Assessment techniques for a learning-centered curriculum: evaluation design for Adventures in Supercomputing

As the classroom paradigm shifts from being teacher-centered to being learner-centered, student assessments are evolving from paper-and-pencil testing to other methods of evaluation. Students should be probed for understanding, reasoning and critical thinking abilities rather than their ability to return memorized facts. The Department of Energy´s pilot program, Adventures in Supercomputing (AiS), offers one example of assessment techniques developed for learner-centered curricula. The goals and objectives that are central to student learning in the AiS program involve the acquisition of thinking and problem-solving skills. School students are involved in a year-long computational science project. To complete the project, students employ the following tools: (1) the Internet to aid in researching their topics and communicating with their mentors, (2) computers to develop and test models of the problems, and (3) visualization software to understand their data. From these resources, students must pose hypotheses, devise methods for solutions, conduct appropriate simulations and draw proper conclusions. The assessment of the AiS program has employed a variety of methods to collect student data. THe methods of assessment used were traditional testing, performance testing, interviews, questionnaires via e-mail, and student presentations of projects. The data obtained have been analyzed by a professional assessment team. The results have been used to improve the AiS curriculum and establish the quality of the overall AiS program. This paper discusses the methods of assessment used and the results