- Formative:
- Our formative assessments will start with learners completing a self-assessment where they will be asked to answer a prompt that asks them to write about their previous knowledge of the sub-topics, to give us (the instructors) an idea of how much the learners already know.
- Short Answer Evaluation: This will be a written assessment where the students are expected to combine the knowledge of their sleep study and the sub-topics. Each sub-topic includes the combination of a sleep study and an evaluation of the knowledge provided in relation to the learners own sleep.
- Discussion: There will be a online forum to give an opportunity for discussion between the learners and the instructor. Learners can tell the instructor how they felt about the learning activities and assessment. Learners can give their instructor feedback but also recall their own experiences, thereby helping them remember the concepts they learned. Future intentions will be discussed and students can suggest ways they can improve their sleep through the information learned in the sub-topics.
- Summative:
- The summative assessment is a final two page reflection/essay. Learners will choose their favorite sub-topic and write why they chose to write about that sub-topic and how this topic has impacted their sleep the most, and how they want to improve their sleep patterns. This assessment is expected to use a mix of personal reflection, while also using information from the videos and articles provided by this course.
- Grading: According to the grading scale below, learning activities must be passed with at least a 50% to be deemed acceptable to pass the course. The cumulative performance of the formative and summative assessments will be combined to complete the overall score of each individual learner in the course.
- BC Grading Scale:
| Letter Grade | Percentage | Definition |
| A | 86 – 100% | Excellent or Outstanding Performance in relation to learning outcomes. |
| B | 73 – 85% | Very Good Performance in relation to learning outcomes. |
| C+ | 67 – 72% | Good Performance in relation to learning outcomes. |
| C | 60 – 66% | Satisfactory Performance in relation to learning outcomes. |
| C- | 50 – 59% | Minimally Acceptable Performance in relation to learning outcomes. |
| IE | N/A | Insufficient Evidence of Learning. When an IE is assigned, teachers will connect with the student, parents, and caregivers to discuss the area of learning in question, the needs of the student, and the solutions and supports to help move the student forward in their learning. |
| F | N/A | No demonstration of minimally acceptable performance in relation to the learning outcomes for this course. |
| W | N/A | Student has withdrawn from the course. |
| SG | N/A | Standing granted. Acceptable level of performance though normal requirements not completed. |
| RM | N/A | Requirements Met (for use with Graduation Transitions only). |
- Assessment Rationale:
- Grading Scale: For a short course like this one we decided to use a BC Secondary School Grading scale that utilizes letter grades and percentages that our learners are already familiar with. This specific scale offers a wide range of percentages, allowing more flexibility in the way learners are evaluated (because all learners have differing abilities and needs that affect their grades). We do not intend for the grade to define learners’ experience, rather their experience from the activities.
- Formative: We want our learners to learn the material by communicating and engaging with each other through the content we have provided. These are the principles of the Inquiry-Based Learning Approach, which we have based our course off of. We intend for the content provided in the learning activities to match the learning outcomes, and the formative assessments are meant to expand upon the activities and offer feedback upon a real-life approach to the content.
- Summative: By incorporating more of a variety of assessments with a short answer evaluation and a discussion, we decided to have a mix of traditional and authentic assessment, as we feel that both kinds are appropriate for this course (Tanner, 2001). For the short answer evaluation learners are being asked to engage with the material by drawing from their own real life experiences (the constructivist theory). The discussion allows for peer, instructor, and individual feedback, as well as individual reflection.
- Goal w/ the Course: Our learning activities and assessments were designed with the intention of prioritising learning the content through scenarios that increase critical thinking skills and involve personal reflection on the effects of sleep on several aspects of daily life.
- End of Course: At the end of the course learners will receive a letter grade, along with official certification that can be sent via email. Learners can therefore have official proof of their completion after passing the course.
References
David Thompson Secondary School (2024), https://www.vsb.bc.ca/david-thompson/page/1128/letter-grades-and-work-habits.
Tanner, E. David (2001). “Authentic Assessment: A Solution, or Part of the Problem? The High School Journal, Vol 85, No. 1, pp. 24-29, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40364377.
University of Calgary, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, “Learning Module: Designing Student Assessments, https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/resources/module/designing-online-assessment/understanding-alignment-assessment.
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