Assessing ‘off-campus’ psychology students: Strategic design and development of psychology assessments from a programme-level perspective

Dr James Brunton & Elaine WalshOpen Education Unit, National Institute for Digital Learning, Dublin City University

Psychology and Flexibility

“Now, more than at any point in our recent history, there is a compelling economic and social case for new initiatives to raise levels of education and skills among adults in the wider population in Ireland” (HEA, 2013, p.4)

• "Practically all higher education institutions of the sample have started to embrace e-learning. Most of the surveyed institutions are using blended learning (91%), integrating e-learning into conventional teaching, but surprisingly 82% of institutions also indicate that they offer online learning courses. Less frequent, but seemingly also on the rise, are other forms of provision such as joint inter-institutional collaboration and online degree courses. Online examinations are likely to become more widely used for all students in all or most disciplines, also for conventionally taught courses. Besides pedagogical and economic motives, the institutions refer to a growing need for flexibility of time and place, and better use of resources, benefiting both residential students and a wider range of professional and other lifelong learners." (EAU Publications, 2014, p. 7)

Full-timeNUI Maynooth Dublin Business School

NUI Galway Waterford Institute of Technology Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art

and Design Technology University of Limerick University College Dublin

University College Cork Trinity College Dublin Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick Dublin City

University (School of Nursing and Human Sciences) Ulster University

Queens University Belfast

Flexible ‘Off-campus’/Online/DE

• Dublin City University (Open Education)

• (UK) Open University

Students focus on assessment

Flexible Learners really focus on assessment

Teaching and Learning Model

Stakeholders

Stakeholders

Students

Tutors/Assessments

Monitors

Programme Team

Assessment Writers/Subject Leaders

Constructive alignment – Programme and Module Learning Outcomes

• Constructive alignment• Analysis of Programme Learning Outcomes - Identified

skills etc.• Mapped to assessment type

– Online discussions– Reflective practice– Online experiments– Final year project– Statistical analysis– Examinations

• Module assessments mapped to module learning outcomes

Development of the Assessment Matrix

• Programmatic view of assessment• Ensure sufficient opportunities for students to achieve PLOs• Assessment types identified

• Humanities Programme: 30 Modules – flexible routes with some registration rules

• Psychology Major: 12 Modules – Some flexibility with more restrictive registration rules

• Mapped the assessment types to each module• Lists (per module) each assignment type, examination,

assessment weightings• Created a Moodle-based Humanities Assessment Writers

course, supported by annual workshops

Screenshot

Humanities Assessment Writer

Course

Links to Accreditation Processes

The messy reality

Thank You!