Strategies to Offer Flexible Assessment and Delivery
A Diversity of LearnersINCLUSIVE TEACHING AT RMIT
Page 1 of 3www.rmit.edu.au/teaching/inclusive
Flexible Assessment and Delivery
Prepare to design inclusive assessment:
• BecomefamiliarwithRMIT’sAssessmentPolicy:www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=qwxbqbg739rl1
• Recognisethedifferencesbetweenandthepurposeofdiagnostic,formativeandsummativeassessment.
• Understandthatassessmentcanbeusedinmultipleways:assessmentoflearning;assessmentaslearning;andassessmentforlearning.
• Viewassessmentasanintegratedpartofthecurriculumandmakesureassessmentobjectivesandtasksarealignedtoprogram/courselearningoutcomesandthelearningactivitiesofthecourse.
• Acknowledgethatstudentscommencingaprogram/coursewillnotalwayspossesstheacademicliteracies(egcriticalreadingandwritingskills)tosuccessfullycompleteassessmenttasks,andthatlearningneedstobescaffoldedandassessmentstructuredtobeachievableforallstudents.
Write into the curriculum assessment that is designed for all learners to be successful:
• Designthecurriculumsothatstudentsaregivenampletimetobothunderstandthepurpose,requirementsandgradingofassessmenttasks,andtoworkonandsubmittheassessment.Alsoconsiderstudentworkloadswhendesigningandschedulingassessmenttasks.
“. . . inclusive assessment practice aims to design assessment models that allow all students to choose the format of assessment that will enable them to express their ideas in the most equitable way.”NeilKeating,TanyaZybutz&KarlRouse(2012):Inclusive assessment at point-of-design,InnovationsinEducationandTeachingInternational,49:3,249-256
Strategies to Offer Flexible Assessment and Delivery
I am in charge of my learning
Strategies to Offer Flexible Assessment and Delivery
A Diversity of LearnersINCLUSIVE TEACHING AT RMIT
Page 2 of 3www.rmit.edu.au/teaching/inclusive
• Assessmenttasksshouldbealignedwiththeexpectedcompetenceandstandardsofstudentsatthespecificstageoftheirstudiese.g.donotgivestudentshigherordercomplexassessmenttasksatthebeginningofaprogram/course.
• Includearangeofassessmenttasksthatareinclusiveofstudentculturaldiversityandlearningneeds.Considercreatingassessmentthatgivesstudentsoptionstoexpresstheirpreferredlearningandpresentationstylesinequitableways,andalsoconsiderofferingstudentschoicesinthemethodofassessmenttomeetspecificlearningoutcomes.Lookatthesetwocasestudiestogetanideaofhowitcanwork,andassociatedbenefits/challenges:http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/lathe/Documents/issue%203/case%20studies/west.pdf.(Establishanadvisorygroupe.g.comprisingadisciplinehead,industryrepresentativeandADGmember,toevaluatetheequityandvalidityofassessmentincaseswherestudentswillbegivenachoiceinthemodeofassessment.)
• Wherechoicesinmethodsofassessmentareoffered,allowstudentssufficienttimetomakeachoice,andyourselfextratimetogradethesubmittedassessmentinordertomeetequityandvaliditymeasures.
• EnsurethatassessmentissupportedbyanintegratedapproachwithinthecurriculumtothedevelopmentofEnglishlanguageproficiencyandacademicliteracyskills,andworkwithlearningsupportstaff(e.g.theStudyandLearningCentre)toplanandimplementthis.
• Includeopportunitiesforgroup,peerandselfassessment,makingsurethatthecurriculumintentionallypreparesstudentsforthesetasksandsupportstheminparticipatinginandcompletingthem.
• Designassessmenttasksthatarenotwhollyreliantonanintimateknowledgeofthedominantculture,andwhichallowstudentstousemultipleculturalcontextsandbevaluedfortheirownperspectives.
• Useeducationaltechnologiestobuildinflexibilitytothecurriculum.Forexample,forstudentswhohaveparttimejobsorothertimeconsumingcommitments,theabilitytostudyonlineattimesoftheirchoosingwillhaveasignificantimpactontheirchancesofsuccessintheirstudies.Flexibilityshouldalsobegiventostudentstousevariousmediaandmodesintheirlearninginthepreparationandsubmissionofassessment.
Preparing students for assessment
Inform and involve students in the process of assessment:
• Wherepossibleinvolvestudentsinassessmentdesignandevaluation,givingthemownershipoftheirlearningdevelopmentandaclearerunderstandingofthepurposeandrequirementsofassessmenttasks.Thiswillalsohelpyoutodevelopanawarenessofyourstudents’learningpreferences.Forexample,inassessmentdesignexplainthepurposeofaspecificlearningoutcome,askstudentsingroupstobrainstormpossibleassessmentcriteriaandtasksthatmightachievethelearningoutcome,anddecideasawholegroupwhichcriteriaandtask(s)willbeadoptedfortheassessment.Studentscanbeinvolvedinassessmentevaluationduringacoursethroughselfandpeerassessment.
• Providestudentswithexamplesofmaterialrelevanttotheirassessment(e.g.sampleassignmentquestions,explanationsofhowtostructureandcomposeassessment,exemplarsofhighqualitystudentassessment,andassessmentrubrics)andusethesematerialstodiscussrequirementswiththemsothattheyfeelconfidentofwhattodoandhowtosucceed.
Strategies to Offer Flexible Assessment and Delivery
A Diversity of LearnersINCLUSIVE TEACHING AT RMIT
Page 3 of 3www.rmit.edu.au/teaching/inclusive
• Offerregularformalandinformalfeedbackonstudentwork,bothaspreparationforassessmentandaspartofassistingstudentswiththeprocessofcompletinganassessmenttask.Scheduleanearlypieceofassessment,ifpossibleinWeek3,fordiagnosticandformativepurposes.SeeStrategiestodevelopafeedback-richenvironment.
• Informstudentsofresourcestheycanusetounderstandassessmenttaskrequirementsandtomanagetheirstudyschedulese.g.usingRMIT’sonlineLearningLab:http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/
• WriteassessmenttasksinclearplainEnglishandaskforfeedbackfromstudents/colleaguesfromotherdisciplinesabouttheclarityofwhatyouhavewrittenbeforeformalisingtheassessmenttask.Whenthishasbeendone,talkthroughtheassessmenttaskwithstudents,includingitsrelationtospecificlearningoutcomesandthedevelopmentofgraduateattributes,andallowtimeforquestionsinandoutofclasstime(includingthroughonlinecontact).
