Page 375 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

1. The quality of presented data. Professor Bohn will look specifically at the methods used to obtain
the data. He will measure Meghan’s performance in this area on a scale from 1–5, where 1 is not
scientifically sound and 5 is extremely scientifically sound.

2. Meghan’s ability to answer questions from the audience. Professor Bohn will pay attention to
the accuracy of Meghan’s answers measuring on a scale from 1–5, where 1 is incorrect or not
answering the question, and 5 is the correct and thorough response to the question. At the end, he
will average all the question ratings.

3. The organization of the presentation. Professor Bohn will consider the appropriateness of the
presentation with respect to the audience as well as the completeness of the presentation. He
will measure the appropriateness using a scale of {inappropriate or appropriate}. Completeness
will be measured using the following scale {not at all complete, missing more than one element,
missing one element, and missing nothing}.

Criterion Quality of Answering Organization
Attribute data questions
Accuracy of Completeness Level of
Scale Methods used answers Missing complexity
to obtain data nothing inappropriate
3
5

Professor Bohn sits in the back of the room while Meghan gives her talk. He keeps a list for each attribute
used in the assessment. During the presentation, Professor Bohn is impressed by Meghan’s level of
understanding about the subject. Her data collection is flawless, and the analysis is appropriate. However, he
notices that Meghan answers questions from the audience too quickly and sounds somewhat condescending
in her responses. In addition, she misunderstands one of the questions and answers a different question
from the one that was asked. He also notes that, although the talk is informative and enjoyable, most of the
undergraduate audience sat waiting to give their talks and were lost after the first few minutes. Professor
Bohn used the table above as a way to collect and present his assessment information regarding Meghan’s
presentation.

As Professor Bohn takes notes during Meghan’s talk, he arranges his notes so that they are organized
according to the SII method of assessment.

Professor Bohn writes a report to Meghan that includes his assessment. He reports that one of Meghan’s
strengths is her thorough understanding of the underlying science in her research and her skills as a
careful experimentalist. He feels that she could improve by taking into account the audience’s level of
understanding. Those unfamiliar with the research may find it difficult to follow. He feels she could
improve this by looking for reactions of the people she is talking to. Professor Bohn’s insight is that it is
important to know who your audience is before giving a presentation.

From Professor Bohn’s point of view, the only aspect of poor performance was in Meghan’s dealings with
the audience. He determines the criteria chosen are appropriate, the information he collected is accurate,
and attributes the poor performance to Meghan. He has already given Meghan feedback on this, including
suggestions on how to improve in the future.

Chapter 13 — Assessment for Self-Improvement 369