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Traditional Assessments in Virtual Environments

Traditional assessments measure knowledge and understanding by guiding learners to

• recall facts and concepts
• measure their own improvement over time
• comprehend and restate ideas
• articulate knowledge

Quizzes, reports, essays, multiple-choice questions and unit tests are a few examples of traditional assessments.

Traditional assessment methods are common in virtual learning environments such as learning management systems (LMSs) like Blackboard, D2L Brightspace and Moodle.

Benefits

When accessed in an LMS, traditional assessments are fairly easy to assign, submit and grade. LMS companies are continually improving assessment tools to improve accessibility and functionality, and make student evaluation more user-friendly for post-secondary instructors.

Limitations

While traditional assessments can, in some cases, encourage students to apply new knowledge, they offer little opportunity for collaboration and strategic problem solving. They do little to teach us about who learners are, what their goals are, and how you as a teacher can help them meet their goals.

Traditional assessments can create barriers to learning when

• their format and design are inaccessible
• their instructions are unclear
• their evaluation methods are unfair and not inclusive

Knowledge Checks: An Example of Online Traditional Assessment

A common example of online traditional assessments is a knowledge check, which is a quick and easy strategy for students to self-assess their understanding of content as they work their way through learning modules at their own pace. Knowledge checks are traditional examples of formative assessment, in which learners can gauge their in-process learning to ensure they can understand, remember and apply concepts and ideas in a low-stakes environment.

Knowledge checks guide us in our planning, helping us monitor learner participation and identify gaps for learners who are struggling.

Here’s an example of a knowledge check.

Tip: Creating online knowledge checks is straightforward. It takes just a few minutes for teachers to build them directly in the LMS. Alternatively, they can find free and easy digital tools such as quiz generators, then embed the quiz into the LMS.

Knowledge Check: Traditional or Not?

Let’s review your understanding of traditional assessments with another knowledge check activity.

Here are some examples of assessments that are common in virtual learning environments. Each is assessing student knowledge of military service of Indigenous Peoples and Black Canadians.

Review each assessment below and indicate if it is a traditional assessment or a non-traditional assessment. For each traditional assessment, review the proposed alternative assessment.

Traditional Assessments as Barriers to Learning

Earlier, we discussed how traditional assessment practices can create barriers to learning when their format and design are inaccessible, when instructions are unclear and when evaluation methods are unfair and not inclusive.

Students may struggle with traditional assessments when

• time limits are not realistic
• the weighting of the assignment does not reflect the amount of work that goes into the completion of the task
• assessment topics are unrelated to the learning materials or course goals
• assessments are not authentic because they don’t apply to the real world
• there are no opportunities for self-expression