Footer to be inserted here 1 ASSESSMENT of REFLECTION in Participation Units Theresa Winchester-Seeto & Marina Harvey with Debra Coulson & Jacqueline Mackaway Workshop: Thursday, 6 th May, 2010

Footer to be inserted here 2 Workshop aims Review the issues related to assessment of Participation units Explore the principles of assessing reflection in Participation units Identify the issues and challenges in assessing reflection Generate strategies for effective assessment of reflection in Participation units

Footer to be inserted here 3 Assessment of Participation Units A review of the key themes from the literature Flexible approach Stakeholder inclusion Reliance on reflection Constructive alignment (Biggs) Self and peer assessment Assessing doing vs. knowing Formative assessment Assessment for life long learning

Theme: Reliance on Reflection Issues Reliance on Reflection Validity and reliability Subjectivity and consistency Task weighting Work loads

Footer to be inserted here 5 Reliance on Reflection Implications –Should reflection always be part of assessment in Participation units? –How can we do it effectively? Multiple assessment tasks Clear criteria Rubrics –Support for academics –Support for students

Footer to be inserted here 6 Principles for Assessing Reflection Combination of formative & summative assessment Transparent alignment –Expectations –Learning outcomes –Experience / practice –Clarity about what is being assessed –Proportion of marks allocated to reflection –Assessment criteria –Assessment rubric

Footer to be inserted here 7 Reflection & Participation

Footer to be inserted here 8 Reflection helps students make stronger connections between theoretical perspectives and practice. We view reflection as a skill that can assist students in making sense of their (participation or service) learning experience. Correia and Bleicher (2008)

Learning Unit learning outcomes Assessment Connecting course, experience & future work Skills Development Critically reflective thinking Reflective writing & expression Metacognition Lifelong Learning Professional practice Graduate capabilities Transformative learning Potential Applications of Reflection to Participation

Intent Expectations Authenticity Learning outcomes Experience linked to course Reflection defined Assessment criteria Weighting Reflection & assessment activities relevant to course & experience Aligning Reflection to Get the Most Out of Participation

Footer to be inserted here 11 Task 1: The assessment of reflection What and how would you use reflection in a participation unit? What are the issues/ challenges in assessing reflection?

Reflective ToolScaffolding Skills Reflection FOR action Reflection IN action Reflection ON action Assessment Reflective journal including online ?* Learning portfolio ?* Goal setting and learning outcomes Clarifying values, beliefs, expectations Scenarios, PBL, case studies Discussion, coaching, feedback Critical incident analysis Debriefing experience Creative expressions: art, video, story, metaphor, blogs Meta analysis of reflections, reports * Journal articles

Footer to be inserted here 13 Task 2: Assessing a reflection script Each group will assess a reflective script and award a mark (/20)

Footer to be inserted here 14 Task 2: Assessing a reflection script Debrief Learnings from the task

Footer to be inserted here 15 Task 2: Learnings from the task Importance of teacher role in scaffolding (reflection for learning, grading) Multiple examples of reflection outcomes (not just script), needs triangulation Challenge of consistency in grading Need a rubric, criteria, context, purpose: all well designed Consider workload issues (student and staff) Script useful for formal assessment, but needs to be supplemented Move beyond only written scripts to present reflection Potential for game-playing Can only mark process (not transformation) Role of others (workplace supervisors) in assessment

Footer to be inserted here 16 Want to Know More? _resources.htm Learning and Teaching Centre Macquarie University website:

Footer to be inserted here 17 Comments from PACE Workshop 3 6 May Diary for Internship – Edited versions submitted and an assessment task. 2.Structured activities to guide them through reflections (scaffold). 3.Facilitator / Team leader guiding reflection. 4.Surveys on materials. 5.Increased workload (students and staff). 6.Disconnect, needs training in writing. 7.Subjectivity – do they transform? Is it positive or negative? 8.What are we assessing? 9.Articulation. Information use of reflection – kitchen table talks: engaged coach … both very open and tuned to learning outcomes … journal recording learning … Can have a practice without language for it – what and how to use reflection? Usefulness of formally practicing “ reflecting ”. Assessing reflection - may defeat the purpose – not grading “ quality ” of reflection.