Digitally-Enabled, Evidence-Based Teaching Practice: Formative Assessment & Practice

  • Using Daily Warm-up Questions to Activate Prior Knowledge

    Reviewing a previous class day’s notes through a warm-up question allows an instructor to simultaneously re-emphasize important material and activate students’ prior knowledge. This can deepen understanding and enhance connections with new material.

  • Creating an AI Tutor to Support Precalculus Students When They Need It

    Recognizing that her precalculus students work full-time, have caregiving responsibilities, or face transportation barriers that prevent them from accessing an on-campus Math Center or an instructor’s student support hours, April Crenshaw has designed an AI tutor. This AI tutor provides 24/7 access to academic support, allowing students to get help when and where they need…

  • Student-designed AI Chatbot Lab Teaches Both Math Content and AI Literacy

    This activity is implemented as a low-stakes lab designed to support conceptual understanding of challenging integration techniques while simultaneously teaching responsible, effective use of generative AI as a learning tool.

  • Structured Online Discussions in Calculus

    Students engage in a structured online discussion process designed to deepen understanding and foster community.

  • Using Practice Exams to Increase Proficiency and Reduce Anxiety

    Online practice exams create transparency around exam format and identify areas where students should practice more before the actual exam.

  • Using Quiz Tools to Offer Frequent Opportunities for Practice

    Professor Kimberly Jackson uses Canvas combined with Aktiv Chemistry to provide daily and pre-class quizzes for her students. Depending on the course, students can earn tokens by taking daily quizzes, which can be used to retake “Mastery Quizzes,” or can earn participation tickets. 

  • Question Embedded Videos with Low- to No-Stakes Assessment

    Professor Binyomin Abrams started the Abrams Research Group, which provides question-embedded videos for K-12 and college-level science education. Questions on foundational concepts are embedded at key points throughout Abrams Research Group videos for students to informally assess their understanding of the material.

  • Engaging Students Through Gamified Digital Learning Curriculum

    Neil Garg, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and a group of UCLA students developed the app, Backside Attack, to help students learn the SN2 mechanism, a key concept for organic chemistry. The app mixes both games alongside assessment pieces to ensure that students can translate what they are learning to how they may be…

  • Automated Formative Assessments to Give Timely and Targeted Feedback

    Professor Kimberly Jackson and her colleagues use auto-graded practice tests in Canvas and ALEKS. Students can receive immediate feedback, rather than waiting on their professor to grade the quiz and offer feedback. The immediacy of feedback allows students to quickly identify which concepts they will need to revisit before the exam.

  • Alternative Assessment Strategies

    David Clark and Robert Talbert, two professors of mathematics, provide a number of resources and reflections on alternative assessment strategies on their website Grading for Growth and their book by the same name.