Diversity in Level 1 GEES Assessment: moving from less of more to more of less Tim Stott Professor of Physical Geography & Outdoor Education Faculty of Education, Community & Leisure, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK. Prof Tim Stott [email protected]Stott : Diversity in Level 1 Assessment at Liverpool JMU
25
Embed
Diversity in Level 1 GEES Assessment: moving from less of more to more of less Tim Stott Professor of Physical Geography & Outdoor Education Faculty of.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Diversity in Level 1 GEES Assessment: moving from less of
more to more of less
Tim Stott
Professor of Physical Geography & Outdoor Education
Faculty of Education, Community & Leisure,
Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
Prof Tim Stott [email protected] Stott : Diversity in Level 1 Assessment at Liverpool JMU
Stott : Diversity in Level 1 Assessment at Liverpool JMU
Assessment: Background
• For several decades it has been known that what influences students’ learning most is not the teaching but the assessment (e.g. Miller and Parlett, 1974).
• Students have been described as ‘strategic learners’ who are assessment-led or ‘driven by assessment’.
• Increased pressure on students’ time may be one reason why students become assessment focussed (Gibbs, 1992).
• Derek Rowntree stated that “if we wish to discover the truth about an educational system, we must first look to its assessment procedures”. (Rowntree, 1987, p1).
Stott : Diversity in Level 1 Assessment at Liverpool JMU
Conclusions
• Adding extra 2-3 ‘new’ assessment items worth 5-10% reduces the weighting of existing items so spreading the influence of individual assessment items on the final module total: ‘more of less’
• The new practical worksheet assessment seemed to work; how best to deploy wikis needs further thought (ongoing LJMU project)
• Examination of students’ ranks by quartiles showed the expected pattern for: exam; wiki; field report; weather project BUT the 3rd quartile of students PERFORMED BETTER than the 2nd quartile in on-line test; worksheets; rocks teaching resource in 2008 BUT in weather report; field report and wiki in 2009 ?
• Are assessment items which disrupt the expected pattern good ?
Stott : Diversity in Level 1 Assessment at Liverpool JMU
Discussion points arising
• The sequence of submission dates is important: some students start off eagerly, and fade away; others peak last minute
• Feedback: good practice to give formative feedback early in the module, but if summative provisional marks are given students can work out that they don’t need to attempt later assessments to PASS the module
• Are items worth of 5%, 10% taken seriously ? High number of non-submissions in 5% wiki submitted near end of module
• Does sample marking make students submit all items ? Do students feel cheated if their work is not marked ?
• University regulations: Level 1 just need to pass (40%)
• BUT if students are athletes training for a marathon (with the race in Level 3) should they be allowed to ‘opt out of training’ for year 1 ?
Stott : Diversity in Level 1 Assessment at Liverpool JMU
References
Gibbs, G. (1992) Assessing More Students. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Development. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Development.
Gibbs, G. (1999). Using assessment strategically to change the way students learn, in Brown, S. and Glasner, A. (eds) Assessment Matters in Higher Education, Buckingham: SRHE: Open University Press.
Miller, C.M.I. & Parlett, M. (1974) Up to the mark: A study of the examination game. Guildford: Society for Research into Higher Education.
Stott, T.A., Meers, PM (2002) Using BlackBoard VLE to Support Referral Students at JMU, LJMU Internal Report to Learning Development Unit.
Stott, T. A. (2006) Evaluation of the Use of Supporting Diagrams and Video Clips in Blackboard’s on-line assessment tests. Poster presented at 1st Pedagogical Research in Higher Education (PRHE) conference, ‘Pedagogical Research: enhancing student success’, 2-3 May 2006, Liverpool Hope University
Taras, M. (2001) The use of tutor feedback and student self-assessment in summative assessment: towards transparency for students and for tutors. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 26, 6, pp 605-614.
Yorke, M. (2001). Formative assessment and its relevance to retention. Higher Education Research and Development 20 (2), 115-126.