Joe,

That process of evaluating learning is an extremely important but challenging task for teachers in general, including innovating teachers who want to assess the actual impact of whatever they are trying that is new.
     But the process almost for sure has to begin with a clarification of what kind(s) of learning you are trying to promote.  Some people use Bloom's taxonomy to identify and express their learning goals/outcomes; in recent times, some have used the "taxonomy of significant learning" from my book, Creating Significant Learning Experiences (Jossey-Bass, 2003).
      After you lay out your specific goals, then for each one separately, ask:  "What would students have to do, for me to know how well they have achieved each of these goals/outcomes?"
     What you discover quickly when you do this, is that you need different kinds of assessment activities for different kinds of learning.

Question:  In your case, do you have a set of learning goals or desired learning outcomes for your geography course you could share with us? 
      If so, we might be able to brainstorm specific ways of assessing them, even with 250 students.

Dee Fink

P.S. In my "former" life, I too taught geography (world regional).



On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 11:16 PM, Joseph Fagan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi All

I use TBL in my undergraduate Geography class (at the University of Auckland). While the course consistently receives excellent student evaluations I often feel that this reflects its popularity rather than its actual effectiveness (in a learning sense). I am curious what techniques others have used to measure and evaluate the actual learning process inherent in TBL? One issue I have is that the class is big (240 students, so 40 groups of six) so being able to consistently interact and observe individual groups is a challenge.

Best wishes Joe J




--
***********************
L. Dee Fink         
234 Foreman Ave.
Norman, OK  73069
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Websites:      
        www.designlearning.org   [multiple resources on course design]
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**Former President of the POD Network in Higher Education (2004-2005)
**Author of: Creating Significant Learning Experiences (2003, Jossey-Bass)
**National Project Director:  Teaching & Curriculum Improvement (TCI) Project
**Senior Associate, Dee Fink & Associates Consulting Services