Learner-Centered Teaching and Assessment in an Undergraduate Field Analysis Course

Paradis, Thomas W.; Dexter, Leland R.

doi:10.1080/00221340701742440

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Research on this topic has covered different postsecondary sectors (Boyer et al 2007), general education and various disciplines (Goubeaud 2010;Paradis and Dexter 2007;Palomba 2002;Yanowitz and Hahs-Vaughn 2007), professional and graduate programs (Gerdy 2002;Goubeaud and Yan 2004;Candela et al 2006;Boateng et al 2009 and international higher education (Fook and Sidhu 2010). Taken together, these studies reveal a growing interest in reforming assessment in higher education to be more learner-centered.…”

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 92%

“…For example, Paradis and Dexter (2007) illustrated the benefits of learner-centered education for students and faculty in geography, and Candela et al (2006) discussed the similar benefits for nursing students and faculty. Gerdy (2002) argued for the implementation of learner-centered assessment in legal research instruction, and in doing so, provided examples of exemplary assessment activities that could be employed by law professors.…”

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Use of Learner-Centered Assessment in US Colleges and Universities

Webber

2011

Res High Educ

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over a decade ago, Barr and Tagg (Change Mag 27(6):12-25, 1995) declared that a shift had occurred in higher education from an instruction paradigm to a learning paradigm. A central element in this new paradigm is learner-centered assessment. While a growing body of literature suggests that this approach to assessment is a best practice in higher education pedagogy, it is still unclear whether faculty members have embraced it fully. Using data from the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, this study examines the extent to which faculty members employed learner-centered assessments in postsecondary classrooms at two points in time, 1993 and 2004. Findings show similar to higher rates of use for some assessment techniques in 2004 compared to reports from 1993, as well as differences by faculty gender, age, discipline, and institution type. Implications for faculty members, student learning, and institutional policy are discussed.Keywords Learner-centered assessment Á Faculty practices in assessment Á Student learning assessmentThe assessment of student learning in postsecondary education continues to be a salient issue among educators, leaders in accrediting agencies, and elected officials (e.g., Ewell 2002; Glenn 2011; Kinzie 2010). Assessment has been a long-standing issue and an important dimension of quality instruction; however, its meaning and use have evolved significantly over the past two decades. A traditional view of assessment defines its primary role as evaluating a student's comprehension of factual knowledge. A more contemporary definition, which is growing in popularity, sees assessment as activities designed primarily to foster student learning. This more recent definition has its roots in a movement to make higher education more learner-centered, and related assessment practices are often labeled learner-centered assessment techniques.It is clear from a growing body of literature that learner-centered assessment is now considered a highly-valued practice in higher education pedagogy. Yet, it is unclear to

show abstract

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 97%

The Use of Learner-Centered Assessment in US Colleges and Universities

Webber

2011

Res High Educ

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Problem-based learning is a pedagogical approach with effective response to learning geography not only within a typical course delivery but also for an online audience (Johnson et al, 2000;Prothero, 2000;King, 2008;Dong et al, 2009). Fieldwork-oriented educational activities are of primary importance and facilitate handson participation in geography courses (Jennings & Huber, 2003;Paradis & Dexter, 2007). Dodson et al (2000) developed the EarthKAM project, where middle school, high school and university students experienced a series of activities using earth images in classroom projects, such as building topography, understanding seismicity and seafloor spreading.…”

Section: Project-based Learning In Gis/remote Sensingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inquiry-Based Learning in Remote Sensing: A Space Balloon Educational Experiment

Mountrakis

Triantakonstantis

2012

Journal of Geography in Higher Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Teaching remote sensing in higher education has been traditionally restricted in lecture and computer-aided laboratory activities. This paper presents and evaluates an engaging inquiry-based educational experiment. The experiment was incorporated in an introductory remote sensing undergraduate course to bridge the gap between theory and application of relevant technology. During this semester-long experiment, titled 'ESF goes to space', students designed, built, launched and successfully acquired imagery from the upper stratospheric parts (approximately 27 000 m). Replication guidelines are presented and a post-evaluation discusses benefits and limitations for students, instructors and university.

show abstract

“…Integrating all three together into a comprehensive understanding can be even more formidable. Field trips can help in this regard (Paradis & Dexter, 2007). Field-based pedagogy has long been touted as being effective, to the point of being transformative (Whitmeyer & Mogk, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Quantitative assessment of a field-based course on integrative geology, ecology and cultural history

Sheppard

Donaldson

Huckleberry

2010

International Research in Geographical and Environmental Educat

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A field-based course at the University of Arizona called Sense of Place (SOP) covers the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. SOP was quantitatively assessed for pedagogical effectiveness. Students of the Spring 2008 course were given pre-and post-course word association surveys in order to assess awareness and comprehension of the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. Students who had previously taken SOP (2005)(2006)(2007) and students who had never taken SOP also completed the survey. The survey consisted of 12 stimulus terms, all of which represent concepts integral to an understanding of environmental geography of the Tucson area. The students wrote words that they associate with each stimulus term. Differences between the preand post-course responses showed clear improvement in awareness and comprehension of the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. Results from students who took SOP in past years indicate that long-term retention of course content is good. The word association technique proved to be effective for collecting data and evaluating the course. The field trips of SOP are described in the Appendix, which also contains the word association survey used in this research.

show abstract

Learner-Centered Teaching and Assessment in an Undergraduate Field Analysis Course

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

The Use of Learner-Centered Assessment in US Colleges and Universities

The Use of Learner-Centered Assessment in US Colleges and Universities

Inquiry-Based Learning in Remote Sensing: A Space Balloon Educational Experiment

Quantitative assessment of a field-based course on integrative geology, ecology and cultural history

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About