Transcript Assessment- driven Learning

Assessment Driven
Learning
Jean Cook
[email protected]
www.calmat.gcal.ac.uk
Feb 5 2004
using assessment to motivate
learning. QAA
Outline
 What
are we doing when we assess?
 What is Assessment Driven Learning?
 How do we operate?
 What are the benefits to the student?
 Are there any benefits to the tutor?
 Does it improve pass rates?
 Is it cost effective?
What should we be doing when we
assess?

Enabling students get a measure of their
achievement.
 Giving feedback to teachers on effectiveness.
 Providing statistics for programme boards.

Motivating students to engage in the learning.
 Providing feedback so that they can improve and
remedy their deficiencies.
 Helping them consolidate their learning.
What should we be doing when we
assess?

Enabling students get a measure of their achievement.


Giving feedback to teachers on effectiveness.


Great!
Providing feedback so that they can improve and remedy
their deficiencies.


usually when it is too late for that group of students
Providing statistics for programme boards.


often by means of a final exam.
this won’t happen with just a final exam!
Helping them consolidate their learning.

best done as the module progresses rather than at the end.
What is Assessment Driven
Learning (ADL)?


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Reduced lecture time, more tutorials.
Staged assessments, with firm deadlines for
completion of assessments.
Immediate feedback to students on their
progress.
Assessment as part of the learning-not the final
verdict for the student.
Staff get feedback when they can use it!
 -and they still get results for Programme Boards.
Context

This describes what has been done by the
Mathematics Division of Glasgow Caledonian
University, in response to the SHEFC
Progression and Retention initiative.
 The students are mainly first year students,
studying a ‘Mathematics’ module.
 This implementation relies heavily on CAL
software to assist the delivery of the learning
material and the assessment.
CALMAT Mathematics courseware

Learning materials with integrated tutorials and assessments

Separate tutorial and assessment system

Management system

Records Controller: both student and tutor use this to view
progress.

Designer for creating html pages with links to CALMAT
components

Player for delivery of the Designer’s html pages

Diagnostic testing facility

For more details visit www.calmat.gcal.ac.uk
How we operate
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Two lectures and three tutorials each week.

The tutorials are help in computer labs.
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Tutor groups are limited to 20 students.
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Timetable is carefully structured.
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Restricted number of tutors.
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10 computer based assessments in the last tutorial in
weeks 2-6 and 8-12.
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Specified CAL lessons to complete.
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Exemption given if an average of 70% is achieved.
Why did we switch to ADL?
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We are now teaching a different student body

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Increase in student numbers from 6% to almost 50%.
Most seem to need encouraging to study.
More time in PT work than spent studying.
Lectures now satisfy a handful of students and
possibly the lecturer.
We are under pressure to improve pass rates
and have already pared down syllabuses to
essentials already.

Does this sound familiar?
More (mainly maths) reasons to
switch to ADL?

Most students need to be encouraged to enjoy
their first year maths module!

We really ought to be helping students study the
whole syllabus, particularly in first year
mathematics.

We were concerned how little some of our
students had to know to pass a module!

If you set 8 questions on 100% of syllabus and they
have to answer 5(63%)
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Need 40% to pass which implies a student may know only 25%
of the syllabus.
If you set 5 questions on 100% of syllabus and they
have to answer 3(60%)
• Need 40% to pass which implies a student may know only
24% of the syllabus.
Benefits to the student

Quality feedback and help from week 1.
 The exemption provides motivation.
 The software is widely available, and very
supportive.

What the students say:
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Prefer weekly tests, keeps momentum and
requirement for continuous work going.
Did not feel they needed the lectures: but staff not
willing to give them up!
Would have liked complete coverage of content with
CAL lessons.
General satisfaction with module.
Benefits to the tutor
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Weekly information on student progress.
Ability to target help.
Reduced marking.
Satisfaction when students do well.

What the staff say:
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If the students had worked as hard in previous years, they would
have passed!
It was hard work, despite the use of computers to deliver and
mark tests.
I am sure the students have learnt more than they did in previous
years.
Progression Statistics
start
revised
Exempt
Pass
Pass
%
%
%
roll
diet1
diet2
exempt
diet1
diet2
99/00
50
47
37
4
79
87
00/01
40
37
29
4
78
89
01/02
59
57
42
11
0
74
93
93
02/03
38
34
24
5
0
71
85
85
99/00
107
96
66
5
69
74
00/01
148
125
74
14
59
71
01/02
133
117
97
5
0
83
87
87
02/03
143
128
109
0
4
85
85
88
99/00
79
48
3
61
65
00/01
78
54
10
69
82
01/02
151
141
95
21
3
67
82
84
02/03
108
100
91
2
1
91
93
94
Summary of results
 In
general, 2nd diet pass rates were
achieved at the first diet.
 The effect of not having to resit a
mathematics module would, no doubt,
contribute to improving the progression
rates for the programmes as a whole.
Is ADL cost effective?
 Savings


 In
are due to
More students progressing to year 2.
Staff time saved in marking exam papers.
the first year of operation, the extra fee
income and staff time saved in marking
examination papers is estimated at over
£60K. This assumes 2001-2 intakes and
2000-1 pass rates, and a lecture replaced
by several small tutorial groups.
To summarise
 Assessment
Driven Learning makes
assessment a part of the learning process.
 Students are motivated by the exemption.
 Second diet pass rates are achieved at the
first diet.
 Tutors gain satisfaction from seeing
students do well.
 It is cost effective.
“Assessment methods and requirements
probably have a greater influence on how
and what students learn than any other
single factor. This influence may well be of
greater importance than the impact of the
teaching materials.” (Boud 1988)