IntegratedAssessment

Andrew Turner

Learning &

Developme

nt

“It is now widely accepted that assessment tends to shape much of the learning that students do, so if we want to change the way our students learn and the content of what they learn the most effective way is to change the way we assess them”Source: Fry Ketteridge and Marshall, 2009 p.134

Outline of Session

Why: the issue of assessment?

What is integrated assessment?

How?

Overall Results 2011Main NSS QuestionsSource: ipsos-mori.com/nss/results

Results are for internal use only. Not to be distributed.

Results not published for cohorts with fewer than 10 respondents.

Assessment and feedback

5. The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance.

6. Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair.

7. Feedback on my work has been prompt.

8. I have received detailed comments on my work.

9. Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand.

           Coventry University Mean score 3.8 4 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.7Coventry University Mean score: previous year 3.6 3.8 3.8 3.4 3.6 3.5Coventry University % Agree 72 77 75 70 72 67Coventry University % Agree: previous year 65 73 73 55 64 57

Satisfaction with assessment

Common assessment issues

• Often a bottleneck for large cohorts – significant amount of staff time.

• Lowest scores in student surveys – feedback often an issue

• Crucial interface between student - teacher and institution

• Meeting turnaround times for staff• Large amounts of coursework remain uncollected• Plagiarism.• Time taken to assess

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Why we assess

• Pedagogy

• Measurement

• Standardisation

• Certification

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Source: Quality assurance agency (QAA)

More reasons why we assess…• To classify or grade students• To set standards• To allow students to get the measure of their

achievement;• to give a licence to proceed to the next stage or to

graduation• To help them to consolidate their learning;• To provide feedback so they can improve and remedy

deficiencies;• To motivate students to engage in their learning;• To provide students with opportunities to relate theory

and practice.7

Source: Phil Race

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The five minute University – A perspective!

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An overarching principle in assessment: Constructive Alignment

Module and course assessment strategies should be integrated

An integrative assessment approach brings the many and various strands of assessment together in a coherent way.

Applies at Course and Module Level....

Source: Scottish QAA

Balancing assessment

Feedforward Assessments

• Improves the balance between assessment for and assessment of learning

• Convert feedback into feedforward – feedback from one task feeds another.

Strategies: Link between assessmentsActive use of feedback (123 guides)

Cumulative Coursework

• Replace ‘single occasion’ coursework with assignments which evolve over a longer period.

• Strategies:– Log books, portfolios, lab reports which are

sampled.

Better understood expectations and standards• It is important that students understand

criteria – it is not sufficient to tell or write down – active engagement is required.

Strategies:Marking exercisesDialogueExemplars

Active engagement with feedback

Explicit Criteria

Completion and submission of work

Students Active engagement with criteria

Engaging students at each stage of the assessment process

Speedier Feedback

• The evidence is that speedier feedback optimises the quality of what is learnt.

Quick and dirty

Detailed and lengthy

Detailed comments

individual

summative

Brief succinct comments

Generic /group

Formative feedback

Criteria for assessment ‘working’

1. Enough student effort distributed reasonable across all important topics

2. The effort they put in a high intellectual level – focussed on understanding rather than memorising or ‘sufficing’

3. Students clear about ‘goals and standards’ and orientate their effort to them.

4. Feedback is effective: students read it, understand it and use it to improve what they do next.

5. Progression over time so that students become more sophisticated in the way that they tackle similar tasks.

Source: Graham Gibbs TESTA Project: http://www.testa.ac.uk/

Integrative assessment at a Course Level.• Consider course level outcomes• Take an outcomes based approach to

assessment.• Consider the assessment experience at a

course level• Map subject knowledge, skills and

competencies across the curriculum using level outcomes

• Consider integrative assessments

Integrated assessment examples

An example of an integrated assessment activity

A video example..... http://vimeo.com/7808839

Student impact• Where a six week activity led module was introduced

in Mechanical and Automotive Engineering area:– Student drop out rate decreased from 3% to 0.9%

in a term– Student progression rates for the year increased

by 8%– Examination results increased across all modules

by between 6 and 18%– 74% of students wanted to see more Activity led

learning (22% indicated less)– Formation of good staff – student relationships

And...IncreasedStudent

satisfaction

Example of a six week integrated activity led -learning activity

• 6 week project to design and build a lightweight cart and bridge to transport a 2 kg mass.

• Level 1 activity: 6 activities and associated resources formed the first 6 week experience for Mechanical and Automotive Engineering students

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Key features of the activity and assessment:

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• New task every Monday • Students timetabled for 18 hours of core task (30 hours

including other activities) • Lead academic gives key note lectures and leads

assessment• Supporting facilitator provides supervision and support• Students work in small groups of 2 or 3 • Students keep individual logbook • Assessment by poster presentation / brief report / video • Assessment, feedback and result all in final Friday

session

Skills and attributes developed

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Wilson-Medhurst, S. and Green, P. (2012) Researching the effectiveness of Activity Led learning as a pedagogy for engagement with professional development in engineering. Case study. Available [online]: http://www.hestem.ac.uk/sites/default/files/case_study_-_researching_the_effectiveness_of_activity_led_learning_0.pdf

Module 1: Ecommerce

• Phase test to test core knowledge

Module 2: Business

Methods & Decision-making

• Phase test to test core knowledge

Module 3: Supply Chain

• Phase test to test core knowledge

Integrative assessmentProject on the car Industry:

Individual written project + group video

Integrated assessment in a Business Course at Coventry

High Impact Activities

First-Year Seminars and Experiences  Common Intellectual Experiences Learning Communities Writing-Intensive Courses Collaborative Assignments and Projects “Science as Science Is Done”;

Undergraduate Research Diversity/Global Learning Service Learning, Community-Based

Learning Internships Capstone Courses and Projects

George Kuh (2008)Link to site

Evaluation....

• On separate post-it notes write down:

– One thing you will do as a result of this session

– An area where you would like further development

– One thing that was useful 30