonomy:

Going further, the Cornell University's Center for Teaching Excellence provides a great summary of the characteristics of what a "good question" is:

Intention: Did the question assess what you intended to assess?

Demonstration: Did learners demonstrate that they learned what they needed to learn?

Progress: Were learners able to show progress in their learning?

Motivation: Did the question help motivate learners to further their academic pursuits of the subject matter?

Distinction: Did the question help distinguish learners from "non-learners"?

Notice that these guidelines have nothing to do with the structure of the question itself.

Whether your questions involve True/False answers, Multiple Choice responses, Matching items, Fill-in-the-Blanks or Essay responses, good questions must demonstrate all of these traits.
How to Create Effective Tests and Quizzes

At the heart of any good question is an understanding of the learning outcomes that the questions are seeking to measure. Before you develop your question bank, revisit the objectives of the course to ensure your questions are built with those objectives in mind.

For example, if the objective of a course is to ensure that students are capable of executing the basic functions of trigonometry, you might begin to formulate your final exam by first listing all the necessary functions you would expect a student to be able to execute by the end of your course. This will give you a checklist of "must-have" test questions, and provide a structure for the progression of the test.

For a more subjective topic, like political theory, you might first list all the key concepts you'd expect a student to be able to explain by the end of your course, as well as the critical thinking skills you'd expect them to be able to employ. Then you could devise an exam which includes all the necessary topics while simultaneously testing the students' cognitive functions in their explanation of those terms.

From there, you can decide which question formats best serve those purposes.

While choosing from a series of Multiple Choice or True/False answers may be sufficient to prove a student's familiarity with glossary terms or the basic comprehension of functions, those formats also allow for "educated guesses," which may not be enough to prove a student truly understands the underlying concepts. Thus, you should also include Essay, Fill-in-the-Blank, and other open-ended question formats that require a student not just to deduce (or guess) the correct answer but to apply their knowledge and rhetorical reasoning - or, in the case of mathematics, to prove they can actually perform the computations effectively.
How Hard Should a Test Be?
Experts vary on their responses to this question, but the general consensus seems to be: harder is better, with a caveat.

Students who feel "put on the spot" or otherwise expected to achieve errorless results in a difficult situation are reportedly more likely to retain the correct information afterward, even if they make mistakes. The caveat? For this approach to work best, students must also have the opportunity to review their responses and understand what they got wrong. (Understanding why an answer is wrong also helps with retention.)

However, it's critical to note that a question's difficulty should be derived from the challenge it presents, not from any complexity in the way it's phrased. As a recent incident in the UK proved, students of all ages can feel "demoralized" if they struggle to even understand the questions on a test.

Thus, if you're presenting questions in such a manner that your students will barely be able to answer them - whether by writing them for an advanced reading level or by purposely writing them to be obtuse - you're not truly testing your students' knowledge; you're making them jump through needless hoops which may result in lower scores and a dislike of the material simply for the sake of appearing "challenging."
Testing the Test-Makers

Not sure if your test is too hard? Ask a beta tester in your target audience to take it before you administer it to your class.

For example, a grad student or teacher's aide in the field should have no real trouble passing a test for undergrads, nor should a senior manager in a department that's receiving employee training in a specific topic. If they do, you may want to step your difficulty level down a notch or two.

After all, a test that no one passes means it might be you, and not your students, who need a refresher.
Image: "Quiz" by Animated Heaven, via Flickr Creative Commons License

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since online learning often separates teachers from learners across time and distance, we rely on evaluations - in the form of tests, quizzes and assessments - to judge each student's successful comprehension of the content (and to judge how well the course designers presented their information). But

# data[].attributes.body
This document I received in my EDUC 3108 course provides a complete list of math websites that educators can utilize to do formative assessment for students. These websites can help educators find out where students are at in their mathematics journey and provide feedback to strengthen instruction and assessment.