Developing Conceptual Understanding Through Alternative Assessment

Developing conceptual understanding through alternative assessment

k.j.haxton@keele.ac.uk@kjhaxton

January 2016

• 65% exam (paper split between two topics)• 35% coursework– 20% assessed problems (with formative

opportunity)– 15% infographic & annotated bibliography• 10% infographic, 5% effort based grades around peer

assessment

New 3rd Year (Level 6) Module

‘Common’ Assessment

Alternatives

Assessed Problems (direct link to final exam)

Writing exam style questions and model answersPeerWise (authoring MCQs and answering/improving MCQs from peers)

EssayLab Report

wiki, compiled journal edition, ‘news and views’ article, textbook entry

Presentation Video presentation, screencast, interview

Poster Infographic

Assessment takes place: - tutor assessment

Students can reflect on own work and grades, consider areas for

future improvement or for immediate action

issue task to students,

assessment guidelines,

marking criteria, sample work

students read assessment

guidelines/marking criteria

Students prepare

coursework

Students review their work against

the assessment

guidelines and edit if required

Submit Work

Self and Peer AssessmentStudents reflect on own work

and that of others, consider areas for future improvement or for

immediate action

issue task to students,

assessment guidelines,

marking criteria,

sample work

students read

assessment guidelines/m

arking criteria

Carry out peer

assessment of sample

work (incentive)

Students prepare

coursework

Students review their work against the assessment

guidelines and edit if required

Submit Work

Tutor AssessmentIn isolation from Self and Peer

Assessment

need/want to go beyond algorithmic ability and memorisation of ‘stuff’

Concept: Carl Wieman (paraphrased)An idea that can be applied in multiple contexts to explain and/or predict outcomes

Conceptual Understanding

Infographics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly. They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends.

Infographics“A means of condensing large amounts of information into a form more easily absorbed by the reader” (roughly adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic)

- excellent revision tools But what is the benefit of a student creating an infographic?

Infographic Considerations

Advantages Disadvantages

What are they? becoming more popular so better ‘understood’

often confused with posters

Quantity/quality of information presented

focus on single concept or limited data set

requires substantial skill at sifting information

some students struggle to clearly define concept

Referencing and Sources (annotated biblography)

check what information came from each source

some topics ‘harder’ to research than others

Communication skills required

develops graphic design skills

requires reasonable graphic design skills

Online infographic generators

Allow focus on content not style

Fewer communication skills developed

Student Feedback“I feel the infographic style of assessment should be added earlier into the course! They are becoming a more popular way of conveying information and it is a good skill to have. They make things easier to understand and are a bit more fun. I would consider using them as a revision tool. Personally, I love Compound Interest and follow them on all social media so I can look at the infographics they produce regularly.”

Infographics: ConsiderationsNeed a series of concepts/ideas equal in complexity• if students pick their own, they will be strategicNeed to clearly articulate what is required

Graphics• require the students to draw their own wherever possible

Annotated Bibliography is superior to a simple reference list• requires justification for each source used• minimum number of journal articles• limit website use

1 2 3 440

50

60

70

80

90

100

Box Plot – average tutor marks in 15/16 for 4 different concepts

Series1 Box Mean line

Assessment CriteriaEasy Bits: ‘presentational quality’ & following the rules

Hard Bits: addressing the concept, dealing with extraneous information

Peer Assessment

Peer Assessment Type Advantages Drawbacks

Assigning mark using mark scheme/assessment criteria

Engagement with mark scheme required

Difficult to differentiateOften leads to very high marks

Feedback only More constructive for recipients/encourages reflection

very difficult for students to be critical of peers

Adaptive Comparative Judgment – ranking a subset of the work

Engagement with assessment guidelines and criteria

Broadly accurate but difficult to differentiate

(Adaptive) Comparative Judgment

1 2 3 4 5

Adapted from https://nomoremarking.com/

6

Which number was this?

Which is darker?

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 50

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.54

4.55

Tutor Rank (based on number grade)

Stud

ent R

ank

(bae

d on

av-

erag

e of

indi

vidu

al ra

nks)

Sample Infographic CJ

CJ of Concept 1

Complete Infographic on

Concept 2

CJ of Concept 2 (Peer

Assessment)

Assign Grade to own work

Intervention: Define

Concepts

Ranking the infographics before making my own helped me understand the assessment criteria better.

I do not understand the difference between a poster and an infographic

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

agree neutral disagree

I found it hard to find scientific journal articles on my concept.

I found several references to illustrate points but did not read the referenced source (e.g. journal article, textbook section) fully.

I understand how to apply the Vancouver reference format consistently.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

agree neutral disagree

Marking (assigning a grade) the infographics would have been easier than ranking them.

Ranking the infographics before making my own helped me understand the assessment criteria better.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

agree neutral disagree

6.16.1

30.3

9.1

39.4

9.1 Write an exam style question with full model answer

Screencast or Video presen-tation

Poster

Oral Presentation (in person)

Infographic

Essay

No More Marking: https://nomoremarking.com/Piktochart: http://piktochart.com/Compound Interest: https://twitter.com/compoundchemAcknowledgements: 3rd Year CHE-30038 students, Dr James Gaynor

Useful Links, Acknowledgements, Questions