The instructor leads a group discussion in an instructor/learner critique in which members of the class are invited to offer criticism of a performance. This method should be controlled carefully and directed with a clear purpose. It should be organized, and not allowed to degenerate into a random free-for-all.

The instructor asks a learner to lead the assessment in a learner-led critique. The instructor can specify the pattern of organization and the techniques or can leave it to the discretion of the chosen leader. Because of the inexperience of the participants in the lesson area, learner-led assessments may not be efficient, but they can generate learner interest and learning.

For the small group critique, the class is divided into small groups, each assigned a specific area to analyze. Each group presents its findings to the class. It is desirable for the instructor to furnish the criteria and guidelines. The combined reports from the groups can result in a comprehensive assessment.

The instructor may require another learner to present the entire assessment. A variation is for the instructor to ask a number of learners questions about the manner and quality of performance. Discussion of the performance and of the assessment can often allow the group to accept more ownership of the ideas expressed. As with all assessments incorporating learner participation, it is important that the instructor maintain firm control over the process.

A learner critiques personal performance in a self-critique. Like all other methods, a self-critique receives control and supervision from the instructor.

A written critique has three advantages. First, the instructor can devote more time and thought to it than to an oral assessment in the classroom. Second, learners can keep written assessments and refer to them whenever they wish. Third, when the instructor asks all learners to write an assessment of a performance, the learner-performer has the permanent record of the suggestions, recommendations, and opinions of all the other learners. The disadvantage of a written assessment is that other members of the class do not benefit.

Whatever the type of critique, the instructor should resolve disagreements and correct erroneous impressions. The instructor also makes allowances for the learners’ relative inexperience. Normally, the instructor should reserve time at the end of the learner assessment to cover those areas that might have been omitted, not emphasized sufficiently, or considered worth repeating.

The most common means of assessment is direct or indirect oral questioning of learners by the instructor. Questions may be loosely classified as fact questions and HOTS questions. The answer to a fact question is based on memory or recall. This type of question usually concerns who, what, when, and where. HOTS questions involve why or how and require the learner to combine knowledge of facts with an ability to analyze situations, solve problems, and arrive at conclusions.

Proper quizzing by the instructor can have a number of desirable results, such as:

The instructor should devise and write pertinent questions in advance. One method is to place them in the lesson plan. Prepared questions merely serve as a framework, and as the lesson progresses, should be supplemented by such impromptu questions as the instructor considers appropriate. Objective questions have only one correct answer, while the answer to an open-ended HOTS question can be expressed in a variety of possible solutions.

To be effective, questions must: