The importance of effective teaching and learning was highlighted like never before during the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent shift to remote teaching and learning. Faculty began to rely on both formal and informal assessment to learn about and respond to student needs, often without considering it in those terms in the moment.
NIU’s Accreditation, Assessment, and Evaluation (AAE) office recently partnered with the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) to offer a Wisdom Wednesday panel discussion on this topic featuring faculty and instructors from four NIU colleges. Panelists engaged in a lively discussion with their peers on the following topics:
- how they have kept their focus on student learning despite the challenges encountered in teaching and learning during the pandemic,
- how their formal and informal uses of assessment have been ongoing and provided tools for enhancing student learning,
- and how the past year has shaped their “assessment mindset” and informed their understanding of enhancing student learning.
All of the approaches shared during this Wisdom Wednesday panel session would be good teaching practice anytime. However, certain approaches have felt particularly important during the pandemic. These include learning from students, considering learning contexts, responding to students’ needs, maximizing time and attention, being mindful of stressors, and fostering connections.
View the embedded recording of the Wisdom Wednesday discussion below, or to view a closed captioned version of the recording or to view or download a transcript, please visit the Wisdom Wednesday: Inquiry into Effective Teaching and Learning Using Assessment Media Space page.
Thank you to our guest contributors for writing this post:
And thank you to the facilitator of the Wisdom Wednesday discussion:
