principles and practices of effective student assessment a workshop developed for bilkent university...
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principles and practices of effective student
assessmentA workshop developed for
Bilkent University by Gordon Suddaby
Assessing Student Learning
Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]
RationaleStudents can, with difficulty escape
from the effects of poor teaching, they cannot (by definition if they wish to graduate) escape the effects of poor assessment. (Baud, p.35 in Knight, 1995)
Assessment is at the heart of student learning. (Brown and Knight, 1994).
Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]
An assessment riddle!Why do we measure with a
micrometer, mark with chalk, and cut with an axe?
Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]
Why we assess?Crooks identified 8 reasons:1. Selection and placement2. Motivation3. Focusing learning4. Consolidating and structuring learning5. Guiding and correcting learning6. Determining readiness to proceed7. Certifying and grading achievement8. Evaluating teachingCrooks, 1988.
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Assessment as part of learningThere are two critical factors:Formative approaches to assessmentSummative approaches to assessmentScriven, 1967.
Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]
Formative assessmentBiggs and Tang note:Formative assessment is provided during
learning, telling students how well they are doing and what might need improving (p.97)
In formative assessment, the results are used for feedback during learning. Students and teachers both need to know how learning is proceeding. Formative feedback may operate to both improve the learning of individual students and to improve the teaching itself. (p.163)
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Assumptions related to formative assessmentIt is a powerful teaching and learning
activityIt promotes growthIt encourages autonomyFactors:Involves intrinsic motivationEncourages reflectionRequires prompt feedbackRequires clear criteriaRequires shared understandingGordon Suddaby - [email protected]
What formative assessment activities do you use?I would like to record these on the board
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Summative AssessmentBiggs and Tang...summative [assessment is provided] after
learning, informing how well students have learned what they were supposed to learn (p.97)
In summative assessment, the results are used to grade students at the end of a course or to accredit at the end of a programme. Summative assessment is carried out after a teaching episode has concluded....That result, the grade, is final. (p.164).
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Assumptions related to summative assessmentRepresents reliable and valid sample and
judgementIts purpose is explicitFactorsIt is taken seriouslyIt grades and ranksIt sums up achievementIt is an endpoint
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Activity: 8Who are assessment “stakeholders”?Identify an ‘end user’ of your assessment
other than the student?What sort of information does that user
need?Is that what they get?How do you know?Compare that information with that which
the student wants/gets?Discuss with colleagues sitting nearby
and compare differences and similarities
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The assessment stakeholders”?1. The student2. Other students3. Teachers4. Mentors5. Employers6. University management7. Funders8. ...
Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]
Some assessment issuesIf we are not careful our assessment
practices may;Tend to focus on what is easiest to
assess/markInfluence students approach to learning
(surface)Encourage a focus on gradesEncourage students to seek cuesNot reveal misconceptionsEncourage students to focus ONLY on what is
assessedGordon Suddaby - [email protected]
Some principles of effective assessmentAssessment should foster improvementStudents need self-assessment skillsWe should only assess what really mattersAssessment should enhance motivationAssessment should encourage cooperationAssessment shouldn’t be a burdenThink about assessment ‘due dates’Think about flexibility!Requirements need to be explicitCrooks, 1993How do your assessment practices measure
up against these?
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Activity 10: The big lieIt doesn’t matter what I think, write
what you believe!Or should this be?It doesn’t matter what is said or
written, just make sure you learn the stuff that will be assessed!
Remember, the students are always looking for cues and clues!!!
So make a note of the messages you give students?
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Activity 11Task specificationMake a paper dart from the paper
supplied completing the task within 3 minutes
StipulationThe dart must flyThe dart must look like a paper dart
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Assessment criteriaNow:Develop a schedule for marking and grading the finished product
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Assessment criteriaNow:Develop a schedule for marking and grading the finished product
Give your dart to a colleague to assess using their assessment schedule (you will mark another colleagues dart using your schedule)
Mark 2 other colleagues darts using your schedule
Compare gradesWhat comments can you make about the marking process?
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IssuesWhat assumptions have been
made in relation to this task?What were the difficulties
encountered in carrying out the task?
What would have made the task more do-able?
What difficulties were there in assessing the outcomes?
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AssumptionsYou know what a dart is and looks likeYou have some knowledge of dart-
makingYou know what the assessor is
looking forEveryone has the same perceptions
of ‘standards’i.e. There is an understanding of the assessment criteria
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Seven Principles of good feedback
From the conceptual model and the research literature on formative assessment it is possible to identify some broad principles of good feedback practice. A provisional list might include the following seven.
1. Facilitates the development of self assessment (reflection) in learning.
2. Encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning.3. Helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria,
standards expected).4. Provides opportunities to close the gap between current and
desired performance.5. Delivers high quality information to students about their
learning.6. Encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem.7. Provides information to teachers that can be used to help
shape the teaching.8.From; Juwah, Macfarlane-Dick, Matthew, Nicol, Ross
and Smith for the Higher Education AcademyGordon Suddaby - [email protected]
Examples of criteriaAppearanceFlying abilityPaper usageShapeDecorationDistance flownSizeComplexity...
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Formative assessmentUsing assessment to improve learning. It is assessment provided during the
teaching process.Strongly linked to processes of evaluating
own teaching
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Guiding principlesEffective Assessment should:Promote and reward desired outcomesDistinguish between essentials and extrasRecognise workload implicationsReflect consistency of standardsCommunicate requirements to studentsProvide effective feedbackCombine marks with careGive weight to professional judgementCrooks, 1993.
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Levels of assessment criteriaImplicit to the tutor (I know one when I
see one!)
Known to the tutor, but not revealed to the student
Revealed to the student, but what counts as evidence isn’t!
Criteria and examples of what counts as evidence revealed to the studentsGordon Suddaby -
How do the students know what is important?Clarify criteriaTell the students what is important in
the beginning, as you teach it, and at the end.
Tell them what is important when you set your assignments
Tell them why you are giving them a particular assignment
Tell them what the marks will be awarded for
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Don’t be afraid to use a variety of approachesTestsAssignmentsCase StudiesProjectsJournalsOrals (vivas)SeminarsPostersLearning contractsDebates and
presentationsArtifacts/products
Lab workUsing a digital
presentationClinical observationWorkbooksPortfoliosExaminationsOpen Book ExercisesReportsSimulations/role PlaysScenariosField work
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Reflecting on assessmentDo you provide/develop clear, explicit
criteria for your own courses?Is there a performance component
associated with the criteria?Are you clear as to what constitutes
evidence that indicates the criteria have been met?
Are the students aware of this?What additional information would help your
students do a better job?What questions remain in your mind?Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]
Aligning assessment and learning“From our students’ point of view,
assessment always defines the actual curriculum” , (Ramsden, 1992), its the tail that wags the dog!!!! - the term used to describe this is ‘backwash’.
Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]
Constructive AlignmentA concept developed by BiggsConstructive because it is based on
Constructivist theory i.e reflects Shuell’s statement that;
“What the student does is actually more important in determining what is learned than what the teacher does” (Shuell, 1986)
Alignment demonstrates that the intended learning outcome, the teaching and teaching activity, and the assessment are all aligned
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Designing constructively aligned teaching and assessmentDescribe the intended learning outcome in the
form of a verb (learning activity), its object (the content) and specify the context and standard to be attained
Create a learning environment using appropriate teaching/learning activities that address the verb and therefore are likely to bring about the outcome
Use assessment tasks that contain that verb thus enabling judgment using rubrics as to how well students performances meet criteria
Transform these judgments into standard grading criteria
Biggs and Tang, pp. 54 - 55.Gordon Suddaby - [email protected]