Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Biggs,J.(1999).Teachingforqualitylearningatuniversity.Oxford:SocietyforResearchintoHigherEducation andOpenUniversityPress.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
dependentonsequentialskillsdevelopment.Inplanningtheassessmenttasksforaunit considerthefollowing:
Itishelpfultorememberthatstudentshaveonly1012hoursperweekavailablefora25 creditunit,includingtimeinclass,timetostudy,timetodiscussorthinkaboutlearning, seekassistanceorlookforresources,andtimeforadministrativetasksandassessment. Wherestudentsarecompletinggroupbasedassessments,timeforstudentcollaboration mustalsobeconsidered.Studentswhoareoverloadedwithassessmentmayresortto surfacelevelapproachestolearningandevenplagiarism. Studentworkmaybeassessedquantitatively,usuallythroughtheaccumulationofmarks,or qualitativelyorholistically,bymakinganoveralljudgmentaboutthequalityofdifferent aspectsofthework.Whichevermethodisused,studentsmustbeprovidedwithclear markingcriteriaforeachassessmenttaskwellbeforetheduedate.Formoreinformationon howtodesignmarkingcriteria,seethesectiononMarkingGuidesonpage35.Studentsmay alsosubmitworkforformativefeedback;thisdoesnotnecessarilyrequiretheallocationof marksandotheravenuesofprovidingfeedbackshouldbeinvestigatedi.e.peerassessment andselfassessment. Ensuring fair assessment through moderation Assessmentmustbefairandequitablei.e.allstudentsmustbegivenanequalchanceto havetheirachievementoflearningoutcomesrecognised.Unitcoordinatorsmustensure that:
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Guiding principles for successful moderation Moderationislikelytoworkbestwhenitisbasedonthefollowingprinciples: Assessmentsaredesignedsothattheyareclearlylinkedtotheintendedlearning outcomes; Premarkingmeetingsorotheractivitiesareundertakentoensurethatassessorsare abletoclarifytheirunderstandingoftheassessmentcriteria; Assessmentcriteriaareclearlycommunicatedtostudents,bothinthepre assessmentphaseandalsowhenprovidingfeedback;and Assessmentsaresubjecttoregularreview:theirfrequency,styleandtherelative successrateofstudentsareappraisedasaregularpartoftheimprovementcycle. Theseprinciplesarearticulatedandamplifiedthrough,Figure8,TheFivePhasesof Moderation.Thesephasesshouldbeseenaspartofanongoingimprovementand evaluationcycle.
Figure 8 The Five Phases of Moderation
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Intheunitoutline,studentsmustbeprovidedwithdetailsofallassessments,theirmarking criteria,andhowmoderationwillbeundertaken(includespecificmethodsandtimelines)to ensurefairnessandtransparencytostudents. 2.Communication:Thisisakeyphase:goodcommunicationwithmarkersatthisstagewill significantlyreducethenumberofissuesthatcanarisepostassessment.Clear communicationofthetaskandassociatedassessmentcriteriatothestudentsisalsovital.At thisstagetheunitcoordinatormeetswithallmarkers(orcommunicateswithremote colleagues)toensureclarityoftheexpectationsofassessment,andtheapplicationofthe markingcriteria.Therearearangeofapproachesthatcanbeusedtomaximiseconsistency betweenmarkerssuchas: Askcolleaguestocommenton(orbetterstill,helpdesign)assessmentcriteria.This isrelativelyeasytodo,anditisonewayofensuringthatnewassessmentsare subjectedtoareview.Significantly,theengagementofmarkersatthisearlystageis likelytoleadtoamuchdeeperunderstandingofwhatthecriteriareallymean. Conveneameeting(onlineorfacetoface)withallmarkerstodiscussmarking criteriaandtheirapplication.Thisapproachcanbeenhancedifactualstudentwork (eitherpastorpresent)isusedtoroadtestthemarkingcriteria. Inviteexternalcommentonassessmentcriteriaeitherfromcolleaguesalsoworking inthefieldorfromthoseexperiencedinassessmentdesign.
Secondmarkingofsomeorallassessmentsmaybeundertaken.Inlargerunitsthis mightinvolvearandomsamplebeingsubjectedtosecond(double)marking.Double blindmarkingcanalsobeemployedthisiswheremarkersdonotseeeachothers commentsorgradesuntilaftermarkingiscompleted.Wheremarkersagreeclosely, smalldifferencescanberesolvedbyaveraging.Largerdifferencesshouldbehandled throughdiscussioninvolvingtheunitcoordinatorandathirdmarker(ideallytheunit coordinator)shouldbeusedtohelpresolveanycontentiouscases. Afterthisstage,markingiscompletedandlistsofassignedmarksandgradesare returnedtotheunitcoordinator.Theunitcoordinatormaydecidetogiveinterimand generalfeedbacktothestudentsasawholegroup.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Itisextremelyhelpfuliftheunitcoordinatorisabletorecordissuesastheyarise duringmarking.Thiswillsignificantlysupportthereviewprocess.
4.Analysisofresults:Theunitcoordinatorconductspostmarkinganalysisusingoneor moreofthefollowingmethods:
Asampleofpapersineachgraderangeareselectedatrandomandcheckedfor consistentapplicationofstandardsandcriteria. Allpapersthataremarkedasafailaresubjectedtosecondmarking(ifnotalready donesopreviously).Thoseassessmentsthatareclosetogradeboundaries (especiallythosethatareontheborderlinebetweenpassandfail)couldalsobe secondmarked. Statisticalanalysisofresultsbetweenmarkers(i.e.thedistributionofgradesand marks)canbeanalysedtoseeiftherearepotentialdifferencesbetweenassessors.If thisapproachisused,marksshouldonlybeadjustedsubsequentlybyasecond markingprocess,notbyadjustingmarkswithoutreferencetothework.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Quantitative Assessment Standards 1.Validity:Assessmentofastudentsknowledgeandskillsusuallyresultsinamarkora gradethatrepresentstheknowledge,skillsandabilitiesbeingassessed.Validityreferstothe extenttowhichthatmark(orgrade)measureswhatitclaimstomeasure.Doesitmeasure thestudentsachievementofspecificlearningoutcomes?Isitameasureofthecurrentstate oftheirknowledge?Forexample,amarkbasedonastudentsrecallofknowledgeisnota validmeasureofthestudentsabilitytoapplythatknowledge.Anessayexaminationmight beameasureofstudentsessaywritingskillsratherthantheirabilitytoapplydiscipline knowledge. 2.Reliability:Reliabilityreferstoboththeaccuracyandprecisionofmeasurement.Ifan assessmentisreliable,differenttestsofastudentsparticularskills,ifadministered independently,shouldgivethesameresult.Differentassessorsshouldarriveatthesame conclusionaboutastudentslearning.Thethreefacetsofreliabilityrefertothebasic rationale(cantheassessedknowledgeandskillsbetranslatedintoameasurement?),the proceduresfordatacollection(theassessmenttool,itsadministrationandmarking)andthe statisticalproceduresfollowing(whatwesubsequentlydowiththenumbers). Qualitative Assessment Standards ThissectiondrawsontheworkofGubaandLincoln(1989)9,whoarguethatevaluationis rarelyfreeofpoliticalandothersourcesofbias.Tosomeextent,theseissuesarereduced whereassessmentcanbeshowntobecredible,dependable,andconfirmable. 1.Credibility:Assessmentiscrediblewhentheformofassessmentiscloselyalignedwith learningoutcomes.Authenticassessmentispreferable;thisisanassessmentinwhich studentscarryoutataskthatrepresentsarealworldsituation.Assessmentiscredible whereitisbasedondetailedevidencepreferablyderivedfromdifferentbutcontributing tasks. 2.Dependability:Assessmentisdependablewhensubjectiveassessmentmethodsare appliedconsistentlyandarestableovertime.Thatis,theassessmentmethodisappliedin thesamewayandunderthesameconditionsforthedurationoftheassessmentperiod. Assessmentisalsodependableifthoseparticipatinginit(staffandstudents)agreethatthe processisafairandreasonabletest.TheuseofMarkingGuidescanpromotedependable assessment. 3.Confirmability:Assessmentisconfirmablewhenanaudittrailismaintainedtoenable backtrackingtooriginalcriteriabasedjudgements.MarkingGuidesareaprimarymeansof doingthis.Otherrecordsmayincludeobservationalnotes,annotateddocumentsorother recordsofparticipationorachievement.Confirmabilityisenhancedwherethereisstudent agreementthatthejudgementabouttheirperformanceisfairandaccurate.
ForpoliciesrelatingtoassessmentseetheAssessmentandStudentProgressionManualat www.policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/viewpolicy.cfm
Guba,E.,&Lincoln,Y.S.(1989).Fourthgenerationevaluation.NewburyPark,CA:SagePublications
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Types of assessment tasks Therearemanydifferenttypesofassessmenttask.Thefollowingwillhelpyouchoosethe mostappropriateone.Rememberthatwhateverassessmenttaskyoudecidetouse,it shouldbeclearlyalignedwiththelearningoutcomesandteachingandlearningactivitiesin yourcourse. 1.Shortformandmultiplechoicetestsdonotusuallytesthigherorderthinkingskills Shortformtestsarealsoknownasobjectivetests.Theyincludemultiplechoice,completion (orclose),truefalseandmatchingtypes,ofwhichmultiplechoiceisthemostcommonly used.Amultiplechoicetestitemusuallyconsistsofastatement,calledthestem,and severalalternativestatementsoneofwhichisthecorrectanswerandtheothersareknown asdistracters.Fewshortformtestsassesshigherorderthinkingskills;althoughnot impossible,constructingitemstotesthigherorderthinking(e.g.levelsofthinking36) takessomeskill.Objectivetestsshouldbecriticallyreviewedtoensuretheirquality. Advantages Measurewidesampleofcontent Easyandquicktoscore Goodforreviewingcontent Provideformativefeedback Providefastfeedback Reusableitemsindifferenttestsand settings Markerreliabilityishigh Disadvantages Difficulttosetitemswhichassessmore thanmemory Timeconsumingtoproduce Limitedrangeofplausibleansweroptions Encourageguessing Restrictcreativestudentsandmayfavour malestudents Difficulttointerpretwronganswers Donotdevelopwritingskills Poorlyconstructedquestionsgiveclues tostudents
Tipsforgoodpractice: Thestemshouldconsistofasingle,clearidea.Itshouldmakesenseindependentof therestofthequestion. Avoidstemsstatedinnegativetermsasthesearemoredifficulttounderstandand maycauseconfusion. Makesurethatallthealternativesaregrammaticallyconsistentwiththestemand similarinformandlengthtooneanother. Makethedistractersplausiblebyusingcommonmisconceptionsandtypicalstudent errors. Ifyouusethealternativesnoneoftheaboveandalloftheaboveincludethemas theincorrectanswerabout75%ofthetime(ifyouhavefouransweroptions). Thecorrectanswershouldappearwithoutpatternandequallyoftenineachofthe alternativepositions.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
2.Shortanswertestdoesnotusuallytesthigherorderthinkingskills
Shortanswerquestionsrequireabriefanswerconsistingofaphrase,sentenceorshort paragraph.Forexample,brieflyexplainthepurposeofformativeassessment.
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4.Performancetestcantesthigherorderthinkingskills
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
6.Fieldwork/practicumtestscantesthigherorderthinkingskills
Disadvantages Markerconsistency(reliability)isa problem Lackofcontrolofthefieldwork experiences Studentmaynotbeabletoperformtasks astheyarenotregisteredpractitioners Timeconsumingforstafftotravelto placementandconductassessment Difficulttocontroltheassessmenttaskin theworkplace
Projectsareanextendedpieceofworkinvolvinginquirybasedactivities.Projectsmaybe smallorlarge,undertakenbyindividualsoringroupsandhaveoutcomessuchasareport, design,artwork,wiki,aposterorworkingproduct. Advantages Allowforgreaterstudentengagementin andresponsibilityforlearning Assessstudentlearningincontext Encourageinitiative,independenceand problemsolving Canassessawiderangeofoutcomes includingtimeandtaskmanagement Showcasesskillsandachievements Arecomprehensive,multidimensional andflexible Studentscanexploreatopicindepth Disadvantages Timeconsumingtodevelopandmark Maymakecomparisonbetweenstudents difficultifprojectsareverydifferent Mayrequireonlinecollaborativelearning spaces Mayrequireadditionalresources
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
8.Presentationscantesthigherorderthinkingskills
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Tipsforgoodpractice: Usecasestudiesthatstudentscanrelateto,giventheirexperienceandlevelof learninginthecourse. Makesuretheaccountofthecaseiscomplexandyetclearlyconstructedsostudents canrecognisewheretheycanapplytheirknowledgeoftheskillsandtheories. Stateclearlytheformatforthecasestudyanalysisreportandprovidemodelsof goodreports. Ifyouplantoassessthequalityoftheacademicwritingandreferencing,statethisin themarkingcriteria. 10.Posterscantesthigherorderthinkingskills
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Aportfolioisapurposefulcollectionofstudentworkshowingefforts,progressand achievementsovertime.
Advantages Encourageengagementinand responsibilityforlearning Assessincontextstudentlearning Encourageselfassessmentandreflection Canassessarangeofskillsoroutcomes includinggenericskills Allowforshowcaseofskillsand achievements Arecomprehensive,multidimensional andflexible
Disadvantages Timeconsumingtodevelopandassess Canbedifficulttodetermineassessment criteria Mayrequireadditionalresources Makecomparisonbetweenstudents difficultsincetheportfoliosmaybevery different Unlesstheyareeportfolios,aportfolio cantakeupsignificantphysicalspace
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Using Marking Guides to define assessment criteria Assessmentisintegraltostudentlearningandnotjustsomethingthoughtaboutafterthe unithasbeenplanned.MarkingGuides(sometimesreferredtoasrubrics)makeexplicitto thestudentthecriteriaagainstwhichtheirworkwillbeassessedandtheycanbea comprehensiveandefficientfeedbacktool.Inbrief,aMarkingGuideisatableshowing qualityofperformanceonthehorizontalaxis,anddimensionsofperformanceontheother, asshowninFigure9:
Figure 9 Marking Guide showing quality and dimensions of performance
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
How to develop a Marking Guide 1. Decidethedimensionsofperformance(verticalaxis)ortheessentialelementsthat mustbeevidentinhighqualitywork.Notethatifastudentcanscorehighlyonall dimensionsbutnotscorewelloverall,youhavethewrongones. 2. Decidethelevelsofachievement:numberandtype(horizontalaxis).Examplesof masteryare:competent,exemplary,proficient,marginal,unacceptable, accomplished. 3. Avoidhavingtoomanydimensionsofperformanceorlevelsofachievement.Overly MarkingGuidescomplexreducetheeffectivenessandtheefficiencyoftheapproach. 4. Foreachdimensionofperformance,firstdistinguishbetweenacceptableand unacceptable(failing)performance:writethecriteriaforunacceptableperformance clearlyandunambiguously. 5. Foreachdimensionofperformance,writeclearperformancedescriptors(criteria)at eachachievementlevel(seebelow).State(ifpossible)theconsequencesof performingateachlevel.Forexample,thestandardoftheworkwould(orwouldnot) beacceptedbytheprofessionorabusinessoraprofessionaljournal. 6. Addthemarkingschemeyouwilluseandapplyanyweighting.Decideifmarkswillbe awardedforworkbelowtheminimumstandard.Includethecriteriaforfailure. 7. Evaluateandreviseaccordingly.FewMarkingGuideswillbeconstructedperfectlythe firsttime.Theyaredevelopmentaltoolsandneedtobecriticallyevaluatedafteruse. Differentiating performance levels ThemostdifficultaspectofconstructingaMarkingGuideisformulatingandclearly articulatingcriteriafordifferentlevelsofachievement.Trytodeterminequalitativeor quantitativedifferencesthatcharacteriseachievementatthedifferentlevels.Avoid differentgradesofthesamecharacter(e.g.good,better,bestetc),undefinedterms(e.g. trivialwork,gooduseof,significantwork),andvalueladenterms(e.g.excellentorpoor work;thesetermsmayhavemeaningfortheassessorbutdonottellthestudentthe standardexpectednorwhattheycandotoimprove). Performance criteria Theperformancecriteria,Figure10,ascitedinHubaandFreed(2000)10isforthecriterion: TeamskillsGroupfunctioning
Figure 10 Performance criteria: Team skills Group functioning.
Excellent Good
Unacceptable Thegroupfunctionspoorly.Allworkistheproductofindividualeffort.
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Huba,M.E.,&Freed,J.E.(2000).Learnercentredassessmentoncollegecampuses:Shiftingthefocusfrom teachingtolearning.Boston:AllynandBacon.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Holistic versus analytic Marking Guides HolisticMarkingGuidesallocateagradeorperformanceleveltoastudentsimplyonthe basisofperformanceagainstexplicitstandards(withoutresortingtomarks).Analytic MarkingGuidesallocateaspecificnumberofmarksforeachcriterionorperformancelevel. Oneissueiswhetherornottoawardanymarksforunsatisfactoryperformance.Itmightbe possibletoaccumulateenoughmarksonunsatisfactoryperformancetotipastudentover themagical50%.Analternativeistosetacriterionforpassingthatstatestheremustbeno elementforwhichperformanceisunsatisfactory(regardlessoftheoverallmark).Another waytolimitthisistoallocateanoverallperformanceasoneofthedimensionsof performance.Thefollowingisasimplequantitativeapproachtoassigningmarkstoeach criterion. Scoreallitemsona4pointscale:0=taskorelementnotdone;1=taskorelementdone,but clearlyincorrect;2=taskorelementdone,butonlypartiallycorrect;3=taskorelement done,andclearlycorrect;0s,1sand3swillbeclearlyidentifiable;anythingelseisa2. Evaluating a Marking Guide AMarkingGuideshouldbereviewedeachtimeitisused,andthenrevised:
Doesitmeasurethelearningoutcome(s)thatyouwantmeasured? DoesitmeasureALLtheimportantoutcomes? Doesitmeasureunimportant/extraneousoutcomes? DoestheMarkingGuidecovertheimportantdimensionsofperformance? Aretheperformancelevelsandscaleswelldefined? Isthereaclearbasisforassigningscoresateachscalepoint? Dotheexcellentdescriptorsdescribeahighenoughperformancestandard? Istheresufficientdistinctionbetweeneachdimension? CandifferentscorersapplytheMarkingGuideconsistently? IstheMarkingGuidefairandfreefrombias? IstheMarkingGuideuseful,feasible,manageableandpractical? Canstudentseasilyinterpreteachofthedescriptors?
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Criteria
Accurately identifies constraintsor obstacles.
4points
Accuratelyand thoroughly describesthe relevantconstraints orobstacles.
3points
Addressesobstacles orconstraintsthat arenot immediately apparent.
2points
Accurately identifiesthemost important constraintsor obstacles.
1point
Identifiessome constraintsthatare accuratealongwith somethatarenot accurate.Omitsthe mostsignificant constraintsor obstacles.
Identifiescreative butplausible solutionstothe problemunder consideration.The solutionsaddress keydifficulties posedbythe constraintof obstacle.
Presentsalternative solutionsfor dealingwiththe obstaclesor constraints,butthe solutionsdonotall addressthe important difficulties. Triesoutthe alternativesbutthe trialsare incompleteand importantelements areomittedor ignored.
Engagesin effective,validand exhaustivetrialsof theselected alternatives.Trials gobeyondthose requiredtosolve theproblemand showa commitmenttoan indepth understanding.
Ifother alternativeswere tried,accurately articulatesand supportsthe reasoningbehind theorderoftheir selection,andthe extenttowhich eachovercamethe obstaclesor constraints.
Providesaclear, comprehensive summaryofthe reasoningthatled totheselectionof secondary solutions.The descriptionincludes areviewofthe decisionsthat producedtheorder ofselectionand howeach alternativefaredas asolution.
Describesthe processthatledto theorderingof secondary solutions.The descriptionoffersa clear,defensible rationaleforthe orderingofthe alternativesandthe finalselection.
Describesthe processthatledto theorderingof secondary solutions.The descriptiondoes notprovideaclear rationalforthe orderingofthe alternatives,orthe studentdoesnot addressallthe alternativesthat weretried.
Describesan illogicalmethodfor determiningthe relativevalueofthe alternatives.The studentdoesnot presenta reasonablereview ofthestrengths andweaknessesof thealternative solutionsthatwere triedand abandoned.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Therearethreedimensionstotheassessmentofgroupwork:
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Group assessment criteria Studentsingroupsneedassessmentcriteriabeforetheystartwork.Theyshouldknowwhat outcomestheywillbeexpectedtodemonstrateandhowtheevidenceoftheirworkneeds tobedocumented.Wherestudentsaretobeinvolvedindecidingthecriteria,thisprocess shouldoccuratthebeginningandallstudentsmustreceiveawrittencopyoftheagreed criteria.Thefourmarkingmodelsdescribedbelowrepresentdifferentwaysofrecognising thecontributionoftheindividualstudent.Ineachcase,itisassumedthatstudentshave writtencriteriathatenablethemtoawardmarksandthat,whererelevant,theyaregiven thedistributionofmarks. Model1:Allstudentsgetthesamemarkorgraderegardlessofindividualcontribution
Model2:Studentsgetanindividualmarkfromalimitedpoolofmarks Example Agroupoffourstudentspreparesanenvironmentalimpactreport.Theyget24/30marksfor thereport.Theydistributethemarksamongthemselvesaccordingtotheirindividual contribution.Somestudentsgetmorethan24marksandothersless. Thismodelisdifficulttojustifyexceptinindustrieswheregroupprojectearningsaredivided accordingtocontribution(andthisisusuallydonebycontractbeforetheworkbegins): studentscompeteforalimitednumberofmarks(andstudentshavetonegotiatetheirmark withthegroup),andstudentsfromdifferentgroupswhomakethesameeffortprobably wontgetthesamereward.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Model3:Studentsareallocatedmarksaccordingtotheroletheyplayedinthegroup
Example Agroupofthreestudentspreparesaneducationalwebsite.Onestudenthastheroleof websitedesigner/manager,anotheristheinstructionaldesignerandthethirdresearches thecontentforthesite.Eachstudenthascriteriaforthequalityoftheiraspectofthe completedwebsite,andisrequiredtoexplainorjustifytheircontribution.Thewebsiteis awarded18/20forwebdesign,15/20forinstructionaldesignand17/20forcontent.The studentsget18,15and17marksrespectively. Thismodelisfairifallthecriteriaaremadeclearbeforehand,andifallstudentshavean equalchanceofplayingtheroleinwhichtheyfeelmostcompetent:thisisunlikelytobethe case.
Model4:Studentsgetagroupprojectmarkandaseparatemarkforanindividualproduct Example Agroupofsixstudentsundertakesasixweekresearchprojectonthegeomorphologyofa particularregion.Theywillproduceafinalgroupreport,forwhichtheywillreceiveagroup mark.Inadditionstudentswillbeassessedindividually:theyarerequiredtosubmita researchdiaryrecordingtheirprogress,relevantdiagramsandprintoutsandfindingsat weeklyintervalsthroughoutthesixweeks. Thismodelisfairerinthesensethataseparatemarkisallocatedforevidenceofindividual effort.Iftheindividualworkshowsthatthestudentclearlymadenoortoolittlecontribution tothegroupproject,thenthegroupmarkforthatstudentcanbewithdrawn.Inthiscase, studentsmustbewarnedwellinadvance. Whichevermodelischosen,carefulthoughtisrequired.Otherissuesariseingroupwork: theallocationofstudentstogroups(shouldgroupsbesetbytheteacher,orwillstudentsbe allowedtoselfselecttheirowngroup?),providingsupportforgroupstokeepthemon track,anddealingwithgroupsofunequalsize,orwherestudentsdropout. Automating group assessment Thereareanumberofwaysthattheassessmentofgroupworkcanbesupported,including paperandonlinemethods.Onewayistoaskstudentstorecordgradesandfeedbackon reportsheetswhichcanthenbeprocessedusingExcel.Templatesareavailabletosupport thisapproach.Amorepowerfulalternativeistouseanonlinesystemwhichautomates muchofthetediouscollationthatispresentinpaperbasedalternatives.Onlinetoolssuch asSPARKandTectraareavailable,althoughtheyarenotalwaysfreeofcharge.During2010, theOATLaimtoevaluateanumberofthesewiththeaimofdevelopingasystemavailable foruseacrossCurtin.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Peer and Self assessment Peerassessmentcanbeanextremelypowerfulwayofhelpingstudentsgraspthe characteristicsofqualitywork.Often,studentsarewellplacedtoofferdevelopmental feedbacktotheirpeers.Peerassessmentcantakemanyforms.Onewaymightbetoask studentstogiveformativefeedbackonthreeotherpiecesofstudentwork.Anotherway mightbetousetheaudiencetorateandreviewstudentpresentationsonatopic.Peer feedbackcanbeusedtogiveextremelyrapidfeedbackinlargergroupsettings. However,iftheapproachistobesuccessful,studentsmustclearlyunderstandwhypeer assessmentisbeingusedtoavoidtheapproachbeingviewedasawayofreducingmarking loads.Studentsmustalsoengagewiththeassessmentmarkingguidesothattheyhavean understandingofwhatisinvolved.Thistakessometimetosetupandsupport. Isitworthit?Theresearchsuggeststhatitis.Rust(2003)describesaprocesswhereby studentsengagedwiththeassessmentcriteriabymarkingotherworkandgivingfeedback. Thisimprovedtheirfinaloutcomescomparedtoaparallelgroupthatdidnotundertakethis exercise.Significantly,thisbeneficialeffect(animprovementofapproximately5%ofthe finalmark)wasstillapparentinthegroupayearlatersuggestingthatthecloseengagement withassessmentcriteriahadbeeneffectiveovertime. Self Assessment Studentslearning(andtheirabilityto'learnhowtolearn')canbeimprovedwhenthey engageindeliberatethoughtaboutwhattheyarelearningandhowtheyarelearningit. Encouragingstudentstostepbackandreflectontheirlearningcanbeapowerfulwayof identifyingstrengthsandareasforimprovementespeciallywhereselfassessmentsareset againstassessmentsmadebytheirpeersortutors.
Recommendedfurtherreading: Caspersz,D.,Skene,J.,&Wu,M.(2006).Managingstudentteams.Milperra,NSW:The HigherEducationalResearchandDevelopmentSocietyofAustralasia. Cohen,R.,Boud,D.&Sampson,J.(2001).Dealingwithproblemsencounteredinassessment ofpeerlearning.InFalchikov,N.LearningTogether:PeerTutoringInHigherEducation. London:Routledge.248253 Grellier,J.&Goerke,V.(2006).CommunicationSkillsToolkit:UnlockingtheSecretsof TertiarySuccess.SouthMelbourne:Thompson.SeeChapter15:Teamwork. Rust,C.,Price,M.&ODonovan,B.(2003)Improvingstudentslearningbydevelopingtheir understandingofassessmentcriteriaandprocesses,AssessmentandEvaluationin HigherEducation,28(2),147164.
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Office of Assessment, Teaching and Learning. (2010). Developing appropriate assessment tasks. In Teaching and Learning at Curtin 2010. (pp.22-44). Curtin University: Perth.
Marking and grading assessments TheCurtinUniversityStudentCharterstatesthateverystudentcanexpecttohavefair assessmentandtimelyandusefulfeedbackontheirperformanceandprogress,including finalresults.Assessmenttasksmustbemarkedinsuchawaythatthemarkorgradereflects howwellastudentachievedthelearningoutcomesandinaccordancewiththeassessment criteria.Inadditiontoamark,returnedassignmentsmustbeaccompaniedbyfeedbackthat clearlyexplainshowthefinalmarkwasderived,aswellashowthestudentcanimprove. Assignmentsand/orfeedbackmustbereturnedtostudentsintimeforthemtoimprove theirperformanceonthenextassessmenttask.Unitcoordinatorsareresponsiblefor organisingthesecurecollectionandreturnofassignments(onlineorhardcopy).Students arerequiredtokeepacopyofallassignmentssubmittedforgrading.
CurtinsassessmentpoliciesareavailableinasingletextcalledAssessmentandStudent ProgressionManualSeehttp://policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/viewpolicy.cfm
Examinations Anexaminationisaformal,supervisedassessmentoflearningoutcomeswhichnormally takesplaceattheconclusionofaformalteachingperiod.Unitcoordinatorsareresponsible forpreparingexaminationswhichassesstheunitlearningoutcomes.Centrallyscheduled examinationsnormallytakeplaceattheconclusionofasemesterorformalteachingperiod andmustbeworthatleast30%andnotusuallymorethan50%ofthefinalunitmark.In general,examinationsshouldnotexceedtwohoursinlengthandareprecededbya mandatory10minutesreadingtime.Studentswhorequestspecialconsiderationbecauseof religiouscommitments,adisabilityormedicalconditionshouldbedirectedtoUniversity CounsellingService.Ifsuchspecialconsiderationisrequired,studentsshouldbeadvisedto makealternativeexaminationarrangementsassoonastheFinalTimetableispublished(four weekspriortotheexaminationperiod).Theabsolutedeadlineforchangesforalternative examinationsis2weekspriortothecommencementoftheexaminationperiod.
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GradesAwarded F 5 6 7 8 9 10
11
In2010thetermconditionalislikelytobereplacedbytwotermsindicatingthatastudentisatrisk.
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