developing innovative assessment

© University of South Wales

Developing Innovative Assessment - Taking new approaches to assessment

Richard Oelmann

CELT SeminarCardiff 25/4/16

Treforest 26/4/16


Richard Oelmann

• Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

• Senior Learning Technologist

• Previously – taught on Primary Initial Teacher Training

• Previously – Deputy Head Teacher


CELT Assessment Seminars

● Assessment FOR Learning● Delivering Effective Feedback● Achieving Constructive Alignment● Developing Innovative Assessment

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Seminar Summary

“Innovative Assessment could be any form of assessment which involves the application of a new technique or method….however, innovative assessment has come to mean more than that; it is a term we use which encompasses a whole range of different techniques and methods, not all of which are new inventions. What unites them is a common goal; to improve the quality of student learning”

(Mowl 2006, pg2)

This session will look at what is meant by ‘Innovative Assessment’ and how we can take new approaches to Assessment into our own teaching.


How and why is assessment changing?

• Declining resources• Students have changed• Changing nature of society• Employer contribution (need for employability skills)• People learn what they want to learn and in different ways.


Innovative assessment could be any form of assessment which involves the application of a new technique or method.

(Mowl, 2005)

Innovative assessment is also about ‘the redistribution of educational power' when assessment becomes not just something which is 'done to' learners but also 'done with' and 'done by' learners

(Harris and Bell, 1990).

What is Innovative Assessment?


Innovative assessment is not just some trendy, new technique dreamt-up purely to save on the amount of time teachers spend on marking, it is a genuine attempt to improve the quality of learning in higher education.

(Mowl, 2005)

Innovative assessment aims to produce a more fertile learning environment and a more rewarding learning experience for all teachers and students.

What is Innovative Assessment?


Innovative Assessment aims to produce students who are...

deep rather than surface learners highly motivated and committed enterprising 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, capable of 'creative dissent' rather than simply passive, uncritical recipients of other people's knowledge.

(Cowan,2006)


Constructive Alignment

All components of the Learning Environment support each other

(Biggs 1999)

Assessments

Teaching andLearningActivities

LearningObjectives


Assessment FOR Learning

• Authentic assessment – engaging, meaningful assessment tasks• Students developing as learners – effective attributes and skills to self-assess and evaluate their own learning• Informal feedback – e.g. in-class group discussions, peer review• Formal feedback – range of forms of feedback, used at a number of stages• Practice, rehearsal – opportunities to learn practice• Formative and summative – appropriate balancing of these two types of assessment

(Sambell et al 2013)


A consensus in the field


Example Developing a Glossary

• Social work module: observations of practice• Develop a Glossary as an assessment

– Identified academic terms, writing definitions, indicating sources

– Personal, Illustrative evidence of relevance of term (e.g. from practice observations, peer discussion)

• Encouraging research reading, learning to write concisely• Looking at different theoretical perspectives, linking theory to practice

Adapted from Sambell et al (2013, p18)


Example: problems in the work place

• Business studies module looking at corporate management• Assessment related to workplace improvement• Managers from organisations: talks on workplace problems

– Students suggesting solutions through presenting these

– Posters to disseminate ideas for workplace improvement

Adapted from Sambell et al (2013, p22)


Student Led Learning Student Led Assessment

Presented at Westminster Forum 2015• Induction lecture – remaining allocated course

time all in the form of optional seminars and face-face support

• All course materials provided up front• Student gets to decide when to undertake the

assessment• Student gets to revisit assessment process

Good enoughKeep Going – get highest gradeGot to pass


Forms of Assessment


Activity: Group Discussion

Innovative Assessment…Pandora’s Box Or Cornucopia?

●Soft option - Less rigorous – surface approach

●Too demanding – Unreasonable pressure – too varied

●Reliability – external/self/peer involvement – fair/subjective

●Scale – workload●Too much feedback – end up

doing the work for them●Workplace skills are a

distraction from academic thinking

●Assess broader range of skills – fairer/less discriminatory

●More reliable●Positive approach●Formative – motivation,

impacts student learning●Varied●Rounded skills => greater

employability●Realistic and relevant●Deep approach to learning


Activity: Group Discussion

Innovative Assessment…

Pandora’s Box Or Cornucopia?

https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/static/5007/arpdf/academy/redguide17.pdf


Looking at Assessment Literacy


What is Assessment Literacy?

•A grasp of assessment in relation to learning•An understanding of assessment

– Principles of valid assessment– Terminology

•The meaning of assessment criteria and standards•Self and peer assessment skills•Using appropriate approaches or techniques for assessment tasks

Price et al (2012)


Discussion: Integrating Assessment Literacy

• In what ways could assessment literacy be integrated?

– An understanding of assessment– The meaning of assessment criteria and standards– Self and peer assessment skills– Using appropriate approaches or techniques for

assessment tasks


The Assessment Compact

Based on http://www.brookes.ac.uk/aske/BrookesACompact/


Pause for Final Though

Insights, Reflections, ActionsWhat changes would you

make?

developing innovative assessment

Education