Assessment for active learning

Dr Clarissa WilksDean of Learning and Teaching

Kingston University

Session outline

Designing assessment

Integrating assessment into learning: loading and timing

Engaging students with assessment: presentation, practice and feedforward

Developing skills for assessment: confidence and academic integrity

Ensuring fairness in assessment: grade and assessment/marking criteria

Principles for assessment design at course level

The overall assessment regime for the course should be designed to help students learn and to demonstrate that they have met the learning outcomes of the programme and of each level of study.Has the assessment experience been mapped from the student perspective to ensure that helps them to build knowledge and skills progressively through the course?

Are the types of assessment carefully planned across levels and the course as a whole?

Do all modules provide explicit formative opportunities for practice and ‘feed forward’ designed to help students reach their full potential in summative assessment?

Has the loading and timing of assessment been planned from the students’ perspective?

Does the assessment reinforce the overall coherence of the course, e.g. through a final year ‘capstone’ project?

The ultimate aim…

Assessment done with students not to students

Integrating assessment: loadings and timingHow does your course team ensure equivalence of loadings across the course?How does your team map assessments across the year to ensure the best learning experience for students?

Engaging students with assessmentWhat forms of formative and feedforward assessment do you find most effective?How can we present assessment to students most effectively?

At a glance guides?

Your week by week guide to EN3128 Second Language AcquisitionAssessment: A critical assessment of a self-managed language learning project (2500 words)

What will we cover? How does it relate to the assessment?

What skills will we be practising? (academic and employability)

What are the key feedforward and feedback opportunities?

Week 1Introduction: what does in mean to learn another language?

We’ll discuss the language learning project and talk through some of the projects students have done in the past. We’ll also talk about what makes a good project and what we’ll be looking for.

You’ll have a chance to practise analysing complex systems.

You’ll also be developing your planning and time management skills.

You’ll get feedback on your initial ideas and help with how to anticipate potential pitfalls in your project

Week 2

Week 3

Developing skills for assessment

Confidence

What have you found most effective in building students’ confidence for assessment?

Academic integrity

How can we develop students’ understanding of academic integrity in relation to assessment?

Supporting students and ensuring fairness

Grade criteria and assessment/marking criteria What’s the difference between the two? Do you, and your students, use your institution’s

grade criteria?

Grade criteria and assessment criteria

Make the language accessible

Use them actively with students as a formative resource

Tailor your formative and summative feedback to match the criteria

Learn to love assessment…

Assessment is NOT just a necessary evil – but don’t overassess

Don’t be afraid to ‘teach to the assessment’

Work as a team