The Directed Paraphrase asks the student to summarize in well-chosen words a key idea that has been presented during the current class period or the one just past. The paraphrase part requires the student to generate a new way to express the concept. The directed part specifies the [virtual] audience to whom the paraphrase is directed, thus revealing whether the student understands the concept within the specified framework. A nursing student might be directed to paraphrase the concept of drug clearance by the kidneys to a worried patient. An economics student might be directed to paraphrase a point of tax policy to a corporate CEO. A philosophy student might be directed to paraphrase an ethics concept so that it is readily understood by a teenager. The twin challenges are brevity and choice of language to match the needs of the specified audience.

A professor can collect and scan perhaps 70 Directed Paraphrases in about 10 minutes after class to assess whether students understand the concept and can translate it into appropriate terms.

----T.A. Angelo and K. P. Cross, 1993. Classroom Assessment Techniques, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass., p. 232-5.

Directed Paraphrasing

In 1-3 clear, concise sentences, please write your definition of classroom assessment, or at least what you think it should be. Construct a definition that would make sense to your faculty colleagues regardless of their academic disciplines.

Classroom Assessment is:

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