Assessment - the hidden curriculum The aim of the study goals objectives Teaching and learning methods: PBL and project work Forms of the exams and criteria The last item of this course is assessment which is a kind of hidden curriculum in the Aalborg model. What is interesting is how the aims of the study, its goals and objectives is assessed continually during the project work and finally at the project exam, and how these things affect each other.

What is the purpose of Assessment/Evaluation ? To monitor if the students have reached the learning goals of the semester To improve the students learning process Discuss this for 15 minutes

How to Assess/Evaluate students ? What kind of questions should we ask: To monitor if the students have reached the learning goals of the semester To improve the students learning process Discuss this for 15 minutes

Basic assumptions Examination is dominating the students learning approach Criteria for evaluation are crucial for the learning process Personal skills, metalearning etc. need formative evaluation forms Evaluation is a basic part for the learning process (reflection) Education is forming identity Usually it is assumed that ....... This is probably true, so we have to be careful about our assessment to match the goals we want the students to achieve by making their project. This means that if we want the student to get a deep understanding of the theories and methods they uses, then we have to ask questions that challenge this understanding, in stead of just checking wheater the student can use a specific method. This is in fact what i told you to do at the weekly meetings, so the students gets used to this kind of assessment and direct their own learning approach in the direction of a deeper understanding of the theory and methods. This is then of course also the kind of questions to be asked at the final examination after each project period.

Supervisor and (external) censor Assessment - practice Peer group Project group Supervisor and (external) censor So how is an examination carried out? The Peer group is seldom used after the basic year, but there is plays an important role as it takes part in the assessment by asking questions to the other group, enhancing the peer assessment. An often used model is : 1...... After the presentation, there is a short discussion about how it was done in order to help the students improve their presentation technique, and then there is a break where the examination team decides what mark they will give the project at the moment. This is a mark based on the written report and the ”defence” of it that the students just have made. It might be regarded as an average of what this group is able to accomplishes by half a years project work at this specific semester. Then there is 2.... And 3.... Where you should remember to ask questions that challenge the students understanding. You are allowed to use as much as three quarters of an hour questioning each student, but it is more normal to use about ½ hour as an average, and it is not as if you ask one student each for ½ hour. It is more like you ask several questions and the student answering switches for each question. There is often 5-6 students in a group, so you might need more than one break before you think that you have heard enough to mark the students individually. While the student wait outside the marks is given, based on : .... 1 and 2 you have already given an average mark. Now you look at each student as an individual and judge their presentation, their part in the discussion and how well they have answered the individual questions. Based on 2, 3 and 4 you mark each student individually. This is normally not very difficult as to mark the students relatively to each other. E.g.. There is often a middle group in the group, e.g.. 3 persons and perhaps one person slightly better and 2 persons slightly worse. What sometimes is a bit difficult is to Make the specific mark. In the mentioned case you might have doubt about whether the middle group should be marked 8 or 9, which again means that the bottom of the group should have 7 or 8 and the best student 9 or 10. Then you can use the mark for the project report and the presentation to adjust you level. It would be nice if the average of the individual marks is almost the same as the report mark, given for half a years work. So if you think the project was to 9, then you should give 2 times 8, 3 times 9 and one 10. This might seem difficult, but it is not and you will be given an experienced censor to help the first time, or you might become censor for an experienced supervisor.

Grading System in Denmark

Points Criteria and methods of self and peer assessment has to be integrated in the summative examination Evaluation/reflection has to be part of the learning environment - both as structures and at the informal level Supervisor has a role to play in facilitating students peer assessment So, if we want to enhance the students learning approach and lead them to a deeper understanding by making projects, then.... The first point we try to enhance by our questions at the meetings with the students and at the basic year we teach them methods for self and peer assessment of both their oral presentations in the group and their written working papers Reflection is enhanced and as a structure a lot of us uses the 3 times planned reflection we discussed yesterday. You have a role to play, because you can encourage the students to assess them self within the group.