Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD Introducing Assessment Dr. Ciara O’Farrell CAPSL Trinity College...

Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

Introducing Assessment

Dr. Ciara O’Farrell

CAPSL

Trinity College Dublin


Magic Wand

What one thing would you change about assessment, and why?


Fact of life

“Students learn what they think they will be assessed on”

(Biggs)


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


Purposes of Assessment

Form groups Take five minutes to jot down your individual

current reasons for assessing students


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


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


Learning Outcomes

Methods of learning

Aims

Assess-ment

methods and tasks


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


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.


Good or not so good?

Participants will understand the nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment.


Better?

Participants will list nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment.


Good or not so good?

Participants will develop an appreciation of cultural diversity in the workplace.


Better

Participants will summarize in writing their feelings about cultural diversity in the workplace.


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


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?


Methods of Assessment

Work in groups

Brainstorm as many traditional and diverse methods of assessment as you can.


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


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


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


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.


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


Formative assessment

Used to provide feedback to the student on their learning

Generally felt - should not form part of the summative mark


Continuous Assessment

Series of tasks individually assessed Timely feedback important


Involving others in the assessment process

Self assessment Peer assessment Group assessment


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?


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)


Food for group discussion

Why is feedback so important? Will students take formative assessment

seriously? How can you make feedback more efficient?


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?


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.

Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD Introducing Assessment Dr. Ciara O’Farrell CAPSL Trinity College...

Documents

Transcript of Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD Introducing Assessment Dr. Ciara O’Farrell CAPSL Trinity College...