Building Better Assessments: Best Practices and Effective Strategies for Science Education
Elevate your approach to student assessment in STEM with Dr. Rebecca Orr. Learn to design tests that truly measure critical thinking, set clear expectations, and conduct fair evaluations.
Rebecca Orr, Professor of Biology, Collin College
There is an ongoing push across the U.S. to boost critical thinking in college classrooms, especially within science education. While progress has been made toward integrating higher-order cognitive skills in instruction and classroom activities, many assessments still focus primarily on basic memorization rather than deeper understanding. Join Dr. Rebecca Orr as she discusses the importance of designing assessments that effectively measure critical thinking skills. She’ll provide insights gathered over the past few years and share practical strategies and tools that help set clear expectations for students and conduct fair, meaningful evaluations.
About the speaker
Rebecca Orr, Professor of Biology, Collin College
Rebecca B. Orr is a Professor of Biology at Collin College in Plano, Texas, where she teaches introductory biology. She earned her B.S. from Texas A&M University and her Ph.D. from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Rebecca has a passion for investigating strategies that result in more effective learning and retention, and she is a certified Team-Based Learning Collaborative Trainer Consultant. She enjoys focusing on the creation of learning opportunities that both engage and challenge students. In addition to her work inside of the classroom, Rebecca is an author on Campbell Biology and Campbell Biology In Focus.