Brightspace offers a variety of formative and summative assessment tools, deciding which one to use is often seen as a challenge. This effective practice can help you make that decision. Details:
| Quizzes | Surveys | Self-Assessments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feedback for learner | Feedback is released based on setup of quiz by instructor, may not be instant. | Feedback is released after completion in the form of a report. | Feedback is instantaneous after answering question. |
| Reporting for learner/instructor | Reporting for Instructors – yes, they can see summative feedback on scores and particular answers. | Reporting for Instructors – yes, reports are generated, and can be made anonymous. | Reporting for Instructors – yes, but limited to who has taken SA and for time spent. |
| Use Case 1 | Formative/Summative – ideally suited for summative assessment; with formative assessment, the tool takes too many clicks. | Ice breaker to get learners to access previous knowledge of a topic. | Diagnostic – to help gauge learner retention midway through a topic. |
| Use Case 2 | Pre-Assessment – Use the quiz tool to act as a diagnostic before the course begins. Set up release conditions to provide content that learners need based on their answers. | Diagnostic – to help gauge learner retention midway through topic. | Self-Awareness tool – Learners can test themselves without the pressure of a graded item. They are allowed to make mistakes. |
| Use Case 3 | Acknowledgement – Use the quiz tool as a form for agreeing to criteria in your course. “Check here to confirm you won’t cheat.”. | Class Perception – builds a community of learning, as the cohort can see opinions of other learners | Case Studies – Use the power of storytelling to elicit answers to demonstrate new knowledge! |
| Use Case 4 | Course/Instructor Feedback – great for getting feedback on how a course was perceived. | Ask your virtual tutor! – Use self-assessments to bounce ideas off of, and to act as your personal tutor. | |
| Use Case 5 | Pre-Assessment – Inspire students to engage with class material by seeing how much they already know, and convey the course objectives simultaneously. |
Self-Assessments do not allow the student to revisit saved results. If you would like both students and instructors to be able to revisit results, create a quiz that is not attached to a Grade Book item.