CAT
4: Directed Paraphrasing (Assesses
Skill in Application & Performance)
Estimated
levels of time/energy required to
prepare is LOW; to respond (students) & to
analyze is MEDIUM.
Description: Students
paraphrase part of a lesson for a specific
audience in two or three sentences.
Purpose: This
CAT allows instructors to assess how
well students have understood and internalized
the learning by seeing if the student
can translate highly specialized information
into layperson’s terms.
Procedure:
Select
an important theory, concept, or
argument that students have studied
in some depth. This should be a topic
with some implications outside the
classroom.
Determine
who would be a realistic yet challenging
audience for the paraphrase of this
topic, what the purpose of such a
paraphrase should be, and how long
(number of words or amount of speaking
time) the paraphrase should be.
Respond
to the Directed Paraphrase yourself.
Can you complete it within
the limits given?
Prepare
the question to be display-ready
by writing it on the board, a transparency,
or digitally projected. They could
also be written on a half-sheet of
paper and distributed to the students.
It is important the prompts are presented
in writing. Do not only read the
question(s).
Hand
out index cards or half-sheets of
paper. It is best if students do
not write their names, unless there
is a very good reason to know who
wrote which comments.
Examples:
Course :
Computer Science; Database Systems
In plain language and in less than five minutes,
paraphrase what you have read about computer viruses – such
as the Michelangelo virus – for a vice president
of a large insurance firm who is ultimately responsible
for database security. Your aim is to convince her
to spend time and money “revaccinating” thousands
of workstations.
Course:
Criminal Justice; Managing Community
Relations
Imagine that you are the city’s deputy police
commissioner in charge of community relations and
public affairs. For a two-minute presentation at
a meeting of the police officers’ union, paraphrase
the arguments in favor of creating a civilian
review board. Then, for an equally short statement
at the next public meeting of the city council, paraphrase
the arguments against creating a civilian
review board.
Adaptations/Extensions:
Direct
the students to paraphrase the same
topic for two very different audiences,
and then to explain in detail the
differences between the two paraphrases.
Ask students
to keep a journal of paraphrases
as a summary of important topics
in the course.
Get an
appropriate outside “expert” to
comment on and assess some or all
of the paraphrases and give authentic
feedback.
Have
the students role-play the parts
of the expert reader(s) in #3.
Suggestions: Responding
to students’ feedback may take
longer than planned. Set clear time
limits. To temper expectations and
disappointment, let students know you
will not comment on everything. If you cannot
easily do the task, do not ask your
students to do it. Directing the paraphrase
at a specific audience makes the task
more demanding and more useful than
simple paraphrasing.
References
and Resources:
Angelo,
T.A, and Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom
assessment techniques: A handbook
for college teachers (2 nd ed.).
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
