I-Learn 4.0 The Future of Student Progress Assessment By Manny Quintero
Part 1
Introduction
Table of contents
Brief history of our grading system.............................3
By measuring school progress we
A faulty system?..............................................................4
determine the levels of knowledge and
Project mission...............................................................6
efficiency achieved by our students.
Interviewing experts......................................................7
However, can we really categorize a human being based on the results of a standardized test? Furthermore, does our
Research sources.............................................................8 Presentation Content.................................................. 10
current system teach students to love
Paper prototyping........................................................ 12
education or does it lead to focus their
The new grading system............................................. 13
attention on temporary goals?
Visual presentation...................................................... 14
Within this book we will explore current grading practices and develop
Digital Prototypes........................................................ 15 I-learn 4.0 features & Innovations............................. 16
a new system to assess the learning
Presentation planning................................................. 22
progress of current college students.
Final Presentation........................................................ 23 Gallery content and poster designs........................... 24 In conclusion................................................................ 25 To my family, friends and professors........................ 27
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BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
How different are these ancient report cards from the ones we use today?
Research
Brief history of our grading system Students have been graded
system were introduced, ranging
based on their performance
from 4 points to 100 points.
ever since there was a teacher
always exist. In fact, our way of
It was in 1898 at Mount Holyoke College that letter grades were first introduced in education. The college
grading is fairly new, it was not
established a six point scale
until the early part of the 20th
system that awarded students with
century that elementary and
percentages tied to letters, ranging
high School education began
from 95-100 as an A, 85 to 94 as a B,
using standardized grading
76 to 84 as a C, 75 a D and anything
systems. During the late part of
below 75 an E. The infamous F
the 19th century as universities
would later become the substitute
looked for new ways to document
for the letter E to better indicate
improvement, scales in the grading
“failure” in performance.
to impart knowledge, however, the new system in place did not
“Intelligence plus character –that is the true goal of education.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 1
Classroom Challenges •
•
•
•
Current grading methods focus on large
A faulty system? A problem with grading students under
point average than public ones. Other concerns
groups, not individual needs.
standardized conditions is that grading can be a very
range from student pressure on teachers for higher
Group projects are hard to adequately
subjective process, changing based on the views of
grades, based on their future career prospects.
monitor and may hide individual efforts.
different educators, institutions and geographical
Extra credit and grade inflation may skew
locations. Among the concerns is grade inflation,
actual classroom assessments.
a phenomenon that occurs when a comparison
Tests are in most cases encourage rote
between private and public schools takes place
Educators also worry that assigning lower grades to students may influence the overall credibility of the school where they teach, and at length affecting their own careers.
memorization and not content mastery.
(Grading inflation, TCOHE). While some may claim
Finally, the standardized grading scale is not so
that admission selection is tougher in private schools,
standard after all. Schools may change their plus and
even when a researcher named Stuart Rojstaczer
minus systems and grading curves.
collected data, his numbers showed that even when
Grades have long been identified by those in
the same student selection process is used in different
the measurement community as prime examples of
institutions, private schools have a higher grade
unreliable measurement (Brookhart, 1993; Stiggins, Frisbie, & Griswold, 1989).
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BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
“Better progress assessment tells us not just how to grade a student but also how to help them value education and excel in their future careers.� Martin Luther King Jr.
Part 1
If you could, what would you change? For 3 months I conducted a simple survey around students from Brigham Young University Idaho. I asked a simple question. If you could change anything about our education system what would it be? Subjects where randomly chosen, and the following answers were resulted from at least 30 people answering the same way. 200 students were surveyed.
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No more deadlines
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Better software
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A better grading system
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Free on-line lectures/support
BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
Project mission Change is never easy, but sometimes necessary. To move away from older grading practices we must start somewhere and move with firm determination. As a humble beginning it is proposed to upgrade our methods to a more intuitive and comprehensive process. Allowing students, parents and teachers to be able to assess performance and improvement in better and more efficient ways. We can start by creating graphic tools that will reflect the most recent research on cognitive measurements. However, it is also proposed that the improvements to the new grading system will be presented through the eyes of a student, suggesting the implementation of ways he or she wished would have been in place during their own years at school. The BFA project will not voice criticism, but attempt to raise awareness, mainly targeting an audience of educators and school leadership.
We are not alone Luckily, we are not alone on what we want to accomplish. Many brilliant educators, researchers and other professionals have been looking for ways to create new grading tools for decades. On this page you will find some of the ideas that inspired me to try to improve our current grading system .
Research
Interviewing education experts During my research I conducted interviews with some of BYU-Idaho’s leading experts in education, Advancement Vice President, Mr. Henry Eyring, and School Vice President, Mr. Fenton Broadhead. President Eyring says that in order to better assess student progress it is important to understand the three-dimensional learning aspects of the human mind: Cognition, application and collaboration. These components make up how much we know, what we can do with that knowledge and whether we master it well enough to share it with others or not. Furthermore, president Eyring recognizes the need create hybrid classes which would allow classroom content to be further developed, or understood, on-line. This would allow students falling behind to get caught up on difficult content. As I was trying to further understand the needs
of our current grading system I
President Broadhead suggested
also asked BYU-Idaho’s Academic
that our current grading system
Vice President Fenton Broadhead
needs to simplify the ways by
for his opinion and he graciously
which an educator communicates
granted me his time for an
to students what is being measured,
interview. President Broadhead
why it is being measured the way
has been involved in similar
it is, and how those measurements
research for the school and feels
could render better results.
a need for better competency
President Eyring also said that
measurements as well. He says
some class goals of a professor may
that the school desires to help
not be the same as the goals of a
students in as many ways as possible, including the ability to customize the work load that a student is comfortable with, and the content of their college education; all without causing financial strains or penalization to person who’s trying to get a degree.
student, with regards to education. Which may cause a lack of interest
“In order to better assess student progress it is important to understand the three-dimensional learning aspects of the human mind: Cognition, application and collaboration.” Fenton Broadhead. BYUI Vice President
from students, poor academic performance and even failure. Finally, President Broadhead also commented that we need to focus on students falling behind. Better assessment of a student’s learning ability will not just tell us how to grade, but also how to help that student excel in their future careers.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 1
Research sources Special recognition To the many people who have spent many years of their lives trying to figure out how to improve our education system, thank you. Your research and sacrifices will all be stitched together one day and our kids will enjoy a better tomorrow.
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Durm, M.W. (1993) An A Is Not An A Is Not An A; A History of Grading. Online Source: http://goo.gl/ OmJtd6 The Chronicle of Higher Education; Grade Inflation. Obtained from the web. Subscription required. http://goo.gl/OmJtd6 Cizek, G. J., Fitzgerald, S. M., & Rachor, R. E. (1996). Teachers’ assessment practices: Preparation, isolation, and the kitchen sink. Educational Assessment, 3(2), 159-179. Brookhart, S. M. (1993). Teachers’ grading practices: Meaning and values. Journal of Educational Measurement, 30(2), 123-142. Stiggins, R. J., Frisbie, D. A., & Griswold, P. A. (1989). Inside high school grading practices: Building a research agenda. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 8(2), 5-14. ASCD.ORG: Guskey, Thomas R. Five Obstacles to Grading Reform. http://goo.gl/bQsoXj
ASCD.ORG: Scriffiny, Patricia L. Seven Reason for Standards-Based Grading. http://goo.gl/ Cq8F CMU.EDU: Grading Vs. Assessment of Learning Outcomes: What’s the difference? http:// goo.gl/Cq8F Brookhart, S. M. (1991). Grading practices and validity. Educational Measurement: Issues andPractice, 10(1), 35-36; Ted.com: Robinson, Kent. Bring On The Learning Revolution! http://goo.gl/pXvlOE Youtube.com: TEDX; Barnes, Mark. How Four Simple Words Can Solve Education’s Biggest Problem. 2014. http://goo.gl/pXvlOE Youtube.com: Breaks, Suli. An Exam won’t Decide My Fate. 2013. http://goo.gl/pXvlOE
“An educator may perhaps better assess a student if that individual is graded based on their knowledge of a subject, their application of the obtained knowledge and their sharing and interaction with others peers.� Henry J. Eyring
Part 2
The game plan Now that all the research has been done all we have to do is put things together. I have carefully planned things out and these are some of my goals:
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To restructure I-learn (BYU-I course organization platform)
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To redesign current grading methods
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To change how courses are delivered
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To rethink classroom rules
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To plan a gallery presentation
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To design all presentation content
BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
Presentation Content When you are given a one time opportunity to say something that matters you speak loudly and very clearly, I want this BFA presentation to not just look great, but actually have great content. By now I have decided exactly what I want to share. Here are the new I -Learn 4.0 content outlines: •
• •
Grades: A new platform that helps students to focus on content learning, not grades. Progress: Creating a new tracking tool to assess a students learning progress. Deadlines: A way to go through a semester without having to worry about deadlines, only project completion.
• •
Lectures: A new way to deliver content to students. Classroom: Rethinking how we use the classroom space. Social Media: A simple way to interact with other students and possible employers on-line.
Development
Organizing thoughts The best thing about being a designer is that when you have to create something you have brilliant minds all around you to consult with. This is was I was able to accomplish with the help of my friends. •
We created a new way to grade students though knowledge, application and collaboration
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We restructured our content delivery methods
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We reestablished classroom policies
•
We reorganized the current I-learn
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 2
Paper prototyping People are always so willing to help, I love interacting with them and learning about what is in their minds. Through user testing I was able to show them my first ideas and they gave me great feedback that I was able to incorporate into the nest steps of my design process.
For this part of the process I interviewed 6 students and their feedback ranged from “I don;t get it” to “that’s genius!” Lots of time was spent on this stage, but it was totally worth it.
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BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
Development
The new grading system Let me put it this way, if I had to make one more adjustment to my new progress tracking tool I would probably do it while a tear of frustration rolled down my cheek. OK, maybe that was a bit exaggerated, but seriously, I gave this part of the project as much attention as I could and now I hope that what I have developed can become a positive influence for someone to see.
All I have to do know is complete all my website features and organize the content for my wall presentation.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 2
Visual presentation The coolest thing about a gallery presentation is that you get to create things that people can see, hear and sometimes even touch. This is definitely something I want them to be able to do. However, I know a lot of my friends, family and interested individuals may want to see the project at a later time. Well, I created some video presentations for you guys. Here are the links:
A new I-learn 4.0: http://goo.gl/pRHCuK Project Introduction: http://goo.gl/yt1tUE Navigation: http://goo.gl/yc8vN2 Main page features: http://goo.gl/F8Rkd8 Student courses: http://goo.gl/pGL25C
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Development
Digital Prototypes I wanted to make this step very interactive with the people that would use it. I went out and asked lots of students to look at my web prototype for me. We made lots of revisions, in fact I created 10 website versions before I was able to get people to really understand what they were seeing. Now that all the user testings one step short of being done it is time to polish us a final piece and get my gallery presentation ready for people to see.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 3
I-learn 4.0 features & Innovations Simplified menu I-learn 4.0 features a simplified navigation menu with
A new progress Assessment tool Each class will show unit blocks representing tasks, tests, assignments and similar class related projects. Each unit block is color coded to show completion or lack thereof. The amount of completed units will translate into a final grade at the end of every semester.
icons that reveal their title as you hover over them. Allowing the site to be cleaner an easier to use.
To do lists
Assessment history
Homework, group project and other similar class
This important tool will let you know how
related activities will populate this list. They will
many unit blocks you have been able to
be divided between knowledge, application or
complete from each assignment. This will
collaboration groups for priority organization.
allow you to review and re-submit any of your assignments for higher unit block awards.
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BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
Execution
School courses hub All classes will be grouped and organized in a similar way, allowing students to become familiar with one simple process and not individual systems established by each professor. All courses will be easy to access and their contents will be divided based on units that will correlate with the new grading assessment tools.
Simplified course organization All course content is now available online for easy retrieval and organization. Students will be able to find all their course content as well as assignments and course reviews from their professors, assistants and other students.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 3
Interactive calendar
Course content
Students will be able to see upcoming school assignments, events and
Each course will feature tabs in which students will find lectures,
The new course structure allows professors to not only upload all their
their personal calendar tasks. The interactive calendar will interact
assignments, student vlogs, grades, feedback and course outlines to
course lectures, but also becomes a great way to leave feedback and
with Google calendar and will also allow its use across multiple
help them maximize their school performance.
communicate with students. Especially those needing a little more help.
devices.
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New course structures
BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
Execution
Email by Hotmail
Help desk 24/7
Course feedback
Technology allows for different apps and devices to easily interact with one
Yes, even this new powerful tool will not be perfect, but together we
Your professor will have a way to monitor your progress and assess your
another. Why have a private email server when students can use Hotmail as
can make it great. The help desk 24/7 program will provide assistance
results better than ever before. Now that all your work is submitted on-line
an email tool that will be useful even beyond college graduation.
to student any time of the day.
he/she can communicate with you and help you master your class.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 3
Live class broadcasts
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School news at a simple glance
Clear course outcomes
No, I-learn 4.0 is not transitioning school into an on-line platform,
I-learn 4.0 will include news and notifications from the school through
Your professors will now establish clear expectations for your class
however, it does use the net to free-up classroom time. Online teaching
their media tab. This will allow students to always be informed about
outcomes. This will help students and professors to be “on the same
allows more time to consult and interact with your professor.
important events and changes being implemented by the school.
page� about the purpose of the class and the goals of the course.
BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
Execution
New student profiles
Course Vlog
Social media hub
Want to connect with more students from your school? Student
Your don’t just learn by retaining information, you master anything
Vlog posts and academic achievements will be posted on special social
profiles will allow students to share social media profiles as well as
when you are able to teach it unto others. Your class Vlog allows you to
media hubs that will allow a student to show potential employers not
personal and academic interests safely and securely.
prove your knowledge and at the same time help other students as well.
only how much they have learned but also how well they have learned it.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 3
Presentation planning For this step of the process I did not want to compromise on planning or
Wall posters presenting information
A TV display showing animations and
A live version of I-learn 4.0 and video
user experience. I really wanted that
about the new changes to I-learn as
video presentations of the features
tutorials explaining features and
one person who visits my presentation
well as the new usability features of
that will be available in the new
changes made to the system.
to be 100% immersed into the
the website.
I-learn 4.0
experience of being a college student. In order for this to feel very real I conducted a survey asking 50 students
Furniture resembles a dorm room
about the items that they have in their
in college. Students and other
dorm-rooms that make their lives easy.
visitors will be able to feel right at
Once I had all my data from them I
home when they come to my display
organized what I wanted to include into
presentation.
the gallery presentation. I then created 3D renditions of each item in Autocad and then made a virtual reality rendition of what my floor design was going to look like.
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BFA Project Book | Manny Quintero
While people look at my wall content they can make ramen noodles in the microwave, enjoy pop-tarts or rice crispy treats, or just grab a water from the mini-fridge.
Presentation
Final Presentation With all the pieces of my presentation puzzle finally together I completed a gallery piece that I am very proud of calling a senior project. Everything looks, feels and presents everything I wanted to the best of my abilities. Yes, lots of things could still be tweaked and improved, but time only allows for so much and you have to meet your deadlines with open arms offering only your best work and effort. In the last pages of this book I will share screen shots of the final website design and features.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
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Part 3
Gallery content and poster designs Assessment Tools
Redesigned Now that we have created some new rules for our new education system we have to upgrade the tools currently in place. BYU-Idaho has been using I-learn as a student assessment tool for years. We will keep the name, but that’s all we will keep.
A new on-line
Plat for m
Changing the rules was just a start. Now we are creating a brand new platform to organize course contents, student work, and progress assessments. I-learn 4.0 will help you keep track of progress and feedback from instructors and peers.
SIMPLICITY & Usability All I-learn 4.0 features have been carefully crafted into a clear and simple interface. What worked on I-learn 2.0 was kept, what didn’t was improved, and what was missing has been created.
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This is the content that was displayed on my gallery presentation. I
explained some of the main features that were being implemented. I really
wanted to keep the playful nature of being college students in the design,
had a hard time reducing paragraph content, but everything was already so
so I used a font that would match the illustrations that I made and I also
watered down that I didn’t want to compromise my message for the public
incorporated the colors of the new I-learn system as well. In order to
anymore. At the end, those who took the time to explore what was written
explain all the features within the new website, I took screen shots and
on the boards had great feedback about the project.
Presentation
In conclusion
Any person, no matter who they are, can at least attempt to
I wanted to convert my simple idea of changing our school grading system and perhaps
make a difference in the world that surrounds them. That’s why
come up with something that would spark ideas and conversations. Now as I end this project that has taken me two full years of research and many nights of no sleep, I invite others to torn this project apart, add and improve my ideas. Let’s team up and fix our ancient ways to measure performance, and above all let’s improve the lives of millions of students who should learn to love learning instead of having to endure years of boredom just to say they got a piece of paper to hang on their office wall.
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To my family, friends and dear professors. This project was the most difficult and taxing project that I have ever been involved with. However, your support and affection gave me the fuel that helped me to finish the task. I have learned a great deal about education and progress assessment. Now it is my hope that what I was able to accomplish will inspire others and perhaps helped to make a difference in our current education system. Thank you dear friends for putting up with my lack of sleep and lack of availability. Thank you dear professors for spending so much time listening to my ideas and helping me to make this project a reality. I will never be able to repay all the kindness that you have bestowed upon me. Last but not least, thank you dear Liz, my sweet wife. Thank you for being such a great source of love and strength. You inspired this project and now I dedicate it to you. I love you.