On the issue of participation vs criterion-referenced assessment:

I require participation in the discussion forums because I want everyone to “dance” (for example).

If you don’t try it yourself, it’s very hard to learn to dance.

Participation isn’t criterion-referenced: it’s just black or white = you try, or don’t try.

Once I get everyone dancing, I can give feedback on what makes for good dancing: rhythm, expression, etc.

We also watch recordings of experts dancing, and I try to demonstrate some good dancing myself!

Group-based discussions can generate lots of peer feedback on individual dancing, far more than I can myself.

At the end of the course, the summative assessment should be criterion-referenced, as opposed to norm-referencing.

That is when the teacher evaluates the work based on a set of criteria, and at what level each student has achieved on each criterion.   SOLO levels are useful for applying to each criterion.

Criterion for summative assessment of a dance might be:

• rhythm
• expression
• social interaction
• effort
• symbology

At the end of THIS course, I will evaluate each student’s performance on the summative assessments: a Learning Portfolio, and their eLearning Project.   Each will be assessed on a range of criteria.

Participation helps me get everyone dancing, and at the end of the course I evaluate each student on how well they can dance.   Some try harder than others.    Some have more talent in dance than others.   Some are more engaged with the class than others.

Part of my job is to try and engage as many students as possible, so more students can become good dancers.