Designing Assessment Methods

What our intentions as teachers? To turn out students who: Gain knowledge Can apply their knowledge Can make sense of their knowledge Can make sense of all other things they may encounter Can make sense of themselves OUR AIM TO IMPROVE LEARNING

To improve learning “Whether we think ourselves, lectures, or teachers, or facilitators of learning, the most important thing we do for our students is to assess their work”. Phil Race (2003) ‘Designing assessment to improve learning’

Assessment Assessment is a measure of learning, at a given point in time. Relevant skills, knowledge and/or attributes can be measured towards a subject or qualification. We need to know how well our students are progressing and to plan for further teaching and assessment. We could design: Formal – observations, test, examinations Informal – oral questioning or quizzes Assessment planning must be SMART

Assessment requires two things: evidence & standards. for example traditional exams – project based work, worksheets. Standard:- Absolute criterion - can this person add 1+2 Performance relative - How does this person compare with others in the group/cohorts Previous performance. – can this person achieve on this course and do better than when they started.

Why , when and what do we assess? to certificate their achievements to diagnose their learning needs initial assessment summative assessment WHY? WHEN to select them for the next educational stage formative and plenary assessment promote deep learning encourage, motive develop, measure and evidence PURPOSE improve learning WHAT key skills Opportunity for feedback competence Evaluation and reflection underpinning knowledge enable autonomy

Value & Quality of Assessment Valid, reliable and transparent: Measuring that which we really intend to measure. What can the student actually do with the knowledge they have gained. Assessments must be fair and consistent. All work should be assessed at the same standards. There should be no hidden agendas. The students should know what are the aims and where the goals post are. External viewers should see clear links between intended outcomes and assessment criteria.

WHAT WHY HOW What does a student already know What knowledge has our student acquired How does a student apply this knowledge Can the student put into practise the information and data processed Has the student worked co operatively with other students The students innovation and creativity Has the student develop the oral skills How well did they interact How data and information has been processed How effective was the learning Determine fitness for entry onto the course We need to measure and record learning Promote deep learning Motivate students Provide students with opportunity for informed choices Develop and encourage active learning Encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning. To help students to learn from their mistakes or difficulties. Provide accurate statistics for our organisations Reflect and evaluate our own teaching Develop our lessons. To guide improvement. Diagnostics Medium – video / audio ICT – Presentations Essays Feedback Reviews 1:1 discussions Q&A Plenary Worksheets Group work Peer work Performance assessment Quiz Final exams Mid term papers

Bibliography Gravells A & Simpson S (2010) ‘Planning and enabling learning’ Gray, Griffin & Nasta ( 2000) ‘Training to teach’ Petty G( 2001)‘Teaching Today’ Race P (2003) ‘Designing assessment to improve learning’ Rogers A (2002) ‘Teaching Adults’