Classroom Assessment Techniques - The One Minute Paper As teachers, we routinely use quizzes, mid-terms, and final examinations to measure the progress
students have made in mastering course materials. Information derived from these assessment tools can
be used to provide a comparative evaluation of the performance of the students in our classes
(summative evaluation, grades, etc.) and can also be used to help us determine areas that might require
more attention in class or even another approach in our teaching (formative evaluation, item analysis,
etc.) Such frequent quizzes not only let the students know where they stand in terms of their course grade
but also give the instructor the opportunity to make mid-course corrections in lectures, assignments,
and areas of emphasis. Unfortunately, frequent quizzes take time from class and generating and grading
quizzes is also a time consuming process.Many professors have adopted the "one minute paper" technique as a means of gaining timely feedback from
students that allows for "real time" course corrections. These brief writing assignments usually consist of
two questions assigned at the end of the class hour. Typical questions include "What is the most
important thing that you learned in class today?" and, "What questions do you have about the subject
matter covered in today's class?" There are many variations on these questions. We can, for example,
ask students to solve a problem, respond to a teaching technique, or even suggest how the session
might be improved. We can ask anything that will give us insights about how to deliver what students
need to maximize their learning.Proponents tell us that this technique will work best if we follow some basic guidelines. We need to give students two or three minutes to answer the questions. Some professors actually pass out "half-sheets"
containing the questions to the students. Actively collect the responses from students as they leave the
room so they know that you really value their responses. Finally, at the beginning of the next class,
announce what you discovered from the last one-minute papers and how you will use that information
to adjust your teaching in this and future class sessions.As time goes on, some instructors encourage students who have questions to put their e- mail
addresses on these papers if those students would like a response to a specific question. Some
teachers have developed web pages listing these frequently asked questions and their answers to allow
more reticent students to follow up on items of concern. If you're interested in this variation let me
know and I'll send you some examples. Bill Kennedy