LECTURE 2 - DTLLS

Assessment

Assessment

Research into the impact of assessment tells us that students learn best when assessment is:

Evenly timed Represents or simulates real life The fear of failure is minimised Perceived by students as relevant and appropriate to

their needs as learners(Ramsden, 1992, Entwistle et al 1987)

Assessment

We know that individual learners tend to favour one learning style above another and that some forms of assessment favour particular approaches

Assessment

Students take topics more seriously if they know that they are to be assessed

Learning and teaching are greatly enhanced when the assessment is seen to be integrated and relevant to the course rather than tagged onto the end of a module as an afterthought

Self Assessment

Fosters the concept of development and reflectionElevates the status of the student to one of

assessor It places the student in a position where he/she

must acknowledge strengths and areas for improvement and be able to make plans for the future

It is based on the theory of experiential learning advocated and developed by Kolb (1984) and Schon (1984)

Kolb’s learning cycle

Self Assessment

It allows the student to develop

The capacity to learn The capacity to know how to learn The capacity to know what he/she has learned

Self Assessment

For Boud (1988) self assessment involves 2 key elements:

The development of knowledge and an appreciation of the standards, and the criteria for meeting those standards

The capacity to make judgements about whether or not the work meets those standards

Self Assessment

Sadler (1989)

Argues that it is important that the student is able to monitor and make changes to work during the ‘act of production’

It is a way of providing feedback which can be directly and immediately applied to work in progress

Self Assessment

Schon (1987)

A process of development which involves taking stock of existing knowledge, identifying gaps and acquiring new knowledge which can be applied to future behaviour

Gaps in learning are traditionally filled by the tutor in the form of feedback

Negotiated Assessment

Bridging the gap between traditional teacher led assessment and self assessment is ‘collaborative’ or ‘negotiated’ assessment

This is an intermediate stage between dependency and autonomy of judgement

Teacher and student meet to clarify objectives and standards

Self assessment

The student needs opportunities to practice making judgements and to feel the responsibility of making a judgement against criteria

It exposes the student to subjectivity

Self Assessment

Boud offers two arguments for involving students in self assessment:

The reality argument based on the view that learning is context and situation bound and students need to practice interpreting requirements

The expediency argument based on the view that many tutors do not have the time to offer qualitative feedback and that self assessment is a way of reducing time spent on meaningless marking exercises

Boud Quotation

‘If students mark their own work, either with respect to specified standards or their self established criteria, they not only release staff for more educationally worthwhile activities, but they are encouraged to reflect on their own work and the standards which can be applied to it’

(1995, p169)

Criticisms of Self Assessment

Both arguments are quick and easy responses to:

Increasing student numbers A diverse student body

There are also issues concerning reliability in a system where learners not only define their own criteria but assess their own work by that criteria

Rather than consider self assessment as simply an assessment tool, it should perhaps be seen as a learning experience in itself

Activity

Consider where you could include self-assessment across the modules/subjects you teach

In what ways could your learners benefit from self-assessment?

Self Assessment

Boud and Falchikov (1989) When tutors and students selected the assessment

criteria through a process of mutual collaboration, there was an 80% agreement of grades

This suggests that whilst factors such as experience, maturity and simplicity of task play an important task in securing agreement on grades, perhaps the single most important factor is the role students play in the selection of criteria

Studies suggest that self assessment is successful because it is perceived by students as ‘real’

Reflective journals

Atkins (1995)

One of the key characteristics of a critical learner is ‘to be able to reflect on one’s own practice and to use feedback to assess and manage one’s own performance’

Self reflection

McGill and Brockbank (1998)

Reflection draws on both cognitive (knowledge skills) and meta-cognitive (behaviour and feelings) which is its great strength.

An assessment system which addresses reflective learning should do so in terms of both outcome and process

Outcome and process reflection

Self reports – reflective diaries, log, reflective evidence

Other reports – learning contracts, evidence from a mentor or vocational tutor

When self reports and other reports are confirmed by the judgement of the tutor, triangulation and validity can be made

This means that students are co-dependent on tutors, peers and their own self-knowledge to provide the feedback they need for improved learning

Oral presentations

Are we assessing content knowledge or the ability to articulate an argument in front of an audience?

Oral assessment is more likely to lead to a deep approach to learning since it requires a personal commitment and engagement with the subject matter

Oral Assessments – a deep approach to learning

Students do not want to make a fool of themselvesSpeech is transparent to wafflingIn order to answer questions, the student has to

understand the topic (reducing the opportunity for plagiarism)

Speaking inevitably means that you are heard (eradicating the possibility of confusion)

Oral assessment involves body language (conveys more than the written form)

Personal involvement and ownership of the spoken word

Oral Assessment

Written assessment provides the opportunity for students to submit and deny responsibility for their work. (They are not there when it is marked)

The physical distance created between the student’s production of written work and the assessor’s judgement appears to promote an intellectual separation in the mind of the student

Improving student learning therefore necessitates a closure of the perceived gap between feedback and action