The
focus of assessment is, quite rightly on the students' needs and
point of view. The assessment process can also be a rich,
under-used, source of information about student learning and the
capacity of the course or unit to meet those needs. Particularly
when the information is aggregated, student results can point to gaps
in delivery, areas where more resources are required or skills need
more practice. This we already do intuitively and in an ad hoc way,
but the difficulty is in finding an efficient way to record and share
that feedback, particularly across different units of study in a
course.
One
of the confusing things about the way we use the terms ’feedback'
and ’evaluation' is that they apply both to student assessment and
to program review. We give them feedback on their work and evaluate
whether they have satisfied the learning outcomes of their course or
unit. We could try to invent a new nomenclature to discuss the
course or unit evaluation context but it may be better to recognise
that there is an overlap, and that both take place within a cycle of
communication and multiple feedback loops by which we and our
students constantly improve.
Aggregating
this feedback is a challenge, as it is with many forms of feedback
that are harvested at the unit level there is no easy forum for
sharing information and in section 12 we look at the concept of
course reflection generally. If you have mapped unit and course
outcomes this process can be somewhat easier as there is a common
language for discussing how objectives are staged horizontally across
different units in a year level, vertically across the years of the
program and unified by course learning outcomes measured through
assessment. Academic commentators have discussed the unbundling of
the curriculum and as we develop more flexible approaches to learning
we may find that we focus less on individual units of study and more
on how individual capabilities are improved, measured and
credentialised across the entire course.
Formative
assessment tasks can be
very useful in providing feedback to students on what their
priorities should be but also to the teacher in identifying areas
that need to be focussed on for all students. The benefit of purely
formative assessment tasks is that all participants gain effective
feedback without students facing the risk of a blemish on their
record. Many flipped classrooms use pre-class formative tests to
establish baseline knowledge before in-class activities commence,
giving feedback to students and staff.
Feedback
from formative assessment not only points to gaps in learning but can
also be effective in understand what areas are well established and
do not require revisiting before the entire class (although some
students may need individual help). Student engagement is a key
issue and many students are bored by a lack of challenge in class
work, especially where they feel that they are lingering on material
that they already understand. Formative assessment lets the teacher
know where they can progress and perhaps even skip unnecessary
reiteration. Learners who are struggling can be identified for
personal attention, rather than disengaging the rest of the class.
Some
of these formative assessments benefit from automation, such as the
use of an on-line quiz which is low-stress for the student, can be
conducted in or outside class hours and can quickly aggregate data.
As long as students obtain effective feedback from the process, it
can be a very efficient way to quickly check baseline knowledge or
understanding of class resources. Automated formative assessment
does not have to be electronic, a teacher can provide answer guides
as well as peer and self-assessment opportunities.
The
Socratic Method is not as popular as it once was, but it can be yet
another way to derive formative feedback for students and for the
unit. Where students are asked to answer questions during class time
it may be easier for a teacher to find out more information about the
degree of knowledge the student has from responses given, by their
body language and expression and by asking further questions. This
can attain much richer and detailed knowledge than an automated quiz,
but it may be more difficult to document the information gained in
the middle of Socratic class.
Moderation
processes are also an opportunity for course feedback as a moderator
may be able to more clearly see patterns and common issues across a
group of students. It is important to express this aspect of
feedback to moderators before they commence their duties, so they can
bear it in mind throughout their process. Feedback does not have
cover an entire unit or even the entire scope of an assessment item,
it can be directed at particular hot issues which will help the
moderator to focus their attention.
Most
academics are facing the prospect of eking more success out of
dwindling resources so any opportunity to get multiple forms of
benefit from a single activity should be explored. The focus of
assessment should not waver from student learning but the time and
effort expended in creating effective assessment items can also be
used to provide feedback on how well the unit is addressing student
learning needs and to broadly understand how students are progressing
through the entire course.
Methods
- Analysis of assessment
- Analysis of baseline knowledge
- Assessors' and moderators' feedback
Key
Points
- Assessment is a useful juncture to gain more information about student learning and to aggregate the big picture of how the whole class is progressing and common issues that require unit modification.
- Formative assessment is a useful diagnostic not just of student progress but also in the success of the learning design in assisting with that progress.
- It is a complex, but useful exercise, to develop an understanding of student capabilities across and entire course by tracking assessment items in different units.
- Pattern recognition is a key part of handling large amounts of data and it is crucial that an evaluation process does not get bogged down in the detail of assessment data, but keeps focussed on broad cross-unit or cross-course issues.
- The moderation process can provide useful feedback and it is best to orientate the moderator toward specific issues of concern rather than expecting them to be able to provide information on the entire unit.
Analysis of Assessment
In a nutshell:
Examination of student assessment pieces for overall patterns and information about unit improvement. Frequently found errors may best be remedied through development of unit resources rather than just focussing on individual feedback to students.
Example Questions:
What areas do students need more help with?
If misconceptions are common, is there something in unit materials that contributes?
Reporting:
Informal generally but results should be shared among a unit team.
Pros:
Can diagnose problems before final assessment is submitted and can improve unit materials for future iterations.
Cons:
While common flaws can be identified it may be difficult to identify the precise cause.
Caution:
Often timelines are too tight for effective analysis and time must be made within a program to reflect on assessment in this way.
Analysis of baseline knowledge
In a nutshell:
Formative or summative tests can be used to determine the knowledge that students possess before they undertake a class activity, this can examine background knowledge or can be used to determine if students have done and understood preparative work, very useful in the flipped classroom. Results provide not only feedback on what preparation the students have done but also how well unit resources have prepared them.
Example Questions:
Do the students understand this week's readings? (through a comprehension test)
Are the students ready for the next assessment item?
Reporting:
Informal, within the unit team.
Pros:
Provides timely feedback on student learning and helps with creation of further resources.
Cons:
Can be time consuming to prepare.
Caution:
Where students are disengaged it can be difficult to separate failure to
prepare from
problems with the preparatory materials.
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