"TEACHING TABLES I:" Using In-Class Problems as Formative Assessment Tools

Abstract

In an electrical engineering course for juniors, students devote part of each class period to in-class problems designed to develop their conceptual understanding of significant topics in the course. The students work in small groups on 1-2 problems per class, each for 10-15 minutes. Whole-class discussion follows the problems in order to review solutions and further develop student understanding. The problems help students learn the fundamental concepts of the course. In addition, the discussion helps the instructor understand what students do and do not understand about the problem and allows the instructor to provide just-in-time information in a formative assessment process. The instructor can also use the discussion to highlight particularly important concepts. Analysis of student work has revealed student difficulties with symbols and complex algorithms due to a lack of conceptual knowledge.

This strategy could easily be adapted for courses in other STEM disciplines. The instructor needs to identify the significant and fundamental concepts in the course. Questions may be designed to follow up on material from the previous class session or course. Alternatively, they may be used as a preliminary assessment before introducing material. Problems could be collected into a ââ¬Åbankââ¬Â that can be used from semester to semester. We recommend analysis of student work and iterative refinement of the problems to better assess student knowledge.