Developing A Student Centred Approach to
Developing a Student-Centred
Approach to Assessment
ICED 2010 Conference, Barcelona
28-30 June 2010
Ken Marsden
Head of Learning and Teaching
Bucks New University
England
Assessing Students
“It’s the most important thing we ever do ……..
we should be careful to get it right”
Professor Phil Race (Leeds Metropolitan University), THE, 29/01/09 p.25
So how can we “get it right”?
Assessment:
The Right Combination?
•
Variety
Is there a sufficient variety of appropriate assessments?
(e.g. essay, report, portfolio, exam, electronic/lab test, logs, etc)
•
Quantity
How many is too many?
•
Timing
Are the assessments at the appropriate points in the module(s)?
Student-Centred Assessment
• Burgess Report Beyond the Honours Degree Classification (2007) recommended greater clarity and consistency in the assessment process
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Documents/Burgess_final.pdf
• David Boud Learner Self Assessment - calls for a more systematic
approach to self assessment
• David Carless et al Learner Oriented Assessment - focuses on peer /self
assessment and ‘feedback as feedforward’ i.e. identify future tasks not
just review completed task
• University of Bedfordshire (UK) CRe8 - focuses on learning outcomes
for whole programmes of study and emphasises the centrality of
assessment to student learning
MESA Project 2006
(Managing Effective Student Assessment)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
More advice and support
Spread out the assessment load
Reduce workload
Relevant real life topics
Clear criteria
Feedback to help learning
More choice of assessment topics
More variety of assessment methods
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 1
Negotiated Assessment Model
• Students become agents in their own assessment rather than objects
of assessment
• Students and tutors negotiate the assessment criteria and weighting
of Assignment
• Emphasis could be less on presentation and more on process and
idea or more on final product and less on idea and process
• An assessment interview gives the student the opportunity to
demonstrate why their work meets (or exceeds) the selected criterion
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 2
Self-Assessment Exercise
• Student groups given sample of benchmarked work
(e.g. 1:1, 2:1, 2:2, etc.)
• Students decide individually which work fits into which category
• Students identify differences and express these as criteria
• Students give feedback on each piece of work in their groups
• Students then provide guidelines for undertaking effective work
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 3
Student-Staff Workshops
• Cross Faculty workshop with students and staff from every School /
Department
• Tasks: Identify current practices; suggest new ways of improving the process
• Compile list of recommendations
• Submit to University Committee(s) and approve
• Informs Assessment Manifesto/Guidelines
• Regular workshops at School level throughout the year
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 4
Peer Assessment
• Compared fairly accurately with tutor’s marks
• Spread of marks by tutors was broader
• Attendance was virtually 100%
• Most students said they found it interesting and valuable
• Most said they had a better understanding of the marking criteria and what
was expected
• Most said they wanted to undertake more peer assessment in other modules
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 5
• Incorporate self assessment and peer assessment into module content
• Build students’ reflections and action planning into assessment form
design and tutorial progress records
• 2-way assessments, where students and tutors assess the quality of
each other’s written feedback
• Offer choice of different ‘innovative’ assignment formats - not just one
(then ask students to describe why they made that choice, as part of the
assessment)
• Introduce assessment tasks within Peer-Assisted Learning (most
effective retention comes from teaching others - Learning Pyramid)
Marking
• Enter into a reciprocal arrangement with a partner
University and mark each other’s student work?
• Reduce ALL assessments (and marking) by 20%?
(University of Gloucestershire, UK)
• Award no marks at all?
(Alverno College, Milwaukee, USA)
Should Students be Surprised
with their Marks?
If yes, then why?
• Lack of communication between tutor and student
• Poor attendance by the student
• Lack of quality formative assessment / feedback from
tutor
• Students’ perceived level of their understanding is
inaccurate / misguided
If not, then maybe LEARNING has been achieved……?
Put Students at the Centre
of Assessment
• Demonstrates open and transparent process
• Increases sense of student autonomy
(tutor becomes more facilitator, less provider)
• Helps towards better understanding of assessment
• Promotes deeper learning
• Also maybe students won’t be so surprised with their marks?!
Approach to Assessment
ICED 2010 Conference, Barcelona
28-30 June 2010
Ken Marsden
Head of Learning and Teaching
Bucks New University
England
Assessing Students
“It’s the most important thing we ever do ……..
we should be careful to get it right”
Professor Phil Race (Leeds Metropolitan University), THE, 29/01/09 p.25
So how can we “get it right”?
Assessment:
The Right Combination?
•
Variety
Is there a sufficient variety of appropriate assessments?
(e.g. essay, report, portfolio, exam, electronic/lab test, logs, etc)
•
Quantity
How many is too many?
•
Timing
Are the assessments at the appropriate points in the module(s)?
Student-Centred Assessment
• Burgess Report Beyond the Honours Degree Classification (2007) recommended greater clarity and consistency in the assessment process
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Documents/Burgess_final.pdf
• David Boud Learner Self Assessment - calls for a more systematic
approach to self assessment
• David Carless et al Learner Oriented Assessment - focuses on peer /self
assessment and ‘feedback as feedforward’ i.e. identify future tasks not
just review completed task
• University of Bedfordshire (UK) CRe8 - focuses on learning outcomes
for whole programmes of study and emphasises the centrality of
assessment to student learning
MESA Project 2006
(Managing Effective Student Assessment)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
More advice and support
Spread out the assessment load
Reduce workload
Relevant real life topics
Clear criteria
Feedback to help learning
More choice of assessment topics
More variety of assessment methods
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 1
Negotiated Assessment Model
• Students become agents in their own assessment rather than objects
of assessment
• Students and tutors negotiate the assessment criteria and weighting
of Assignment
• Emphasis could be less on presentation and more on process and
idea or more on final product and less on idea and process
• An assessment interview gives the student the opportunity to
demonstrate why their work meets (or exceeds) the selected criterion
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 2
Self-Assessment Exercise
• Student groups given sample of benchmarked work
(e.g. 1:1, 2:1, 2:2, etc.)
• Students decide individually which work fits into which category
• Students identify differences and express these as criteria
• Students give feedback on each piece of work in their groups
• Students then provide guidelines for undertaking effective work
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 3
Student-Staff Workshops
• Cross Faculty workshop with students and staff from every School /
Department
• Tasks: Identify current practices; suggest new ways of improving the process
• Compile list of recommendations
• Submit to University Committee(s) and approve
• Informs Assessment Manifesto/Guidelines
• Regular workshops at School level throughout the year
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 4
Peer Assessment
• Compared fairly accurately with tutor’s marks
• Spread of marks by tutors was broader
• Attendance was virtually 100%
• Most students said they found it interesting and valuable
• Most said they had a better understanding of the marking criteria and what
was expected
• Most said they wanted to undertake more peer assessment in other modules
Student-Centred Approaches
to Assessment 5
• Incorporate self assessment and peer assessment into module content
• Build students’ reflections and action planning into assessment form
design and tutorial progress records
• 2-way assessments, where students and tutors assess the quality of
each other’s written feedback
• Offer choice of different ‘innovative’ assignment formats - not just one
(then ask students to describe why they made that choice, as part of the
assessment)
• Introduce assessment tasks within Peer-Assisted Learning (most
effective retention comes from teaching others - Learning Pyramid)
Marking
• Enter into a reciprocal arrangement with a partner
University and mark each other’s student work?
• Reduce ALL assessments (and marking) by 20%?
(University of Gloucestershire, UK)
• Award no marks at all?
(Alverno College, Milwaukee, USA)
Should Students be Surprised
with their Marks?
If yes, then why?
• Lack of communication between tutor and student
• Poor attendance by the student
• Lack of quality formative assessment / feedback from
tutor
• Students’ perceived level of their understanding is
inaccurate / misguided
If not, then maybe LEARNING has been achieved……?
Put Students at the Centre
of Assessment
• Demonstrates open and transparent process
• Increases sense of student autonomy
(tutor becomes more facilitator, less provider)
• Helps towards better understanding of assessment
• Promotes deeper learning
• Also maybe students won’t be so surprised with their marks?!