Assessment in HE Webinar 4

Review of Topic 3

• Balance of information vs content• Balance of information vs creativity• Timing and format of information distribution• Using peer review to provide support and encouragement• Staging assessments • Ground-rules around assessment (part of information

decision-making?)

Key issues from discussions

Image by Sepehr_Ehsani on Flickr (cc licensed)

Introduction to Topic 4Question: What should marking criteria look like and how should we use them?

Activity 1The basic anatomy of an ant?

Acknowledgement:

Based on Phil Race’s Cat Activity

Learning Outcome

On completion of the activity the students should be able to draw an anatomically correct diagram of an ant.

Assessed Task – Draw an anatomically correct diagram of an ant

Student Submission 1 – Criteria 1Based on your knowledge of ants give this work a mark out of 9 points based on the following criteria

Category Mark

Most Excellent 9

Excellent 8

Very good 7

Good 6

OK 5

Poor 4

Very Poor 3

Poor 2

Shoddy 1

Abysmal 0

Enter your mark into the Criteria 1 Poll on the left

Student Submission 2 - Assessment Criteria 2

Characteristic Score

Total 9

Has three main body parts 3

Has six (three pairs) of jointed legs

2

Legs joined to body at the alitrunk

1

Has pair of compound eyes 1

Has a pair of antennae 1

Has a pair of mandibles 1

Enter your mark into the Criteria 2 Poll on the left

Student Submission 2 Assessment Criteria 3

Criteria 3 3 marks 2 marks 1 mark 0 marks

Realism Looks like a real ant sitting on the paper.

Anatomically correct and drawn in perspective.

Looks like an ant but is more cartoon like than realistic.

Has the main anatomical features but does not look realistic.

Is basically ant like in shape but not at all realistic.

Anatomically inaccurate and/or incomplete.

Does not look like an ant

Creativity An original and unique interpretation of a ant

Competently drawn but lacks artistic prowess and originality

Poorly drawn functional representation of an ant

Does not look like a ant

Standard Ant Better than the standard ant

As good as the standard ant

Not as good as the standard ant

Does not look like an ant

Maximum mark = 9

The standard ant

Enter your mark into the Criteria 3 Poll on the left

Assessment Criteria 1

Characteristic Score

Total 9

Has three main body parts 3

Has six (three pairs) of jointed legs 2

Legs joined to body at the alitrunk 1

Has pair of compound eyes 1

Has a pair of antennae 1

Has a pair of mandibles 1

Marking criteria - QUB• Very generic grade descriptors for each level

undergraduate study and a set for postgraduate taught against % bands

Marking criteria - QUB• Local practice varies – some use the QUB descriptors,

some have more specific marking criteria, some have generalised but subject specific, others are clearly aligned to the learning outcomes – rarely are these then differentiated by standard

• Whatever approach is taken – do students understand either the generic grade descriptors or the marking criteria used locally?

Marking criteria - MMU• MMU-grade descriptors based on graduate outcomes• One set for each taught level

Marking criteria - MMUAll in the language?

Ways to get students to understand/engage with marking criteria

• Write the criteria themselves• Apply the criteria to example pieces of work • Apply criteria to their own work

• Involve staff and students in discussion to reach a common understanding

Task 4Either

a) Develop marking criteria for an assignment task you are familiar with

Or

b) Critique existing criteria for an assignment task you are familiar with