Teaching, learning and assessment

1. Teaching, learning and assessment RaimondaMarkeviciene With compliments to Dr. Helen Cameron

2. “The adoption of a learning outcomes approach represents more than simply expressing learning in terms of outcomes. It entails much more due to their significant implications for all aspects of curriculum design, delivery, expression, assessement and standards”. Adam S, 2004

3. What do we mean by assessment? A range of synonyms in English: • Examinations, Evaluations, Appraisal, Judgements, Measurement, Review, Opinion, Consideration, Estimation Practically: • Taken to mean any ‘formal’ review of performance or ability – exams at any time, in-course assignments, practicals etc.

4. The purpose of assessment

5. Types of Assessment? Summative assessment Formative assessment Primary purposes Assessment for learning Promotes appropriate learning Feedback Lifelong learning Diagnostic assessment Primary purposes • Assessment of learning • Records achievement • Informs decisions about readiness to progress • Reassures clients, public, taxpayers, employers Accumulative assessment Continuous assessment: A combination of summative and formative assessment. Usually involves repeated summative assessments. Marks recorded.

6. Simple suggestions?.... • Clearly define the learning outcomes. • Select teaching and learning methods that are likely to ensure that the learning outcomes are achieved. • Choose a technique or techniques to assess the achievement of the learning outcomes. • Assess the learning outcomes and check to see how well they match with what was intended

7. Tuning Links Learning to Assessment First, needs analysis = students required performance This informs the intended assessment. Write LOs to tell students and staff what is intended. Use LOs to write new assessments / exams ACHIEVED Learning Outcomes INTENDED Learning Outcomes STUDENTS Learning Behaviours Achievements - INTENDED Assessment THE Assessment

8. Assessment Design Must Match Learning Constructive Alignment ……. Learning Outcomes Learning Behaviours Assessment formative summative sampling format setting timing/frequency compensation/hurdles Adapted from John Biggs 1996

9. Constructive alignment • Constructive alignment is the deliberate linking within curricula of aims, learning outcomes, learning and teaching activities and assessment. • Learning Outcomes state what is to be achieved in fulfilment of the aims. • Learning activities should be organised so that students will be likely to achieve those outcomes. • Assessment must be designed such that students are able to demonstrate that they have met the learning outcomes. • Constructive alignment is just a fancy name for “joining up the dots”. (Morss and Murray, 2005)

10. How do we join the dots??? 10

12. Tools of Assessment • MCQs • SAQs theoretical / applied knowledge • Essays • Practical exams / Lab / Recital / Clinical /Pres • Continuous assessment of performance • Continuous assessment of professionalism • Multi-source feedback (self and peer feedback) • Log books and Portfolios

13. Linking Learning Outcomes, Teaching and Learning Activities and Assessment 13

14. The level (quality) of Learning Outcome achievement? • Rubric: A grading tool used to describe the criteria which are used in grading the performance of students. • Rubric provides a clear guide as to how students’ work will be assessed. • A rubric consists of a set of criteria and marks or grade associated with these criteria.

15. Example from Music

16. Linking learning outcomes and assessment criteria

18. Assessment strategy and criteria 2011.05.12/13

19. Steps in writing assessment criteria

20. Planning the assessment 1 - Blueprinting the Programme LOs -

21. Planning the assessment 2b - Blueprinting detailed/module LOs -

22. Planning assessment 3 Blueprinting Assessment Tools v LOs

23. Assessment on module level Isn’t the fist LO assessed too much? Is there no need to asses LO2? Do we need to assess LO 1, 3, 4 5 and 6 during the exam? What LO are assessed during the task 3? Is exam a real tool of assessment? Why so many LO are assessed in in the exam when other tasks/methods are also used?

24. Suggestions • Avoid too many LOs per course unit. It is important when it comes to Assessment • It is unreasonable for assessors to have to evaluate students against too many LOs in one assessment • Too many assessments per unit is inefficient

25. Linking LO and activities (Deusto case. Statistics) The main goal of the course is to provide the students with a set of competences for the understanding and application of statistical concepts and techniques in engineering disciplines. These competences can be classified as general competences and specific ones: Specific competences CE 1. Identify situations with a random behaviour and calculate probability of these phenomena. CE 2. Know, identify and classify random variables from different sources of information. CE 3.Identify and solve problems in which the studied variable follows a known probability distribution. To build up and validate suitable statistical models for real problems. CE 4. Know the use of estimation and inference in order to study the behaviour of a model through a sample of the population under study. CE5. Assess the importance of statistics and its proper use in specific engineering problems. General competences TIME MANAGEMENT. Distribute time equally depending on priorities, taking into account personal objectives. Define, organize and plan activities. Domain level 2: define and sort objectives and plan individual activity over the medium and long terms (from various weeks to half a year).

26. TEACHING-LEARNING STRATEGY (Deusto case) Classroom activities (69 hours) - Lectures explaining the theoretical material: 40 hours - Resolution of exercises and example problems: 23 hours. - Continuous assessment: 3 hours. - Final assessment: 3 hours. Out-of-class activities (81 hours): - Individual study of lecture material: 32 hours. - Undertaking of proposed exercises and revision: 20 hours. - Undertaking of intermediate mileposts and final presentation: 11 hours - Preparation for exam: 18 hours.

27. ASSESMENT SYSTEM (Deusto case) • Exercises to be handed in at the end of each subject, accounting for 15% of the final grade. • Presentation of a course summary accounting for 10% of the final grade. • Three continuous assessment tests consisting of medium difficulty exercises undertaken in the classroom during lecture time, accounting for 75% of the final grade. If a grade of at least 50% is obtained with the deliverable exercises, the continuous assessment tests and the presentation, it will not be necessary to take the final exam and the grade will be that obtained up to this time.

28. ASSESMENT SYSTEM (Deusto case) If the student does not obtain at least a 50% of the grades, he or she has to: • do the end-of-term examination consisting of four or five problems of medium difficulty, accounting for 75% of the final grade. • deliver the failed or non-given tasks. • present again the course summary.

29. Quality Assurance: Process and outcomes • Tuning distinguish two types of indicators to measure the quality of programmes: • The process itself for (re)designing, developing, implementing, evaluating and enhancing degree programmes • The outcome of the process : the minimum requirements should have been met • For both purposes Tuning has developed checklists: • 1. Tuning List of Key Questions for Programme Design and Programme • Delivery, Maintenance and Evaluation in the Framework of the Bologna Reform (Annex 1) • 2. Tuning Checklist for Curriculum Evaluation

30. Identify needs and necessary resources Tuning approach for designing study programmes Approaches to Teaching Learning and Assessment Academic structure and content (modules and student workload / ECTS credits) Identify LA In terms of Generic and Subject Specific Compentences Quality Enhancement Profile Tuning Process

31. THE TUNING DYNAMIC QUALITY DEVELOPMENT CIRCLE Definition of academic and professional profiles Identification of resources Programme design: definition of learning outcomes / competences Construction of curricula: content and structure + balanced ECTS credit allocation Evaluation and improvement(on the basis of feed back and feed forward) Selection of types of assessment Selection of teaching and learning approaches

32. Programme assesment (W. E. Deming) Implement changes Design process components Analyse data, report, decide on changes Implement the plan

33. Programme and course unit assessment INDIRECT: • Alumni survey and meetings • Graduating student survey • Focus groups interviews • Employer survey/ interview • Parents survey/ interview DIRECT: • Assessment that directly measures achievement of LO (exams, portfolios, test) • Analysis of the study results/marks (module and programme levels) • Drop out rates • Students and teacher opinion

34. Student workload – issue to consider (input: Give me time to think, U-ty of Oulu) • Preliminary work before contact hours; • Contact hours; • Individual work after contact hours. Individual work will depend on study methods used.

35. Suggestied proportions of contact and individual work hours depending on study methods

36. Time allocated for the tasks depends on the type of the activity/task • Written assignment. Time calculation - 100 words/1 hour. • Presentation. 1 hour presentation requires min. 6 hours of preparation. • Reading literature. Students must know whether literature is compulsory (for passing the exam) or complimentary. The text will be well understood after third reading (three staged of reading: perusal, analitical reading with notes; repetition) • 100 pages of easy text requires 20 hours. 100 pages of difficult text or text in foreign language requires 30 hours.

37. Recommendations for calculation of reading the text