Post on 14-Apr-2017
Excellence in University Assessment: An impossible
mission?David Carless
University of Hong KongSRHE, 11th December 2015
The University of Hong Kong
Key issues What might good summative assessment
design look like?
How might student uptake of feedback be enhanced?
What are key facilitating / inhibiting factors for learning-oriented assessment?
The University of Hong Kong
Competing assessment functions The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
Productive assessment task design
Appreciating the nature of quality work
Student engagement with feedback
Learning-oriented assessment framework
Research process The University of Hong Kong
Excellence in University Assessment …
An impossible mission (Barnett, 2007)
The University of Hong Kong
ASSESSMENT DESIGN: ISSUES & TENSIONS
The University of Hong Kong
Flexibility & choice
The University of Hong Kong
Integration and coherence
The University of Hong Kong
Support students in appreciating quality
The University of Hong Kong
Incorporate feedback dialogues
The University of Hong Kong
FEEDBACK DESIGNS
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Feedback often seems like …a perversely belated revelation of things that should have been made clear earlier (Crook, Gross & Dymott, 2006)
The University of Hong Kong
Closing feedback loops
It’s only feedback if students take some action
The University of Hong Kong
Feedback by design Integrated cycles of guidance & feedback - Peer review- Dialogue around exemplars-Calibration of judgments
The University of Hong Kong
Feedback designs• Task 1 feedback interlinked task 2
• Position students as active feedback seekers & users
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ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
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Trust or distrust?Distrust as barrier for assessment change (Carless, 2009)
The University of Hong Kong
Limited incentivesGood assessment design: difficult, needing effort but may not be rewarded (Norton et al., 2013)
The University of Hong Kong
Incentives for good practice• Teacher passion & motivation
• QA drivers & pressures
• Teaching awards
The University of Hong Kong
Student responseStudents interpret assessment tasks based on their own preferences, experiences and motivations
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Communication about assessment
Rationales
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Potential benefits
Processes
Tackling challenges
Programme-based approaches
Assessment mapping: Cumulative … coherent
The University of Hong Kong