1. Introducing Assessment
Dr. Ciara O’Farrell
CAPSL
Trinity College Dublin
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

2. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Magic Wand
What one thing would you change about assessment, and why?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

3. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Fact of life
“Students learn what they think they will be assessed on”
(Biggs)
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

4. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:
Define some purposes of assessment at third level
Apply the principles of constructive alignment
Identify and apply different methods of assessment
Differentiate between formative, summative and continuous assessment
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

5. Purposes of Assessment
Form groups
Take five minutes to jot down your individual current reasons for assessing students
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

6. Possible Purposes of Assessment
Achievement of Learning Outcomes
Grade or mark
Pass or fail
Licence to practice
Allow to proceed
Predict success
Peer benchmarking
Learn
Feedback to staff
Feedback to students
Enhance motivation
Public relations, respectability and accountability
Huntley-Moore/Panter
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

7. Constructive Alignment
Teacher’s responsibility to fashion a learning environment where learning activities are wholly appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes.
Cf Biggs 1999
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

8. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

9. Matching assessment with Learning Outcomes
Ensure assessment method tests learning outcome
Ensure assessment does not test any significant learning outcomes that are not explicitly stated as such
Ensure all major course outcomes are assessed
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

10. Writing Learning Outcomes
E.g. After completing this lecture/tutorial you should be able to:
The specified action must be done by the learners.
The specified action by the learners must be measurable.
S.M.A.R.T.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

11. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Good or not so good?
Participants will understand the nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

12. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Better?
Participants will list nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

13. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Good or not so good?
Participants will develop an appreciation of cultural diversity in the workplace.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

14. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Better
Participants will summarize in writing their feelings about cultural diversity in the workplace.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

15. Some sample action verbs
compile, create, plan, revise, analyze, design, select, utilize, apply, demonstrate, prepare, use, compute, discuss, explain, predict, assess, compare, rate, critique
AVOID: know, become aware of, appreciate, learn, understand, become familiar with
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

16. Activity: Learning outcomes
Individually list a sample learning outcome for a course/lecture you will be teaching (5-10 minutes)
Form groups
Evaluate each other’s learning outcomes – are they clear and accessible?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

17. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Methods of Assessment
Work in groups
Brainstorm as many traditional and diverse methods of assessment as you can.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

18. Some methods of assessment
Essays
Unseen written exams
Reports
Case studies
Portfolios
Projects
Vivas
Assessed seminars
Poster presentations
Annotated bibliographies
Logs
Diaries
Reflective journals
Critical incident accounts
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

19. Some methods of assessment
Field studies
Exhibitions
Critiques
Theses
Open-book exams
Take-away papers
Simulations
CAA
In-tray exercises
Live assignments
Multiple choice questions
Mini-practicals
Modified essay questions
OSCEs
Group projects
Work-based assessment
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

20. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Trends in assessment
Traditional
Examinations
Lecture-led
Implicit criteria
Product assessment
Content
Decontextualised
Convergent
Individual
Developments
Course work
Student-led
Explicit Criteria
Process assessment
Skills
Contextualised
Divergent
Group
Brown and Biggs
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

21. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Activity:
Individually: Go back to the learning outcome you wrote in the last activity.
List one or more methods of assessment that would assess achievement of this learning outcome.
Form groups, discuss, and report to group.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

22. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Summative assessment
Used to signify competence or contributes to a student’s grade
Should determine whether, and to what extent, student has obtained learning outcomes
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

23. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Formative assessment
Used to provide feedback to the student on their learning
Generally felt - should not form part of the summative mark
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

24. Continuous Assessment
Series of tasks individually assessed
Timely feedback important
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

25. Involving others in the assessment process
Self assessment
Peer assessment
Group assessment
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

26. Reflecting on assessment
What types of questions did the students do well on? In what respects?
What types of questions did they struggle with? In what respects?
What kind of tasks were there a variety of responses to?
Which assessments did they avoid?
Which assessment questions were the most popular?
What can all this tell us about learning, teaching and assessment?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

27. Food for group discussion
“Something like 90% of a typical university degree depends on unseen time-constrained written examinations, and tutor-marked essays and/or reports.” (Biggs)
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

28. Food for group discussion
Why is feedback so important?
Will students take formative assessment seriously?
How can you make feedback more efficient?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

29. Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD
Assessment checklist
Are the aims and learner outcomes of the module clear?
Would attainment of these learner outcomes mean that the aims of the module have been achieved?
Are the assessment criteria for this module clear and explicit?
Are all the appropriate learning outcomes assessed?
Does the assessment scheme enable students to obtain feedback on major elements of the module?
Is each assessment method or task appropriate?
Is the marking scheme likely to be reliable?
Is the assessment task efficient?
Have you performed an analysis of the assessment results?
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD

30. A compulsory examination for all assessors (see handout)
Answer all questions. This examination is un-timed. Consultation with others (including students) and reference to texts and other sources is RECOMMENDED.
1. What intended learning outcomes do you assess? How well does your approach to assessment align with these outcomes?
2. Justify and criticise your choice of assessment methods and tasks used to assess the outcomes in question 1.
3. Refer to relevant research on assessment in your answer.
4. Describe, justify and criticise your use of criteria, methods of grading and/or marking.
5. Outline and justify your approach to providing feedback to students. Refer to relevant research in your answer.
6. With reference to research findings, describe, justify and criticise your marking techniques to overcome the following:
a) variations in standards on a single occasion;
b) variations in standards on different occasions;
c) variations between assessors;
d) differences in students’ handwriting.
7. How do you ensure that your standards are similar to standards adopted in comparable assessments and examinations?
8. What values underlie your approach to assessment in higher education? How are they manifest in your practice?
Evaluate your answers to questions 1–7.
Reproduced from:
George Brown, (2001), “Assessment: A Guide for Lecturers”, LTSN Generic Centre, Assessment Series No.3.
Dr. Ciara O'Farrell, CAPSL, TCD