McGill instructors must ensure that assessment practices are in alignment with PASL by the beginning of the Fall 2024 term. Many instructors already have assessment practices that align with PASL and will only have to make minor adjustments. Need help? Find preparation tips, resources, and support for implementing PASL.
Preparing for PASL
Now is the perfect time to try assessment for learning in an assignment for your course. Here are some suggestions:
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Aim to make each assessment task an opportunity for students to deepen their learning.
Learn more about assessment for learning. -
Allow students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
Provide a diversity of tasks, for example, presentations, reports, posters, projects, or exams. Learn about planning different assessment tasks. -
Give students early and ongoing feedback.
Frequent (often low-stakes) practice opportunities allow students to demonstrate their learning, and frequent feedback lets them know how their learning is progressing. See an example of how to break down a writing assignment into stages. -
Set clear expectations for students’ work verbally and in writing.
Make sure your students understand how to succeed at assessment tasks in your course. Write meaningful criteria for how to assess students’ learning and share them with students before they submit their work. Learn more about assessment criteria. -
Use assessment tools to communicate expectations.
Consider designing a rubric. Get started with Rubrics: The basics and learn how to create rubrics in myCourses. -
Engage students in a dialogue around assessment.
Have class discussions with students about their understanding of expectations and criteria.
PASL implementation resources
Check out these resources to help you align your assessment strategies with the new Policy:
NEW! Examples of assessment tools
Find a bank of example rubrics and other assessment tools used by McGill instructors that you can use for inspiration and adapt to your course context.
Assessment for learning
Assessment for learning is the key concept and rationale behind PASL.
- Learn more about assessment for learning and how to begin integrating it into your courses.
- Find strategies from McGill instructors on designing assessments that enhance student learning and motivation to learn.
- Find strategies for a dialogue approach to providing student feedback.
- Get support on taking a learning-centered approach to designing your courses.
Assessment criteria
Under PASL, instructors must provide clear criteria on how an assessment task will be graded.
- Find examples of assessment criteria and grading scales related to participation.
- Learn about writing effective assessment criteria.
Inclusive assessment
Equitable and inclusive assessments are coherent with assessment for learning and are designed to ensure fair and effective ways of measuring student learning.
- Learn more about what makes an assessment equitable and inclusive.
- Find inclusive assessment strategies and tools you can use in both designing and teaching a course.
- Learn about methods for assessing student learning in keeping with Indigenous knowledges and systems.
Participation
Under PASL, participation is considered an assessment task, regardless of how much it is worth. Students will benefit from a clear understanding of how their participation grade is calculated.
- Read up on ideas for promoting in-class participation and strategies for assessing participation.
- What if you stopped giving participation grades? Learn from one instructor’s experience in this blog post.
Well-being
The well-being of both students and instructors is foundational to PASL, and promoting “healthy learning environments” is one of its guiding principles.
- Listen to the Teach.Learn.Share podcast for a five-part miniseries on assessment and well-being.
- Access slides and resources from our webinar Assessment for learning to support well-being
- Find more ideas for supporting student well-being.
Book a consultation
Get targeted support designing assessment strategies in time for PASL implementation. Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) offers both individual and unit/program consultations on a variety of teaching and learning topics.
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