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Classroom Assessment Techniques
Student Assessment of Learning Gains
(Screen 2 of 6)
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Description
The Student Assessment of their Learning Gains (SALG) instrument is an on-line instrument that provides information about the specific gains that students perceive they have made in any aspects of a course that instructors have identified as important to their learning. The sample instrument is divided into broad aspects of the class or lab, for example, students' perceptions of their learning gains from:
- particular class and lab activities
- tests, graded activities, and assignments
- resources, e.g., the text, readings, the web
- course innovations
Gains in the following areas are explored:
- skills
- cognition
- attitudes toward the subject, learning, etc.
Students can also be asked to make estimates of their learning retention and the adequacy of preparation for future classes offered by the current class.
The sample questions in each question grouping can be edited and augmented to reflect any set of learning objectives.
![I found it [web page] simple and easy to use, and received complete and high quality feedback.](salgfig1.gif) After each section, the student is invited to add write-in comments. (In a forthcoming version of the program, a template will be added to allow instructors to categorize and count these additional comments by type.) Students complete the instrument on-line, and instructors to receive a summary of results in both statistical and graphic form.
Q1. HOW MUCH did each of the following aspects of the class HELP YOUR LEARNING?
| |
|
NA |
Was of no help |
Helped a little |
Helped |
Helped a good deal |
Helped a great deal |
| A. |
The class's focus on answering real world questions |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| B. |
How the class activities, labs, reading, and assignments fitted together |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| C. |
The pace at which we worked |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| D. |
The class and lab activities: |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 1. |
|
class presentations (including lectures) |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 2. |
|
discussions in class |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 3. |
|
group work in class |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 4. |
|
hands-on class activities |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 5. |
|
understanding why we were doing each activity/lab |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 6. |
|
written lab instructions |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 7. |
|
lab organization |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 8. |
|
teamwork in labs |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 9. |
|
lab reports |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| *10. |
|
specific class activities (list) |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| *11. |
|
specific labs/activities (list) |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| *12. |
|
specific lab assignments (list) |
NA |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Figure 1. Statements from the Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) Sample Instrument (Focused on Broader Learning Issues of Interest to the Teacher).
Assessment Purposes
Instructors can discover how much each component of their course is seen by their students as contributing to their learning. This allows instructors to adjust their teaching methods to meet student learning needs more effectively. They also have a basis upon which to discuss specific types of learning difficulty with students. Use of the instrument (especially where it is followed by class discussion of the results) encourages students to reflect upon their own learning processes, and to become aware of what (in their own behavior as well as that of the teacher) enables or deters learning.
Limitations
Students must be guaranteed anonymity: student identification is assigned by the program and is used only for the purpose of checking that all members have completed the survey. Instructors may add requests for demographic information like gender, race/ethnicity, and major and look for correlation across those variables. Correlation of student responses to class scores involves additional off-line analysis. Students should be explicitly informed if this step is taken.
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