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A-Z - summative assessment methods

Table of Contents

A ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Annotated bibliographies ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Articles for different audiences .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Assessment stations ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

B ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Book, website, journal article or programme review .............................................................................................................................................. 5

C ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Case studies / Care plans ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Checklists .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Concept maps ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Conference ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Critical incident accounts / Journals / Blogs .......................................................................................................................................................... 7

D ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Designing learning materials ................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Dissertation ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

‘Doing it’ exam ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

E ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Essay..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Exit cards/exit slips/exit tickets/quiz (used with ‘entry cards) ............................................................................................................................... 10

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F .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Field report .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

G ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Grant application ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10

I ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

In-tray exercises .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

L .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Laboratory books / Reports ................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

M ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Make or design something .................................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Media profile ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 13

Mini-practical ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) ....................................................................................................................................................................... 13

O ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Observation ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Online discussion boards .................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Open book exams ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Oral presentations ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

P ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Part-written practical reports ................................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Patchwork texts ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Performance ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Portfolio check ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Portfolios / e-Portfolios ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

Posters ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

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Problem sheets ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Q ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17

Questioning ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Quiz ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

R ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17

Reflective diaries ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17

Research projects / Group projects ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Role play ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

S ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

Seen exams ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 19

Selective reports / Sampling reports .................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Short answer questions ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Simulations .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

V ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20

Viva voce ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21

W ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 21

Wiki / Blogs .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21

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A Abstract Written

Online: Assignment Dropbox – Online text submission with word limit Online for sharing: Discussion Forum with word count on

Formative / Summative

Students are required to write an abstract of a research paper/article within a specified word limit e.g. 300–500 words.

Annotated bibliographies

Written Online: Individual Wiki or Pebblepad Online groupwork: Collaborative Wiki or Pebblepad group page

Formative / Summative

Students produce a list of texts, primary sources and internet sites on specified or agreed topics to a particular referencing convention. They annotate these with a commentary, which could include an evaluation of what they have read.

Articles for different audiences

Written Online: Assignment Dropbox or Turnitin Online for sharing: Database

Formative / Summative

Students are asked to write on a particular topic(s) to an agreed length in a specific style e.g. a journal, newspaper or magazine.

Assessment stations

Practical / Written Online: Quiz, timed. Only for non-practical par

Summative Developed in medicine, students move around a series of testing stations being assessed on a number of learning outcomes, each for a fixed period of time. Useful to assess a wide range of skills and knowledge. Possibly use iObserve to video each student and timestamp when a hands-on skill criteria is met.

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Book, website, journal article or programme review

Written / Oral Online: Video their presentation, upload privately to YouTube. Submit link to Assignment Dropbox for assessment and feedback Online Group Submission: Use Group submission settings in Assignment Dropbox for submission, assessment and feedback

Formative / Summative Students write an account or present an oral presentation on designated articles or other programmes e.g. TV/radio. These often include an evaluative element to demonstrate depth of reading and level of understanding in concise formats.

C Case studies / Care plans

Written / Oral / Problem-based / Practical Online: Groupwork carried in Moodle. Forum, Wiki, Blackboard Collaborate gives online space to collaborate. Time release case

Formative / Summative Students are required to work through a case study/care plan to identify the problem(s) and to offer potential solutions; useful for assessing students’ understanding and for encouraging students to see links between theory and practice. Case studies could be provided in advance of a time-constrained assessment.

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study

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Checklists Written Online: Peer assessment tool in Moodle. Can self-assess against checklist

Formative / Summative A useful self-assessment tool, which helps students, evaluate their performance against a specific set of criteria. The quality of information acquired depends on the quality of descriptors chose for assessment. Checklists use a ‘yes/no’ format in relation to student demonstration of specific criteria

Concept maps Written / Oral Online: Create mindmap using Mindjet Mindmap via MyApps. Submit mind map to Assignment for assessment

Formative / Summative Students map out their understanding of a concept using a graphical organizer. Useful for showing relationships between concepts. For students to create mindmaps try introducing them to https://www.mindomo.com/ particular concept. This is a useful (and potentially quick) exercise

Conference Formative / Summative One to one conversation with students to check their level of understanding.

Critical incident accounts / Journals / Blogs

Written / Work placements Online: Pebblepad: Students keep their journal and evidence of their learning in Pebblepad and present on a page for assessment

Formative / Summative Students working on placements keep diaries, journals or blogs in which they record their experiences. They can be asked to write about a critical incident in terms of context, what happened, the outcomes, how theoretical material they have learnt underpins the process and how they would do things differently in future.

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Designing learning materials

Written / Oral Online: Pebblepad. Learning package presented as a web page or mini website, with embedded video, text and files to download

Formative / Summative Students prepare a learning package for a particular audience e.g. members of the public, school children etc on a specified or agreed topic

Dissertation Written Online: Pebblepad for space to reflect and gather evidence. Refworks to gather and organise references

Summative Potential for sampling a wide range of practical, analytical and interpretive skills and to assess a broad application of knowledge, understanding and skills to other situations

‘Doing it’ exam Written Online: Open book quiz with essay question and timer.

Summative An exam which requires students to do something, for example, read an article, analyse and interpret data …

E Essay Written

Online: Submit Essay file to

Summative Students are required to write an essay on specified or agreed topics within given parameters e.g. word count, use of different literature sources etc.

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Assignment or Turnitin for assessment & feedback.

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Exit cards/exit slips/exit tickets/quiz (used with ‘entry cards)

Oral / Written Online: Feedback activity to collect feedback and / or answer summarising questions

Formative / Summative A quick assessment tool designed to collect feedback about a session from students. It is meant to check for student understanding at the end of the session. Can also be sued to check understanding at the end of a session. For example, students can be asked to summarize key points or solve a problem. Can be further used to allow students to ask questions about what they’ve just learnt

F Field report Written / Oral

Online: Pebblepad ideal for producing a webpage report with text, images and video clips Online: Report produced in Word (or similar) and uploaded to Assignment or Turnitin for assessment and feedback

Formative / Summative Students are required to produce a written/oral report relating to a field/site visit.

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Grant application

Written Online: submit completed work to Turnitin or Assignment for

Formative / Summative Students are required to use real/adapted versions of different grant application forms to plan a research project. This could be assessed using the published criteria as a basis for the marking criteria.

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assessment and feedback

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I In-tray exercises

Written / Oral Formative / Summative Students are provided with an initial dossier of papers to read, prioritise and work on, with a variety of tasks and new information given at intervals throughout the period of assessment. This simulates real practice where unknown elements and irrelevancies are often encountered.

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Laboratory books / Reports

Practical / Written Online: Students required to upload a practical file every week. But know not to expect feedback/grade every week. Gradebook can be set up as appropriate to add up the grades each student does get to contribute to final mark.

Summative Students are required to write a report for all (or a designated sample) of practicals in a single lab book. You could inform students that a sample of lab books will be collected each week to mark any reports of labs done in previous weeks; this encourages students to keep their lab books up to date. Each student should be sampled the same number of times throughout the module with a designated number contributing to the assessment mark.

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Make or design something

Practical / Written Online: Audio files and link to streaming video are uploaded into Assignment for assessment and feedback. Handles Group submission well

Formative / Summative Students are required to make or design something, e.g. radio broadcast, video clip, web page etc; useful as a group work exercise.

Media profile Practical / Written / Oral Online: Final result a video? Or some other media? Links to streaming media can be uploaded into Assignment for assessment and feedback

Formative / Summative Students are asked to use pictures or headlines from newspapers and magazines to Performance / Problem-based illustrate the public perception/profile of a particular aspect of your subject area; useful as a group work exercise.

Mini-practical Practical / Written

Formative / Summative This involves a series of mini practical sessions conducted under timed conditions which creates potential for assessing a wide range of practical, analytical and interpretative skills. Possibly use iObserve to video each student and timestamp when a hands-on skill criteria is met.

Multiple choice questions (MCQs)

Written Online: Quiz

Formative / Summative / Diagnostic

Well-designed questions can assess more than factual recall of information, but do take time to design.

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O Observation Practical / Oral /

Performance and laboratory work Online: Blackboard Collaborate for presentation

Formative / Summative Students are observed whilst undertaking some form of ‘performance’. This is commonly used in teaching classroom practice. Consider iObserve to video each student and timestamp when a hands-on skill criteria is met.

Online discussion boards

Written Online: Discussion forum. Students collate their contributions for assessment

Summative Students are assessed on the basis of their contributions to an online discussion for example, with their peers; this could be hosted on a virtual learning environment (VLE).

Open book exams

Written Online: Quiz. Essay questions. On a timer

Summative Students have the opportunity to use any or specified resources to help them answer set questions under time constraints. This method removes the over-reliance on memory and recall and models the way that professionals manage information.

Oral presentations

Oral / Written Online: Presentation via Blackboard Collaborate. Peer assessment using Workshop activity

Formative / Summative Students are asked to give an oral presentation on a particular topic for a specified length of time and could also be asked to prepare associated handout(s). Can usefully be combined with self- and peer-assessment.

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Part-written practical reports

Practical / Written Online: Download these from Moodle. Submit via Assignment for assessment and feedback

Formative / Summative Lab sheets given to students provide some of the write-up in full but leave sections such as error analysis, theoretical explanation etc. for the students to complete.

Patchwork texts

Written / Problem-based

Formative / Summative Students write a number of small pieces of work (‘patches’), which they then have to later ‘stitch’ together in a reflective commentary. The patches and the tasks upon which they are based are discrete and complete entities in their own right, but they can help contribute to a holistic understanding of module contents

Performance Practical / Oral / Written Online: Performance videoed. Uploaded privately to YouTube or similar. Links uploaded into Assignment for assessment & feedback.

Summative Students are required to give some form of performance, e.g. concert, play, dance, etc.

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Portfolio check Oral / Written Online: Pebblepad – student gathers evidence and reflections and submits page for tutor assessment and comment.

Formative / Summative Check the progress of a student’s portfolio. A portfolio is a purposeful collection of significant work, carefully selected, dated and presented to tell the story of a student’s achievement or growth in well-defined areas of performance, such as reading, writing, math, etc. A portfolio usually includes personal reflections where the student explains why each piece was chosen and what it shows about his/her growing skills and abilities.

Portfolios / e-Portfolios

Written / Work placements Online: MyPorfolio

Summative Students provide evidence for their achievement of learning outcomes; these commonly problem based and incorporate a reflective commentary

Posters Practical / Written / Oral Online: Poster created in publishing software –converted to .PDF for submission to Assignment for assessment and feedback OR to Database to share with the other students. Visual: Poster

Formative / Summative Students are asked to produce a poster (either ‘real size or as a PowerPoint file) on a particular topic. Can be used individually or in groups to assess a range of activities. Posters do not need to be printed but can be displayed overhead or on a portable device

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Problem sheets

Written Online: Quiz. There are many opportunities to build feedback into quiz

Formative / Summative Students complete problem sheets, e.g. on a weekly basis. This can be a useful way of providing students with regular formative feedback on their work and/or involving elements of self- and peer assessment.

Q Questioning Oral / Written

Online: a variety of options including polleverywhere

Formative / Summative During a session, use a range of question types – open/closed, convergent/divergent; factual, rhetorical, opinion based. It is important for learners to understand what is required of in the question. You may also find it useful to use a range of taxonomies to get different types of information

Quiz Written Online: Quiz

Formative / Summative Quizzes assess students for factual information, concepts and discrete skills. There is usually a single best answer. Some types are: - Multiple choice - True/false - Short answer - Paper and pencil - Matching - Extended response

R Reflective diaries

Written / Work placements Practical reflective commentary which could support the development of an

Formative / Summative Students record their learning over a period of time, interspersing narrative with a Written / Practical / Oral / Potential for sampling wide range of practical, analytical and interpretative skills.

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action plan. Online: Pebblepad for refection and PDP

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Research projects / Group projects

Performance / Problem-based / Work placement Online: Use groups in Moodle with Forums, wikis, database and Blackboard Collaborate to give online space for group collaboration

Summative assess wide application of knowledge, understanding and skills. based

Role play Written / Oral / Performance Online: Presentations (written) and links to video can be submitted via Assignment activity. Blackboard Collaborate for oral parts of exercise

Formative / Summative Students write or give a presentation taking on a particular role, e.g. a journal reviewer/ editor, consultant, art critic etc. This type of assignment could be paired up with a grant application exercise.

S Seen exams Written

Online: Quiz – with timer

Summative Students are provided with the questions to be answered in a time-constrained context in advance. Alternatively, the examination topics may be released in advance but the precise questions are unseen until the exam.

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Selective reports / Sampling reports

Practical / Written Online: Report files submitted via Assignment or Turnitin

Formative / Summative Students are asked to either write up only particular sections of a report each week, e.g. methods section or results section. Alternatively, students are required to write practical reports in full but they are told in advance that only a percentage of the reports will be assessed.

Short answer questions

Written Online: Quiz. Essay-type questions or skilfully considered other question types

Formative / Summative Useful to assess a wide range of knowledge/skills across a module.

Simulations Practical / Written / Oral / Problem-based Online: Lesson activity can be used to create scenario based decision making task

Formative / Summative Text or virtual computer-based simulations are provided for students who are then required to answer questions, resolve problems, perform tasks and take actions etc. according to changing circumstances within the simulation. Useful for assessing a wide range of skills, knowledge and competencies.

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Viva voce Oral Online: Blackboard collaborate webinar. Will allow students to be interviewed and make presentations remotely…

Summative Often used for assessing ‘borderline’ degree classifications but also useful to explore students’ understanding of a wide range of topics. Depending on class size however, they can be time consuming for staff.

W Wiki / Blogs Written

Online: Individual. Individual wiki or My Portfolio can be use Online groupwork: Collaborative Wiki or a shared Pebblepad group page

Formative / Summative Students are required to keep an individual blog, e.g. to record their progress on a project, or a wiki; could be used as part of a group project exercise.

Terms of use: This work was developed from 'Engage in Assessment' resources - University of Reading. The original version can be found here

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