The Context of this Experiment/Process - The Degree Course, The Particular Subject

1. Using Blackboard to Provide a Form of Continuous Assessment for Law Students in a Large Group Setting – Potentials and PitfallsDr. Gavin Barrett, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University College Dublin

2. The Context of this Experiment/Process - The Degree Course, The Particular Subject • Rationale for the Process • The Process Itself • Evaluation of this Process: Lessons Learnt, Implications for Practice

3. Context of this ExperimentI The Degree Course • University College Dublin • Law School • Bachelor of Business and Law (BBLS) Degree • Students in second year of four year course • Arduous programme of study  intensified by University-wide introduction of modularisation and semesterisation of most subjects • Increasing emphasis on continuous assessment  may be compulsory next year

4. Context of this ExperimentII The Particular Subject: • The Law of the European Union • A compulsory subject for all Business and Law students • 150 students • Very large and ‘difficult’ course • unfamiliar concepts, institutions and approaches to legal reasoning especially for second-year students • Disadvantages to using essay for continuous assessment • many other essays to do • essay can cover only one part of the course. • essay correction on this scale very time-consuming

5. The Experiment and its Rationale The Experiment • In-class examination which would not count towards students’ grades this year Rationale • Useful formative exercise for this year’s students • ‘Test run’ for compulsory ongoing assessment for next year’s class – in which the results may count toward student grades. Rationale for Using Blackboard • All students have laptops. • Lecture theatres equipped with wireless technology. • Students familiar with Blackboard system because class page uses it.

6. Reflection on the Process • Creation of test involved considerable investment of time • Ample advance notice given of test to class that the test was to take place but that it would not count towards examination results. • Low turnout • Results of the assessment not particularly positive: clearly many students had done little real preparatory work. • Technical aspects: • Most students had no problem accessing Blackboard…but it was hard to help those who did. • For two students technology failed. • The appearance of the test was peculiar • The test took less time than expected.

7. Evaluation of this Process: Lessons Learnt, Implications for Practice Valuable lessons learned: • Instant (permanent) results  enabling instant feedback to students • Blackboard feature helped ensure no cheating • Drafting a fair set of multiple-choice questions takes a long time • Recent training in Blackboard necessary to success of experiment…and was only just about sufficient.

8. Evaluation of this Process: Lessons Learnt, Implications for Practice (continued) • Both the classroom geography and the class size should facilitate the lecturer walking around the class in order to have to help students in difficulty and prevent cheating • Hard copy (paper) backup copies of the test are needed. • Imagination needed to ensure multiple-choice questionnaires test correct kinds of skill or knowledge. • Blackboard best confined to a formative rather than a summative assessment procedure in a large class. In a smaller class however, an eminently suitable summative technique

9. Thank you for listening.Questions are welcome.