Assessment Fora Assessment Code of Practice Grade Descriptors Aligning the Curriculum Multiple Choice Questions Technology Enhanced Learning Department of Higher Education in conjunction with the DVC for Academic Affairs 4 th – 12 th February 2014

Assessment Code Of Practice

Purposes of the Code: to ensure integrity, fairness and rigour in the application of academic judgement to the assessment of students work; and in the associated administrative processes Principles: assessment strategy for programmes alignment with learning outcomes at programme and module level and linked with grade descriptors assessment is proportionate - not under or over assessed feedback to students – helpful in feeding forward quality control (valid processes in plan) / quality assurance (mechanisms to check these) learning support Assessment Code of Practice

Purpose of assessment: design relevance to learning outcomes differentiated by level where there is an integrated Masters (e.g. BEng / MEng) feedback Definitions: formative assessment – all modules, particularly with a single Unit of Assessment, need to include an opportunity for feedback summative assessment coursework examination Validity of assessment methods: important link to learning outcomes aligned with grade descriptors CPD for staff Assessment Code of Practice

University of Surrey Grade Descriptors: Undergraduate Programmes: University of Surrey Grade Descriptors: Postgraduate Programmes: University Grade Descriptors (GDs) – A Short Guide: Grade Descriptors

Aligning the Curriculum

Constructive Alignment (Biggs, 1999) Programme Aims and Learning Outcomes Module Aims and Learning Outcomes Assessment Methods Generic Level Descriptors: National Qualifications Framework Subject Level Descriptors: Subject Benchmarks Professional Standards Teaching and Learning Strategy Curriculum Content

By the end of the module the student should be able to... LO1: Explain the theory of key optical engineering concepts such as the formation of fibre optics, images and holograms. LO2: Apply transform techniques to specific practical contexts such as optical filtering LO3: Evaluate the use of optical innovations (e.g. fibre optics, images and holograms) in an everyday product such as digital scenography, medical imaging and mobile technology. Learning Outcomes

3 x individual lab reports 1500 words (30%) [LO1 & 2: Explain and Apply] 1 x group-based PBL project report 3000 words (40% individual mark; 30% group mark). [LO1 & 3: Explain and Evaluate ] Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment -i.e. not contributing to the final grade Online MCQ prior to each lab (Surrey Learn) Formative Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions

Advantages of MCQs Facilitate coverage of the syllabus Can be marked quickly Can be delivered and marked electronically Allow objective scoring (right / wrong) Can allow a number of teachers to submit questions Often recommended for formative assessment.

Challenges of MCQs Good questions are time-consuming to design Can focus on recall of facts Emphasise atomization of syllabus Can encourage surface approaches to learning May encourage superficial feedback to students Can be answered by guesswork

Level of learning HIGH LOW Level of difficulty in designing questions HIGH LOW Relating MCQs to Blooms Taxonomy

Guesswork & MCQs An inherent problem with MCQs is that students can guess. Whilst some have argued for negative marking to discourage this, we do not use negative marking at Surrey for the following reasons: It is at odds with our credit framework based on learning outcomes (either achieved or not) Places MCQ marking out of step with marking of other assessment methods Does not fit with our university criteria (0-100%) Encourages risk-averse behaviours amongst students Creates marking anomalies that do not reflect learning achieved 69 correct – 31 incorrect = 38% fail vs 40% correct + 60 no response = 40% pass Can skew overall module results

Technology Enhanced Learning

Electronic Assessment Management (EAM) Using technology to support the assessment lifecycle, from the electronic submission of assignments to marking and feedback JISC

Online submission Online marking

Convenience, avoiding printing costs, time savings Anxiety reduction - automatic proof of receipt Confidence provided by improved privacy, safety and security Electronic reminders and deadlines Meeting expectations: this is normal practice in a digital age Online submission Replacing paper-based submission with an online system:

Online marking and feedback MCQs – automation, summative, formative, diagnostic, analytics, troublesome knowledge. Electronic marking - GradeMark - part of the Turnitin suite of software and gives Tutors a digital system for grading and commenting on student work.

Inline comments Highlighting tool QuickMarks – predefined and user- defined marks for inline comments that can be dragged directly on the paper Predefined and user-defined rubrics to evaluate student papers against qualitative or quantitative criteria Voice Comments to create personalised audio feedback Online marking and feedback

Students: legibility of feedback and being able to access it quickly Markers: found Grademark fairly easy to access and use liked being able to customise and re-use comments, add audio feedback, and see Originality reports whilst marking some markers annotated scripts more fully, adding more detail and providing what they saw as higher quality comments I think its great, there are certainly clear benefits for staff – it means that all of your marking is kept in one place. And the additional tools that they provide means that we can really give good constructive feedback to the students. Online marking and feedback

Challenges

A hands-on experience of using Turnitins Grademark tool to mark assignments submitted online. Provide annotated, general and rubric style feedback to students using Grademark Identify the benefits and challenges of online marking using Grademark Manage the release of feedback to students (optional) So far this has been delivered to over 70 staff in Biosciences. Bespoke workshops: Online marking for staff

Assessment Fora 2014 Assessment Code of Practice; Grade Descriptors; Aligning the Curriculum; Multiple Choice Questions; Technology Enhanced Learning What are the topics that you would like further information / training on? Learning and Teaching Week (19 th – 23 rd May 2014) Are there any questions relating to what has been discussed?