Types of assessment

Moodle provides a wide array of options as you determine the best way to let your students demonstrate that they have achieved the knowledge, skills, and abilities that the learning outcomes have defined.

If you've kept in mind the key questions, "What do I want my students to do?" and "How will they show their skills, knowledge, attitudes, and abilities?", you will find that it will be much easier to develop the appropriate assessment strategy. The following are a few guidelines:

• Make sure that each topic's assessment ties directly to the learning outcome for that particular topic. Your assessment should be of sufficient complexity to allow your students to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcome.
• Each of your resources and activities need to connect both to the learning outcome, as well as the assessment.
• Try to incorporate as much collaboration and interaction as possible to reinforce the learning strategy incorporated into the initial activity.
• You should give students an opportunity to practice the assessment, and they should be able to obtain feedback when they make errors or need guidance.
• If you have an end-of-course final assessment, make sure that it covers all of the learning outcomes covered in the course.

After you have developed your assessment strategies, you can begin to add them to each of the topics. Make sure that your assessments are clear and straightforward and that they help your students develop a sense of confidence, which will, in turn, encourage them to stay engaged and complete the course.

Some of the ways in which you can help develop self-efficacy and an "I can do it!" attitude that also relate to the overall assessment strategy are as follows:

• Include activities (quizzes, "test your knowledge" multiple-choice questions, and practice tests
• Include collaborative activities that include peer reviews
• Include interactive graphics
• Use badges and certificates within Moodle to encourage the achievement of mini milestones

Selecting activities that prepare students to perform well in their assessments is a powerful way to achieve learning outcomes and to assure course completion.