Running head: ASSESSMENT PLAN 1

Assessment Plan: Hiking Preparedness

Week 5 Assignment

Eric Fonseca

Assessment of Student Learning EDU 358

Instructor Barbara Hall

November 21st, 2016

CAPABILITIES AND ASSESSMENT 2

Assessment Plan: Hiking Preparedness

Assessments allow for the measure of an individuals success toward a learning goal by

allowing the instructor to view a persons behavior and products during instruction or at the end

of the course. Identifying the assessment purpose and learning outcomes are the first items that

are identified in an assessment plan. Additionally, learning activities and formative assessments

are analyzed and reviewed for reliability and validity. Identifying the learning capability allows

for an individual to determine a good scoring method. One scoring method that is useful for a

problem-solving activity is a rubric. A designer will want to contrast scoring methods and pin

point a method that will be the most accurate in measuring student achievement. Lastly,

distinguishing the best manner to measure student learning at the end of the course is imperative.

Differentiating the best summative assessment not only recognizes student improvement, but

also ensures learners are able to use the information outside of the learning environment.

Assessments are an integral part of assessing a learners accomplishment to the learning

outcome. A designer should take the time to design and implement assessments, or there will be

no way to judge whether the instruction succeeded.

Assessment Plan: Purpose

The purpose of an assessment plan is to provide an outline of how best to measure learner

behaviors based on the identified learning outcome of a course. The following will provide an

assessment plan for hiking safety. There are many things to consider when attempting a hiking

trip even if it is a very short excursion. The weather, wildlife, and difficulty of the hike are just a

few things that should be considered before deciding to attempt hiking. In fact, it has been stated

that the biggest mistake is not planning appropriately before setting out on a hike (American

Hiking Society, 2015). This statement shows how important it is for those who enjoy hiking to
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be prepared as it can have serious repercussions if a person is not properly organized and

equipped. The assessment plan will include the desired learning outcome, formative and

summative assessments, and a scoring plan.

Identifying and Evaluating the Learning Outcome

The learning outcome is essential to identifying how assessments will be created for

individuals to demonstrate they have acquired the desired skills through instruction. Oosterhof,

Conrad, and Ely (2008) state A learning outcome can be measured only if it can be observed. To

create an observable event, a learner must exhibit a behavior (p. 22). To demonstrate the

learning outcome regarding hiking safety individuals will want to show they know the proper

procedures to follow before leaving for a trip. A learning outcome that would be appropriate for

this type of instruction may be: After completing this course, the learner will assess how best to

prepare for any hiking trip. This outcome will be achieved through an assessment that has the

learner create a final product for a hike in a specific geographic location. The assessment will

determine that the student has acquired the skill of being prepared for a hiking trip.

Learning Activities

There will be several activities that the learner will be provided with during the course of

instruction. At the beginning of the course students will be asked to select a hiking trail and

research the geographic location, length of trail, and elevation gain/loss of the trail. Once the

location is selected and researched participants will work together in a collaborative activity in

which they will work together to research items that are essential for hiking including apparel,

equipment, and consumable items. After the collaboration the participants will share their

finding with the rest of the students. The participants will then view a video on hiking safety to

further their understanding and consider items they may not have during the activity.
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Formative Assessment

During the course the instructor will want to measure the learners achievement towards

the goal. Formative assessments allow an instructor to gauge the growth or achievement of

students throughout instruction. Oosterhof et al. (2008) describe formative assessments and state

Their purpose is to redirect instruction or learning to help ensure high achievement at the end of

instruction (p. 13). In the course the formative assessment will require the participants to

research information on their selected hiking trail and create a short presentation of their

selection. This presentation will be assessed after its completion. The presentation will require

pictures and an analysis of the location. The presentation is valid because students will need to

utilize their research skills before setting out on a hike which is a skill they will need to meet the

goal of the course. The results of this assessment will be used to provide feedback to the learners

on the information they provided. This feedback will allow them to ask questions and elaborate

on the information that they may use on their final product. This feedback will also provide a

way for the designer to see what individuals may be struggling with during the course to adjust

the content for additional sessions.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is a concern of any assessment. In the case of the presentation the

student will be required to provide pictures of their geographic location which would make it

very hard for someone to copy. If students use the same pictures and explanation it would be

very easy to identify. A class integrity and academic dishonesty policy that the students must

sign at the beginning of the course will also help to make certain individuals are aware that any

dishonesty will not be tolerated and their grades may be affected if there is cheating among

peers.
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Formative Scoring

To score the participants a rating scale will be constructed for the presentation activity to

ensure that the learners have met the objective. The rating scale will be norm-referenced which

means the learners will be scored based on what is typical and reasonable for a participant of the

course. Though a rating scale can do a good job of identifying how the learners are faring in the

course it can be hard to ensure their reliability because scoring can be biased based on the person

completing the assessment. In order to combat reliability issues multiple raters can be used and

their scores averaged (Oosterhof, et al., 2008). An example of the rating scale to be used is as

follows:

5 = Details a large amount of results

4 = Provides an above average amount of results

3 = provides an average amount of results

2 = provides little result

1 = Produces no results
12345 The presentation provides images of the location
12345 The presentation provides information on the geographic
location
12345 The presentation provides information on the length of
trail
12345 The presentation provides information on the elevation
gain/loss

Summative Assessment

Summative assessments are often viewed as a way to measure the students mastery of

the information they received during instruction (Hoover &Abrams, 2013). Though summative

assessments are commonly thought of as the end of learning, there is also a need to ensure that

skills are able to be used after the end of instruction. The summative assessment in this course

will focus on meeting the learning outcome and transferring those skills outside of the classroom.
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The assessment will be a final essay that learners will identify weather conditions, length of hike,

and wildlife in their chosen geographic area. The participants must also identify appropriate

apparel, equipment and consumables to assist them on their selected trip. Problem-solving will

be the learning capability to be assess as the student will be required to use their skills dependent

on the geographic location and use problem-solving to determine the best action to take for their

individual options. Problem solving for different situations is something that all hikers must do

to ensure they are safe dependent on many different scenarios. This skill leads to the learning

goal of being prepared for any hiking trip.

Academic Dishonesty

The next item that should be addressed is academic dishonesty with the summative

assessment. In the case of the final essay it would be hard for the learners to cheat based on each

individual will have a different specified geographic location. One additional way to combat

dishonesty will be to ensure students are not selecting the same criteria for their hiking location.

Additionally, it will be required that in certain aspects of the essay they incorporate personal/life

experiences that they can relate to the material being discussed. Adding a component of life

experiences ensure that students are not copying someone else for their final project.

Scoring Rubric and Justification

The final project will be rating based on a scoring rubric that will be provided to the

participants so they are clear on the expectations of the product. The rubric will be comprised of

five performance levels ranging from non-performance to exceptional. Each performance level

will be defined so that reliability is optimized. This means that each section has distinct criteria

that must be met in order to achieve the specified score. The categories that will be scored are

ones that lead to the learning outcome.

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The first set of categories will be related to weather conditions, length of hike, and

wildlife as they can change the concerns when attempting to hike. One may bring a raincoat on a

hike only to find that the area is extremely hot and dry, or a small amount of water on a very long

trail. These categories allow the learner to evaluate the geographic location to determine how

best to prepare. The second set of categories will identify the apparel, equipment, and

consumables that the hikers should pack prior to the hike. Identifying the appropriate items to

pack before a hike can save a persons life if they plan accordingly. Hiking can be very

dangerous and because of the dangers individuals should be prepared for many different

situations.

The categories link to the learning capability of problem-solving as they require the

learner to think about many different scenarios that may occur. Hiking often is very enjoyable

with little issues that are encountered, but that is not always the case. The scoring rubric that has

been constructed to measure the learners ability to evaluate different scenarios they may face

when hiking and to identify items that they should bring with them in order to ensure their hiking

trip is safe and enjoyable. The scoring rubric created for this course is as follows:

Hiking Safety Non- Below Average Above Average Exceptional

Assessment performance Average (4 points)
Rubric (1 point) (2 points) (3 points) (5 points)
Considers Weather Identifies one Identifies two or Identifies two or Identifies two or
Weather conditions are weather more concerns more concerns more concerns
conditions not considered. condition regarding regarding regarding
concern and/or weather weather weather
does not conditions and conditions and conditions and
consider how it briefly considers elaborates on on their effects
affects hiking in how this affects their effects on on hiking in the
the selected hiking in the hiking in the selected
geographic selected selected geographic
location. geographic geographic location
location. location. including
personal/life
experiences

Considers length Length of Hike Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the
of hike is not considered length of hike length of hike length of hike length of hike
but does not and briefly and elaborates and considers
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consider considers on concerns concerns

concerns concerns regarding the regarding the
regarding the regarding the length. length including
length. length. personal/life
experiences.
Considers Wildlife Identifies Identifies Identifies Identifies 3 or
wildlife concerns are not potential wildlife potential wildlife potential wildlife more potential
concerns considered. of the of the of the wildlife of the
geographical geographical geographical geographical
location, but location and location and location and
does not briefly considers elaborates on considers
consider concerns. concerns. concerns
concerns. including how to
avoid and protect
a hiker from
them.
Identifies Appropriate Identifies Identifies Identifies Identifies
appropriate apparel is not apparel, but apparel that is apparel that is apparel that is
apparel identified. apparel may not appropriate for appropriate for appropriate for
be appropriate the selected the selected the selected
for the selected variables, but variables, and an variables, and an
variables and/or little explanation explanation is expansive
little explanation is provided as to provided as to explanation is
is provided as to why the apparel why the apparel provided as to
why the apparel was chosen. was chosen. why the apparel
was chosen. was chosen and
how it relates to
weather, length
of hike, and
wildlife.
Identifies Appropriate Identifies Identifies Identifies Identifies
appropriate equipment is not equipment, but equipment that is equipment that is equipment that is
equipment identified equipment may appropriate for appropriate for appropriate for
not be the selected the selected the selected
appropriate for variables, but variables, and an variables, and an
the selected little explanation explanation is expansive
variables and/or is provided as to provided as to explanation is
little explanation why the why the provided as to
is provided as to equipment was equipment was why the
why the chosen. chosen. equipment was
equipment was chosen and how
chosen. it relates to
weather, length
of hike, and
wildlife.
Identifies Appropriate Identifies Identifies Identifies Identifies
appropriate consumables are consumables, consumables consumables consumables that
consumables not identified. but consumables that are that are are appropriate
may not be appropriate for appropriate for for the selected
appropriate for the selected the selected variables, and an
the selected variables, but variables, and an expansive
variables and/or little explanation explanation is explanation is
little explanation is provided as to provided as to provided as to
is provided as to why the why the why the
why the consumables consumables consumables
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consumables were chosen. were chosen. were chosen and

were chosen. how they relate
to weather,
length of hike,
and wildlife.

Conclusion

Assessments allow for the measure of an individuals success toward a learning goal by

allowing the instructor to view a persons behavior and products during instruction or at the end

of the course. The assessment purpose and learning outcomes were identified for a hiking safety

assessment plan. Additionally, learning activities and formative assessments were analyzed and

reviewed for reliability and validity. The learning capability was identified as problem-solving

which allowed for a good scoring method to be determined. A rubric was designed for use in the

assessment to measure student achievement. A designer will want to contrast scoring methods

and pin point a method that will be the most accurate in measuring student achievement. Lastly,

the best manner to measure student learning at the end of the course was identified.

Differentiating the best summative assessment not only recognizes student improvement, but

also ensures learners are able to use the information outside of the learning environment.

Assessments are an integral part of assessing a learners accomplishment to the learning

outcome. Certainly, a designer should take the time to design and implement assessments, or

there will be no way to judge whether the instruction succeeded.

CAPABILITIES AND ASSESSMENT 10

References

American Hiking Society (2015). Summer safety series. Retrieved from

https://americanhiking.org/resources/summer-safety-series/

Hoover, N. R., & Abrams, L. M. (2013). Teachers' instructional use of summative student

assessment data. Applied Measurement In Education, 26(3), 219-231.

doi:10.1080/08957347.2013.793187

Oosterhof, A., Conrad, R., & Ely, D. (2008). Assessing learners online. Upper Saddle River,

NJ:Pearson Education, Inc.