Transcript Powerpoint presentation - McAdam, McCulloch and Dickson

Assessment is for Learning: how mixed modes of assessment
support first year student learning on the B Ed (Hons) programme
Julie McAdam; Margaret McCulloch; Beth Dickson
24th April 2009
The first year experience across the disciplines
• Troublesome knowledge is knowledge that is ‘alien’,
or counter-intuitive or even intellectually absurd at
face value.’ (Perkins, 1999)
• ‘Getting students to reverse their intuitive
understandings can be troublesome, as the reversal
can involve an emotional reaction (Cousins, 2006)
• Disjunction – retreat, temporising, avoidance,
engagement (Savin-Badin, 2004, 2006)
• Liminal states – learning is affective and cognitive
and can lead to shifts in identity, which in turn can feel
uncomfortable. (Meyers and Land, 2003)
Research on Assessment
• Assessment for learning; as well as of learning
(Ramsden 2003; Black and Wiliams 1998)
• Regular, high-quality feedback is associated with
student success (Nicol 2009:14)
• Formative assessment links course aims to
summative assessment (Yorke 2005 in Nicol 2009:16)
• For students assessment delineates the curriculum
(Ramsden 2003:182)
• Different modes of assessment provide a richer
picture of student learning (Ramsden 2003: 185)
Emerging Pedagogy – supporting students through disjunction
• Conceptual content vs. processes of learning
• Assessment is for Learning
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Formative assessment in year one
Course design, lecture/seminar patterns
Portfolio compilation and interviews
Spaces for discussion on Moodle
Class rep and meetings process
Course evaluations
Enquiry led learning
Overview
Learning in the
field and on the
course
Task one
Annotated map
Task two
Personal
reflection
Task three
Reflection on a
learning
conversation
Task four
Task five
Group
presentation
Glossary of
terms
Summative
essay plus
extracts from
the portfolio
Portfolio health
check
Constructing a formative assessment task
1.
2.
3.
4.
State learning outcomes or objectives
Describe the task
Lay out the procedure with timelines
Cross reference to criteria
Examples
Summing Up
For staff
• Assessment is an integral part of the
learning and teaching cycle
• It is complex to construct
For students
• It reduces the fear factor
• It promotes self directed learning