Making assessment meaningful

1
Making assessment meaningful

• Siobhan MacAndrew
• Special coordinator, Innovation in Assessment
• Division of Psychology
• University of Abertay, Dundee
• s.macandrew_at_abertay.ac.uk

2
Overview

• Why bother?
• What are the obstacles?
• What are the options?
• Practicalities

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Preamble

• Non-traditional, authentic, assessments
• less emphasis on essays and examinations
• resemble tasks that employers require in the
  workplace
• evaluate a wide range of competencies
• may be ideal for disabled students

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Emphasis on meaningfulness

• explicit connection between assessment task and
  the desired competency
• assessment can become integral part of learning
  rather than a measurement of it
• inherently fulfilling for students and staff

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A caution

• innovation in assessment is not politically
  neutral
• many perceive a threat to academic standards and
  Life As We Know It
• be prepared - your methods must be more effective
  and efficient than your detractors

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Why bother?

• Benefit to students
• didactic value
• employability
• ENJOYMENT
• Benefit to staff
• Fulfilling and worthwhile
• Meets current demands from externals/BPS/QE/QA

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Discussion point Obstacles?

• What are your prejudices about assessment?
• What are your insecurities?
• Managing colleagues opinions
• How do you feel about students?
• Managing burnout

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Do you have prejudices?

• about the way you were assessed as a student . .
  .
• about your own grades as a student . . .
• about students workload . . .
• about your subject area . . .
• about grading on the curve . . .
• about plagiarism . . .

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Do you have insecurities?

• characterising your students performance as a
  reflection of your own performance . . .
• lacking confidence to implement changes . . .
• assuming authority over students expectations .
  . .

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Managing colleagues opinions

• you have a right to academic freedom
• use evidence - just as you do for research
• be respectful - but firm
• so assessment issues exactly the same as all
  other aspects of your new lectureship . . .

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How do you feel about students?

• YOU are the expert - dont let them undermine you
• listen to them with an open mind
• collaborate with them as much as you can (e.g. on
  assessment criteria)
• try to avoid cynicism - remember it is all new to
  them

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Managing assessment burnout

• dont get over-ambitious
• keep accurate records of your workload
• avoid creating MORE work at all costs
• keep your HoD informed if you get overwhelmed
• use honest cost-benefit analyses, dont deceive
  yourself

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Discussion point Options

• Alternative written formats
• Alternative spoken formats
• Alternative exam formats
• Professional skills
• Personal development

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Alternative written formats

• posters/conferences
• resource packs
• research council proposals
• magazine articles
• web sites

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Alternative spoken formats

• presentations
• video/radio programme
• staged interview
• debate
• lecture or first year tutorial
• viva

16
Alternative exam formats

• seen exam
• open book exam
• short answer and MCQ
• general questions
• library research-based questions
• students set own questions

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Professional skills

• poster/ talk on honours project
• write stats manual or help in class
• detecting weaknesses in old projects/essays
• APA exercises
• peer review/marking

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Personal development

• self-assessment
• reflective learning logs
• interviewing classmates
• paired learning
• PDP

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Practicalities 1

• must be VALID, RELIABLE and FAIR
• must be JUSTIFIABLE
• in terms of grade awarded
• in terms of didactic purpose
• clearly, your success will be determined by your
  assessment criteria
• Be EXPLICIT

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Practicalities 2

• train the students carefully in new methods
• take enormous care with assessment criteria
• collect data - be guided by it
• read the (small) literature on efficacy
• believe in your own professional integrity