REAP Assessment/Feedback Principles and Examples

Technology supported assessment

Martin Hawkseye-Learning Advisor (Higher Education)

Increasing learner success with technology supported assessment

April 11, 2023 | slide 1


Plan

Defining assessment and feedback

Outline the REAP Project and its philosophy towards a ‘principled’ approach to course redesign

Some examples of REAP pilots

Questions and discussion



Defining assessment and feedback

Assessment – the narrow meaning is exam for external accreditation

Feedback – the narrow sense is what the tutor writes about/on a finished piece of student work

REAP was also interested in:– Self-assessment and reflection - a form of internally

generated feedback– Peer dialogue as feedback and peer assessment



Definitions

Who is involved in formative assessment and feedback– Tutor– Peers– External (e.g. placement supervisor)– Computer generated– Self



Why take formative assessment and feedback seriously?

Assessment is a key driver of student learning Assessment is a major cost in HE (staff time) Widely reported that students don’t read the feedback Dropout/retention – linked to academic experience First year experience – students need regular and

structured feedback opportunities. National student survey (NSS) – students are dissatisfied

with feedback. QAA reports – main area of criticism in England



NSS 2007 - Assessment and Feedback Results

• Nationally only 55% of students think feedback is prompt and had helped to clarify things they did not understand [Scotland: 48%]

• Nationally only 63% of students agree that have received detailed comments on their work [Scotland: 49%]



Key messages

Formative assessment and feedback by others can only have an impact on learning when it influences a student’s own self-regulatory processes (adapted from Boud, 1995)

Students are already self-assessing and generating feedback so we should build on this capacity (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2004)



REAP

3 HEIs (Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian Business School, Glasgow University)

Targeting large 1st year classes Multi-disciplinary as well as faculty-wide (19 pilots,

~6000 students) Range of technologies: online tests, simulations,

discussion boards, e-voting, e-portfolios, peer/feedback software, admin systems, VLEs, offline-online

A ‘principled’ approach to designing and embedding assessment practices



Scaffolding self regulation: 7 principles of good feedback (assessment design)

1. Clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, standards).

2. Facilitate reflection and self-assessment in learning

3. Deliver high quality feedback to students: feedback that enables students to monitor and self-correct

4. Encourage peer and tutor dialogue around learning

5. Encourage positive motivational beliefs & self esteem through assessment

6. Provide opportunities to close the feedback loop

7. Use feedback information to shape teachingSource: Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006)



Two super principles

Super-principle 1: developing learner self-regulation (empowerment) i.e steers to encourage ownership of learning – the seven principles discussed above.

Super-principle 2: time on task and effort (engagement) i.e. steers on how much work to do and when – Gibbs and Simpson 4 conditions

Case examples from REAP – applying these principles/conditions



REAP Pilots (1)

Department of Mechanical Engineering– Students: 250– Technology: Commercial online homework packages, electronic

voting system (EVS)– Assessment Activities: Weekly tests provide on-demand

feedback on student performance for both students and tutors. Just-in-time teaching supported by interactive classes using EVS.

– Efficiencies: 60% reduction in assessment workload saving 102 staff hours. License cost of commercial packages £12.95 and £7 per student per annum.

– Learning Gains: Results from 2006/7 diet indicate strong class attainment maintained (90% pass rate, 65% average)

"I think it’s managed to save a lot of time for ourselves and the tutors and given them more time to develop what they are going to talk about and give more time for them to speak to people individually if they need it." Student comment



REAP Pilots (2)

Department of Psychology– Students: 560– Technology: Online collaborative group tasks

supported by VLE message-board– Assessment Activities: Regular collaborative tasks

support peer feedback processes and student engagement.

– Efficiencies: 50% of lectures replaced with online tasks. Staff time re-directed to support online tasks.

– Learning Gains: Significant overall improvement in average exam pass mark (51.1% in 2005/06 diet rising to 57.4% in 2006/07).

Exam failure rate reduced from 13% to 5%. Course failure rate reduced from 12.1% to 2.8%.


JISC CETIS Assessment SIG

September 2007

REAP Pilots (3)

Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management– Students: 200– Technology: Podcasts, electronic voting system – Assessment Activities: Regular podcast releases

support changes to lectures to include interactive discussion using EVS.

– Efficiencies: 50% reduction in lectures (however, lectures delivered twice to smaller groups).Licensing and development costs associated with podcasts (c. £1k per 30 minutes podcast)

– Learning Gains: Significant gain in overall exam mark in 2006/07 diet (+12.2%) compared with 2005/06.

Significant reduction (-25%) in students receiving non-qualification.


September 2007

REAP Pilots (4)

Department of Modern Languages– Students: 200– Technology: Online homework and tests supported by VLE, electronic

voting system (EVS)– Assessment Activities: Diagnostic tests of student knowledge at start of

year to inform teaching.

Formative feedback from regular online testing and EVS classroom use. – Efficiencies: Effective delivery of course made possible despite

significant cuts in funding and staffing.

Tutorials reduced by 50% and replaced with online tasks. Listening classes reduced from 360 to 160 hours. Saving of 200 staff hours.

– Learning Gains: Failure rate in final exam reduced from 24% to 4.6% compared with 2005/06 diet.

"Having almost immediate feedback on marks was very useful as I was aware at every point as to how well I was coping" Student comment


September 2007

REAP Pilots (5)

School of Pharmacy - Pharmacy Practice 3– Students: 240– Technology: Online simulation tutorial – Assessment Activities: Regular online tasks to improve student

engagement, multiple opportunities for self-testing and regular feedback.

– Efficiencies: Savings in staff time due to reduced need for remedial revision work with individual students.

– Learning Gains: Significant gain in overall exam mark in 2006/07 (+16%) compared to 2005/06 diet.

“The tutorial was an excellent resource and learning tool to supplement our class”

Simulated exactly what it would be like to carry out a check on a prescription, allowing us to experience the difficulties involved and discover where we needed improvement” Student comments


REAP Pilot (6)

School of Pharmacy - Foundation Pharmacy– Students: 120– Technology: e-portfolio, electronic feedback form– Assessment Activities: Improved tutor feedback to students supported by

feedback form, enhanced opportunities for reflection activities.– Efficiencies: Staff workload increased during test implementation but

reductions anticipated in future years.– Learning Gains: No significant improvements in academic performance

reported.

89% of students receiving feedback via the feedback form agreed the feedback was ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’.

“The feedback form was especially useful, I found it easier to work from as it was segmented into the different aspects of the report I had written and had comments on both the strong and weak elements of my report” Student comment



Slight detour

A more detailed exampleAudio/Video Feedback



Question for you

Question: What are the opportunities for change at UHI?



Change

Challenge to Change

JISC Typology of technology use in assessment and feedback doc http://

jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/f/typology_tech_assess.doc


http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/f/typology_tech_assess.doc




Do you have the policies in place to back change?

Strathclyde Policies http://www.strath.ac.uk/staff/policies/academic/ and Feedback is a Dialogue site

http://www.strath.ac.uk/learnteach/teaching/staff/assessfeedback/

University of Dundee Online Assessment Policy and Procedures

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/academic/learning/archive/200910/mtg2/papero.rtf


http://www.strath.ac.uk/staff/policies/academic/









Relevant papers

Nicol, D (in press), Laying the foundation for lifelong learning: cases studies of technology supported assessment processes in large first year classes, British Journal of Educational Technology (to be published July 2007).

Nicol, D (2007) E-assessment by design: using multiple-choice tests to good effect, Journal of Further and Higher Education.

Nicol, D. & Milligan, C. (2006), Rethinking technology-supported assessment in relation to the seven principles of good feedback practice. In C. Bryan and K. Clegg, Innovations in Assessment, Routledge.

Nicol, D (2006), Increasing success in first year courses: assessment redesign, self-regulation and learning technologies, Paper prepared for ASCILITE conference, Sydney, Australia, Dec 3-6.

Nicol, D, J. & Macfarlane-Dick (2006), Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice, Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199-218.

Nicol, D & Boyle, J. (2003), Peer Instruction versus Class-wide discussion in large classes. Studies in Higher Education, 28(4), 457-473

Boyle, J.T. and Nicol, D. J. (2003). Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings, Association for Learning Technology Journal, 11(3), 43-57


REAP Assessment/Feedback Principles and Examples

Education

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