ASSESSMENT OF PRACTICE

and the use of Portfolios

Proficiency in Practice IPL study day

28th February 2007

Margaret Fisher

What is this Ceppl activity about?

Evaluating and developing practice learning assessment methods

eg:• The CRAG document (midwifery)• The student led verification tool (post

qualifying health studies)• Graded assessment of practice (social work

and midwifery)• Other practice assessment processes

What is our overall goal?

Generic Guidelines for

ASSESSMENT OF PRACTICE

which are relevant across professional boundaries.

Research questions

1. What are perceptions of validity and reliability of the practice assessment methods?

2. What are perceptions of the impact of the practice assessment process on the student learning experience?

How are we doing this?1.Longitudinal case study over 3 years, following the

student’s journey from start to completion of their programme. Students from Midwifery, Emergency Care and Social Work degree programmes are participating.

2.Focus groups/ interviews of staff involved in practice assessment, exploring their views.

3. Literature searching and conference networking, to seek and give a wider airing to other examples of excellent practice within the assessment of professional practice.

4. Evaluation of assessment documentation

5. Exploration of latent aspects of learning and its impact on professionalism

What have we discovered about portfolio

assessment to date?

Literature background

• Assessment of practice is crucial in determining whether or not a student meets the criteria required of their profession, thus ensuring safety of the public (UKCC 1999, Watkins 2000, Cowburn et al 2000).

• Defining competence has long been a challenge (Cowan et al 2005).

• Efforts to ‘measure’ competence and professional abilities have resulted in a wide variety of methods of assessment, including portfolios (Baume and Yorke 2002, McMullan et al 2003).

• It can be difficult to assess portfolios objectively (Snadden and Thomas 1998).

• Unless outcomes are clear, the result may be that the student focuses too heavily on completing the portfolio rather than learning from the experience itself (Scholes et al 2004).

• Reflections on practice may form part of portfolio assessments, and this process may also contribute to the student’s learning (Mountford and Rogers 1996).

• The student may also be required to fulfil set criteria or outcomes and practice may be graded (Caraccio and Englander 2004, Slater and Boulet 2001)

Findings from year one interviews

• Portfolios can be valuable learning tools, increasing self-awareness and guiding objective-setting

• They make the student think

• They motivate identification of learning

• Checklists and objectives provide a focus

• They provide evidence of capability and record progress and achievement

However…• They may be prescriptive and restrictive• Learning objectives may be repetitive• Completing portfolios may cause

anxiety• They contribute heavily to workload and

are time-consuming• Size may be an issue – some students

recommend electronic options• Insufficient preparation in their use may

be given, and timing of their introduction is an issue to consider

• There may be issues around confidentiality

• Elements requiring self-assessment may be misjudged

• Weighting of marks may be unbalanced• There is a perception of “ticking the

boxes”• Reflections are valuable, but there is the

potential to “cheat the system/ twist the truth”, raising concerns about validity and reliability (as well as professionalism!)

• Some students feel that service-user involvement could increase reliability

These are clearly very early findings, and it will be interesting to see how the students’ views develop as their

programme progresses…

…as well as the staff views…

…and profession-specific issues…

We are keen to involve

others in this Ceppl activity

Our posters to date…

Some in the PAHC have already contributed…

The FHSW Conference workshop 2006 helped us to

define:•PracticeThe application and development of the

appropriate skills and knowledge to the professional role in the environment where that professional activity takes place

•Practice learningDistinguished by the framework of support,

teaching and assessment for students on professional programmes, working alongside others to deliver a service to the public as part of their course

The team’s consensus is that…

•Practice assessment• May not necessarily take place in the

clinical/ practice environment, but must incorporate practice

• Involves both formative and summative elements

• Includes all the evidence contributing to the judgement about whether the student can progress or not in practice

We therefore invite you to

become involved in this

Ceppl activity today

The portfolio workshopBearing these definitions in mind, and

the issues raised about the use of portfolios in assessing practice…

• Rotate between the viewing areas of professional portfolios

• Comment on what you see as the strengths and weaknesses

• Think about how you might apply aspects of these examples to your own professional practice

Thank you…

..... And enjoy the

workshop

Workshop rotation explained….Change over every 15 minutes

Station 1 – Midwifery – FF23

Station 2 – Podiatry – FF24

Station 3 – Physiotherapy – FF25

Station 4 – Occupational Therapy – FF26