LLE: Efficient Assessment: Getting More Value With Less Effort (Peter Ostafichuk, University of British Columbia)

Peter Ostafichuk, University of British Columbia

Host: Prof. Jennifer Farmer

Assessment is widely viewed as an integral part of teaching and learning. More than a means to benchmark student performance, effective assessment is a powerful learning activity. In addition, well-constructed assessments allow students to monitor their learning progress and adapt; provide instructors with insights on student development and teaching effectiveness; and help units to evaluate program outcomes as part of continual improvement or accreditation. At the same time, trying to deliver effective assessments in large (and growing) classes with fixed (and often diminishing) resources can be challenging. This talk will explore assessment approaches that address the multiple aforementioned goals while reducing time and resources requirements and allowing scalability to classes of almost any size.  Grounded in fundamental principles of effective assessment, multiple evidence-based examples will be featured, including collaborative in-class testing techniques; comparative evaluation and multi-stage peer assessment; and meaningful auto-graded questions suitable for exams and online homework.

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Dr. Peter Ostafichuk is a Professor of Teaching and the Chair of First Year Engineering at the University of British Columbia.  He is the Past President of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACÉG) and leads the national Institute for Engineering Teaching.  With over twenty years of experience, Dr. Ostafichuk has delivered courses from first year to graduate level, across multiple subject areas, and in class sizes ranging from 10 to 1000 students. He has authored multiple books related to education and engineering, and he is a recipient of the 3M National Teaching Fellowship, the Engineers Canada Medal of Distinction, the Wighton Fellowship, and many other accolades.
View the complete 2023-24 LLE schedule

Questions? Please contact Michael Martino, External Relations Liaison (michael.martino@utoronto.ca)