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Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Introducing Assessment
Dr. Ciara O’Farrell
CAPSL
Trinity College Dublin
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Magic Wand
What one thing would you change about assessment, and why?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Fact of life
“Students learn what they think they will be assessed on”
(Biggs)
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, you should be able to: Define some purposes of assessment at third level Apply the principles of constructive alignment Identify and apply different methods of assessment Differentiate between formative, summative and
continuous assessment
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Purposes of Assessment
Form groups Take five minutes to jot down your individual
current reasons for assessing students
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Possible Purposes of Assessment
Achievement of Learning Outcomes
Grade or mark Pass or fail Licence to practice Allow to proceed Predict success Peer benchmarking
Learn Feedback to staff Feedback to students Enhance motivation Public relations,
respectability and accountability
Huntley-Moore/Panter
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Constructive Alignment
Teacher’s responsibility to fashion a learning environment where learning activities are wholly appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes.
Cf Biggs 1999
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Learning Outcomes
Methods of learning
Aims
Assess-ment
methods and tasks
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Matching assessment with Learning Outcomes
Ensure assessment method tests learning outcome
Ensure assessment does not test any significant learning outcomes that are not explicitly stated as such
Ensure all major course outcomes are assessed
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Writing Learning Outcomes
E.g. After completing this lecture/tutorial you should be able to:
The specified action must be done by the learners. The specified action by the learners must be
measurable. S.M.A.R.T.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Good or not so good?
Participants will understand the nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Better?
Participants will list nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Good or not so good?
Participants will develop an appreciation of cultural diversity in the workplace.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Better
Participants will summarize in writing their feelings about cultural diversity in the workplace.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Some sample action verbs
compile, create, plan, revise, analyze, design, select, utilize, apply, demonstrate, prepare, use, compute, discuss, explain, predict, assess, compare, rate, critique
AVOID: know, become aware of, appreciate, learn, understand, become familiar with
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Activity: Learning outcomes
Individually list a sample learning outcome for a course/lecture you will be teaching (5-10 minutes)
Form groups Evaluate each other’s learning outcomes –
are they clear and accessible?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Methods of Assessment
Work in groups
Brainstorm as many traditional and diverse methods of assessment as you can.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Some methods of assessment
Essays Unseen written exams Reports Case studies Portfolios Projects Vivas Assessed seminars
Poster presentations Annotated
bibliographies Logs Diaries Reflective journals Critical incident
accounts
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Some methods of assessment
Field studies Exhibitions Critiques Theses Open-book exams Take-away papers Simulations CAA
In-tray exercises Live assignments Multiple choice questions Mini-practicals Modified essay questions OSCEs Group projects Work-based assessment
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Trends in assessment
Traditional Examinations Lecture-led Implicit criteria Product assessment Content Decontextualised Convergent Individual
Developments Course work Student-led Explicit Criteria Process assessment Skills Contextualised Divergent GroupBrown and Biggs
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Activity:
Individually: Go back to the learning outcome you wrote in the last activity.
List one or more methods of assessment that would assess achievement of this learning outcome.
Form groups, discuss, and report to group.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Summative assessment
Used to signify competence or contributes to a student’s grade
Should determine whether, and to what extent, student has obtained learning outcomes
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Formative assessment
Used to provide feedback to the student on their learning
Generally felt - should not form part of the summative mark
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Continuous Assessment
Series of tasks individually assessed Timely feedback important
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Involving others in the assessment process
Self assessment Peer assessment Group assessment
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Reflecting on assessment
What types of questions did the students do well on? In what respects?
What types of questions did they struggle with? In what respects?
What kind of tasks were there a variety of responses to?
Which assessments did they avoid? Which assessment questions were the most
popular? What can all this tell us about learning, teaching and
assessment?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Food for group discussion
“Something like 90% of a typical university degree depends on unseen time-constrained written examinations, and tutor-marked essays and/or reports.” (Biggs)
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Food for group discussion
Why is feedback so important? Will students take formative assessment
seriously? How can you make feedback more efficient?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Assessment checklist
Are the aims and learner outcomes of the module clear? Would attainment of these learner outcomes mean that the
aims of the module have been achieved? Are the assessment criteria for this module clear and explicit? Are all the appropriate learning outcomes assessed? Does the assessment scheme enable students to obtain
feedback on major elements of the module? Is each assessment method or task appropriate? Is the marking scheme likely to be reliable? Is the assessment task efficient? Have you performed an analysis of the assessment results?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
A compulsory examination for all assessors (see handout)
Answer all questions. This examination is un-timed. Consultation with others (including students) and reference to texts and other sources is RECOMMENDED.
1. What intended learning outcomes do you assess? How well does your approach to assessment align with these outcomes?
2. Justify and criticise your choice of assessment methods and tasks used to assess the outcomes in question 1.3. Refer to relevant research on assessment in your answer.4. Describe, justify and criticise your use of criteria, methods of grading and/or marking.5. Outline and justify your approach to providing feedback to students. Refer to relevant research in your answer.6. With reference to research findings, describe, justify and criticise your marking techniques to overcome the
following:a) variations in standards on a single occasion;b) variations in standards on different occasions;c) variations between assessors;d) differences in students’ handwriting.7. How do you ensure that your standards are similar to standards adopted in comparable assessments and
examinations?8. What values underlie your approach to assessment in higher education? How are they manifest in your practice?Evaluate your answers to questions 1–7.Reproduced from:George Brown, (2001), “Assessment: A Guide for Lecturers”, LTSN Generic Centre, Assessment Series No.3.