Developing innovative assessment

© University of South Wales

Developing Innovative Assessment - Taking new approaches to assessment

Richard Oelmann

CELT Seminar(Caerleon 9/2/16)


Richard Oelmann

• Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching• Senior Learning Technologist

• Previously – taught on Primary Initial Teacher Training

• Previously – Deputy Head Teacher


Seminar Summary

“Innovative Assessment could be any form of assessment which involves the application of a new technique or method….however, innovative assessment has come to mean more than that; it is a term we use which encompasses a whole range of different techniques and methods, not all of which are new inventions. What Unites them is a common goal; to improve the quality of student learning” (Mowl 2006, pg2)

This session will look at what is meant by ‘Innovative Assessment’ and how we can take new approaches to Assessment into our own teaching.


How and why is assessment changing?

•Declining resources•Students have changed•Changing nature of society•Employer contribution (need for employability skills)•People learn what they want to learn and in different ways.


Innovative assessment could be any form of assessment which involves the application of a new technique or method. (Mowl, 2005)

Innovative assessment is also about ‘the redistribution of educational power' when assessment becomes not just something which is 'done to' learners but also 'done with' and 'done by' learners (Harris and Bell, 1990).

What is Innovative Assessment


Innovative assessment is not just some trendy, new technique dreamt-up purely to save on the amount of time teachers spend on marking, it is a genuine attempt to improve the quality of learning in higher education. (Mowl, 2005)

Innovative assessment aims to produce a more fertile learning environment and a more rewarding learning experience for all teachers and students.

What is Innovative Assessment


Innovative Assessment aims to produce students who are...

deep rather than surface learners highly motivated and committed enterprising equipped with a range of transferable skills capable of self-criticism and evaluation fairly and reliably assessed active and reactive participants in the learning process, capable of 'creative dissent' rather than simply passive, uncritical recipients of other people's knowledge.

(Cowan,2006)


Constructive Alignment

All components of the Learning Environment support each other

(Biggs 1999)

Assessments

Teaching andLearningActivities

LearningObjectives


Assessment FOR Learning

•Authentic assessment – engaging, meaningful assessment tasks

•Students developing as learners – effective attributes and skills to self-assess and evaluate their own learning

•Informal feedback – e.g. in-class group discussions, peer review

•Formal feedback – range of forms of feedback, used at a number of stages

•Practice, rehearsal – opportunities to learn practice

•Formative and summative – appropriate balancing of these two types of assessment

(Sambell et al 2013)


A consensus in the field


Example Developing a Glossary

•Social work module: observations of practice

•Develop a Glossary as an assessment– Identified academic terms, writing definitions, indicating sources– Personal, Illustrative evidence of relevance of term (e.g. from

practice observations, peer discussion)

•Encouraging research reading, learning to write concisely

•Looking at different theoretical perspectives, linking theory to practice

Adapted from Sambell et al (2013, p18)


Example: problems in the work place•Business studies module looking at corporate management

•Assessment related to workplace improvement

•Managers from organisations: talks on workplace problems– Students suggesting solutions through presenting these– Posters to disseminate ideas for workplace improvement

Adapted from Sambell et al (2013, p22)


Student Led Learning Student Led Assessment

Presented at Westminster Forum 2015

• Induction lecture – remaining allocated course time all in the form of optional seminars and face-face support

• All course materials provided up front

• Student gets to decide when to undertake the assessment

• Student gets to revisit assessment processGood enoughKeep Going – get highest gradeGot to pass


Forms of Assessment


Activity: Group Discussion

Innovative Assessment…

Pandora’s Box Or Cornucopia?


Activity: Group Discussion

Innovative Assessment…

Pandora’s Box Or Cornucopia?https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/static/5007/arpdf/academy/redguide17.pdf


Looking at Assessment Literacy


What is Assessment Literacy?

•A grasp of assessment in relation to learning

•An understanding of assessment – Principles of valid assessment– Terminology

•The meaning of assessment criteria and standards

•Self and peer assessment skills

•Using appropriate approaches or techniques for assessment tasks

Price et al (2012)


Activity: Integrating Assessment Literacy

•In what ways could assessment literacy be integrated?

– An understanding of assessment– The meaning of assessment criteria and standards– Self and peer assessment skills– Using appropriate approaches or techniques for assessment

tasks


The Assessment Compact

Based on http://www.brookes.ac.uk/aske/BrookesACompact/


Pause for Final Though

Insights, Reflections, ActionsWhat changes would you

make?


Literally defined, innovative assessment could be any form of assessment which involves the application of a newtechnique or method. For us, however, innovative assessment has come to mean more than that; it is a term we use which encompasses a whole range of different techniques and methods, not all of which are new inventions.

Innovative assessment is also about what Heron (1981) called ‘the redistribution of educational power’ when assessment becomes not just something which is ‘done to’ learners but also ‘done with’ and ‘done by’ learners (Harris and Bell, 1990).

For example, in any form of assessment it is usually beneficial for the learner to receive detailed feedback indicating their strengths and weaknesses in the area of assessed work and suggesting areas where improvements or changes might be made in the future.

[[Grade only / Single feedback at end of module]]

Secondly, it aims to produce a more fertile learning environment and a more rewarding learning experience for all teachers and students.

Pandora’s Box?10 common criticisms of innovative assessment, answered [[SEE REDGUIDE DOC FOR RESPONSES]]1. Innovative assessment is just a ‘soft option’, simply less ‘rigorous’ than traditional forms of assessment. E.g. those people who can’t puttogether a decent essay pick up marks just by giving a ten-minute talk or worse still, marking their own work.2.Innovative assessment is too demanding, putting unreasonable pressure on some students. Somepeople would argue that whether you’re good at working in a group or not depends on ‘personality’ and that those who are ‘loners’ or ‘shy’ won’t do well on group tasks – and it could be very stressful for them.3. How can assessment be reliable if people other than the lecturers are involved in it? (e.g. employers, self/peer assessment)? Academics are,after all, the experts aren’t they? Surely no student in their right mind is going to fail themselves?4. Will innovative assessment work with increased student numbers? Is it more time consuming for staff?5. Surely innovative assessment which is varied and requires lots of different things from students is too much of a burden for them – wouldn’t they prefer just to do an exam and get it over with?6. If you give students too much help (formative feedback) – won’t you end up doing the work for them? Is this a fair test of their abilities?7. The role of HE is to develop students’ academic abilities and critical thinking. Surely assessments which are based on their performance in aworkplace or skills they will need at work after graduating are just a distraction?8. If there is too much assessment during a course, even if it is innovative, won’t students be overburdened with work and tend to take a surfaceapproach to their studies?9. Why should students have so much choice in relation to assessment? Surely the lecturers know best what it is students need to learn in the subjectand they should have to be tested on that.10. Is innovative assessment fair? Often it can’t be anonymous and marking is highly subjective: take the case of the black student barristers failing on video assessments although they passed the written tests.

Cornucopia?8 possible benefits of innovative assessment1. By incorporating a range of different methods innovative assessment assesses a broader range of skills and as such it is considered to be fairer and less discriminatory. Consequently, innovative assessment should have the effect of widening access to Higher Education and perhaps widening success.2. Innovative assessment is a more reliable assessment of student learning because it is not dependent on any one method of assessment. Innovative assessments allow for the fact that all individuals have strengths and weaknesses, by assessing an individual’s performance across a range of skills a more balanced and reliable assessment can be obtained. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!3. Innovative assessment on the whole adopts a more positive approach to education; by spreading the assessment net more widely, it provides students with a range of opportunities to demonstrate how much they understand (Ramsden, 1992), rather than the somewhat negative approach of how little.4. Innovative assessment is usually formative and as such is more likely to facilitate effective, well motivated student learning. Providing timely and constructive feedback allows misunderstandings to be detected and cleared up, and students are able to make improvements where necessary. This process helps maintain student motivation, enabling them to learn more steadily and fluently. If students genuinely don’tknow what they are doing wrong, as they are never informed, then this can lead to frustration and a loss of interest in the subject.5. A range of different techniques and methods should stimulate both staff and student interest. Variety is the spice of life! [[MORE INFO REDGUIDE]]6. Students learn and are assessed upon a much greater variety of skills and in a number of different situations. This should produce more rounded and more employable graduates. Assessments may include students demonstrating that they ‘know how to’ rather than just ‘know about’ (Race, 1994).7. Innovative assessment methods are usually more realistic and relevant, involving role plays, simulation and work placements; students develop a better understanding of how their specific skills and knowledge can be applied both inside and outside the academic environment.8. Innovative assessment is generally regarded as a possible strategy for facilitating a ‘deep’ rather than a ‘surface’ approach to learning (Marton and Säljö, 1990; Boyd and Cowan, 1985; Ramsden, 1992). Brown and Dove (1993) consulted staff from four different universities who were already using self and peer assessments, the staff reported: “students using higher levels of reflection, developing a questioning and selfanalytic approach to their professional practice and engaging in deep rather than surface learning” (Brown and Dove, 1993)