1. How does assessment support learning?

2. Assessment is the key driver of student learning Assessment is at the heart of the student experience” (Brown, S & Knight P, 1994) “From our students point of view, assessment always defines the actual curriculum” (Ramsden, P, 1992) “Assessment defines what students regard as important, how they spend their time and how they come to see themselves as students and then as graduates… If you want to change student learning than change the methods of assessment” (Brown, G et al, 1997) Why is assessment important? Dr Chris Rust, Oxford Brookes University

3. Assessment should produce students who are: deep rather than surface learners highly motivated and committed equipped with a range of transferable skills capable of self criticism and evaluation fairly and reliably assessed active and reactive participants in the learning process Outcomes of Assessment

4. Learning & Teaching Model – first response Aims and objectives Teaching and learning arrangements Assessment

5. Learning & Teaching Model at UniSA Aims and objectives Teaching and learning arrangements Assessment Aims and objectives Teaching and learning arrangements Assessment

6. Rethinking assessment – Constructive Alignment Aims and objectives Teaching and learning arrangements Assessment Refer to GQs/ professional competencies that the course develops These support students to achieve assessment and learning outcomes Assessment is shaped around course objectives. Then students who are successful in assessment meet objectives Biggs & Tang, 2007

7. Subheading when required 10 principles of effective assessment 1.Help students learn 2.Consistency with objectives of the course 3.Variety of assessment allows for broad range of learning outcomes 4.Clarify the expectations in an assessment 5.Assessment criteria should be transparent and justifiable

8. 6.Ensure timely feedback 7.Too much assessment can be counterproductive 8.Countering plagiarism starts with designing the assessment task 9.Group assessment needs careful planning and structuring 10.Systematic monitoring of assessment results helps to identify areas where the curriculum needs improvement

9. Subheading when required What are the principles that underlie effective assessment? Assessment should be used for both formative and summative purposes Good assessment requires clear articulation of purpose, requirements, standards and criteria Good assessment practice allows students to receive timely feedback on their learning Assessment should be valid, reliable and consistent Good assessment practices should promote ethical conduct UniSA Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual, 1.1:

10. Called the ‘standards model’ in Biggs and Tang, 2007, where assessment is designed to assess changes in performance as a result of learning Students measured against a particular standard Determining student grades by comparing achievements with clearly stated criteria for learning outcomes Grades not determined by performance of other students What are Criterion-Referenced Assessment Practices?

11. Behavioural rubrics Specify the overall task Specify exactly what criteria the task is assessed on (this mirrors the competencies you are trying to impart) Describe very clearly what behaviours will result in a good grade, and a poor grade

12. Key assignment criteria Not good enough (F2-F1) Reasonable, could have been better (P2) Quite Good (P1)Good (C) Very good / excellent (D-HD) Knowledge Essay shows a limited understanding of the brand equity literature and key concepts Essay shows some understanding of the brand equity literature and key concepts Essay shows a reasonable understanding of the brand equity literature and key concepts Essay shows a good understanding of the brand equity literature and key concepts Essay shows excellent understanding of brand equity literature and key concepts Thinking skills Arguments show a limited extent of logic, and few convincing points are made Arguments are logical to a fair extent, some points made are convincing Arguments are mostly logical, points made are generally convincing Majority of arguments are logical, points made are mostly convincing Arguments are entirely logical and points made are convincing throughout Communication skills Essay has numerous typographical or grammar / expression errors. Understandable to an extent. Referencing is not correct in many cases. Essay has a number of typographical or grammar / expression errors. Moderately easy to understand. Referencing has some inaccuracies. Essay has few typographical or grammar / expression errors. Reasonably easy to understand. Referencing is almost all correct. Essay is almost free of typographical or grammar / expression errors. Easy to understand. Referencing is correct throughout. Essay has no typographical or grammar / expression errors. Very easy to understand. Referencing is correct throughout. Behavioural rubric example- essay

13. Key Assignment criteria Not good enough (F1-F2). Needs considerable improvement. Moderately good effort, lot of room for improvement (P2) Good effort, with some areas for improvement (P1) Very good (C) Excellent, superior (D-HD) Explain how the situation in the article relates to a topic in this course 35% Describes the situation in the article only, with some limited clarity. Does not relate the article to a topic in the course. Describes the situation in the article with limited clarity. Attempts to relate the article to course content with a low degree of clarity. Describes the situation in the article reasonably clearly. Relates the situation to course content with a moderate degree of clarity. Clearly explains how the situation in the article relates to a topic in this course. Very clearly explains how the situation in the article relates to a topic in this course and shows superior insight Comparison of what the company is doing to the course content, including supporting arguments. 35% Company actions are discussed in isolation from theory in the text or lecture content Makes some limited attempt to discuss company actions in the context of theories / concepts in the course Company actions are discussed with some link made to course content, and some supporting argument. Company actions discussed with good links to course content, and a supporting argument is successfully made. Makes an informed comparison of what the company is doing, to the theories provided in the text or lecture content, including excellent supporting arguments Logical planning and sequence and clarity of expression 10% The components of the essay do not follow a logical sequence. Arguments have only very limited clarity. Some logical structure is exhibited. Arguments have a limited degree of clarity. A degree of logical sequence is exhibited. Arguments are clear to a large extent. Sequence is quite logical. Arguments are expressed clearly. Components of the essay follow a logical sequence. Expression is crystal- clear. Behavioural rubric example- case study

14. CriteriaUnsatisfactory (Fail) Needs improvement (P2-P1) Good (C)Very good (D-HD) Introduction to presentation The presentation did not incorporate a clear introduction to what was going to be talked about. The presentation had some form of introduction but it was not particularly clear The presentation had a reasonably good introduction but it could have been better in terms of clarity and impact. The presentation did incorporate a very clear introduction to what was going to be talked about. Clarity Students did not speak clearly and audibly for the majority of the presentation There were significant portions of the presentation in which the presentation did not feature clear and audible speech. For most of the presentation, students spoke clearly. There were a couple of points where clarity of speech or audibility could have been improved. Students spoke clearly, it was easy to hear them and understand the points made. Slide quality Most or all slides were poorly formatted, hard to read, and / or had errors. A number of slides either had too much text, too small text, unclear points, poorly presented tables or graphs Slides were reasonably well constructed but were not all clear, or some slides showed shortcomings in appearance or clarity. Slides were easy to read, used appropriate amount of text, readable size text. If graphs or tables were used they were easy to comprehend Behavioural rubric example- presentation

15. Engaging students with assessment Dr Chris Rust, Oxford-Brookes University Social-constructivist view of assessment The social-constructivist view of learning argues that knowledge is shaped and evolves through increasing participation within different communities of practice The social-constructivist process model of assessment argues that students should be actively engaged with every stage of the assessment process in order that they truly understand the requirements of the process, and the criteria and standards being applied, and should subsequently produce better work (Rust, C., O’Donovan, B., & Price, M., 2005)

16. Active engagement with feedback Explicit Criteria Completion and submission of work Students Active engagement with criteria Dr Chris Rust, Oxford-Brookes University

17. Self-assessment Dr Chris Rust, Oxford Brookes University Strengths of this piece of work Weaknesses in this piece of work How this work could be improved The grade it deserves is What I would like comments on

18. UniSA professional development and learning advice – contact Learning & Teaching UnitLearning & Teaching Unit 2008 ATN Assessment Conference 2008 ATN Assessment Conference – includes keynote presentations by John Biggs and Catherine Tang & Sally Brown, 5 big ideas on assessment by Phil Race and constructive alignment activities by Catherine Tang plus slides of other presenters Computer Aided Feedback & Assessment System AUTC project – strategically repositioning student assessmentAUTC project – strategically repositioning student assessment: Higher Education Academy – UK Top ten tips on assessment sheets – University of Kent resources based on leading research in this area Stevens, D.D., & Levi, A.J (2005). Introduction to Rubrics. Virginia, USA: Stylus Publishing Further resources and support