Assessment in Higher Education

Webinar 5

What is Feedback for?

“the effects of bad [assessment] practice are far more potent than they are for any aspect of teaching. Students can, with difficulty, escape from the effects of poor teaching, they cannot (by definition if they want to graduate) escape the effects of poor assessment.” (Boud, 1995)

Assessment in HE Webinar 5

A bit of revision• What is a learning outcome ?

– The essential measurable learning or behaviour demonstrated by a student after a specific period of study

• What is formative assessment?– “Formative assessment is designed to provide learners

with feedback on progress and inform development, but does not contribute to the overall assessment.”

QAA 2000

• What is summative assessment ?– The process by which we measure the extent to which a

student can demonstrate specific learning outcomes

designedfeedback developmentalnon-counting

Process measurementlearning outcomes

Measureable ability on completion

Assessment of learning

Assessment for learning

Impact of feedback“Feedback is arguably the most important aspect of the assessment process in raising achievement”

(Bloxham and Boyd, 2007)

“Arguably the most powerful enhancement to learning is feedback during learning”

(Biggs and Tang, 2007)

… however

“academics frequently report frustration that students fail to act on feedback or to collect it at all” (Jollands et al. 2009, Bloxham and Boyd, 2007)

In the final year of his Business Management degree George is set the task of producing an individual 1500 word management report based on case study materials that he has been studying with his tutorial group. The report constitutes 50% of the final unit grade the other 50% is assessed by a 3 hour examination at the end of the semester.

The hand in date for the essay is 6 weeks before the examination. The work is marked within 3 weeks and returned to George with his mark and a detailed written feedback proforma. The assignment is also discussed in a feedback tutorial during the week the work is returned. The report tests two of the 5 learning outcomes for the unit. These learning outcomes are therefore not tested in examination (which tests the remaining three learning outcomes).

George sits the examination for the unit which is marked in time for exam board. George is given the mark awarded for the examination but receives no verbal or written feedback on his performance in the exam.

How do we anticipate that George will use his feedback?

Typical Assessment Scenario

Will this feedback help me get a better mark for

the report?

Will it help me to do better in the

exam?

Characteristics of feedback

Overview of literature

Brown, E, Glover, C, Freake, S and Stevens, V (2004)

•proposed three levels or degrees of explanation in feedback:

– Indication that there is an error/weakness or omission (Level 1)

– Provides correction or appropriate response (Level 2)

– Provides explanation as to why the student’s response was incorrect or inappropriate or why suggestion was preferable (Level 3)

•Glover and Brown (2006) extended this classification and categorisation to the identification (Level 1) and explanation (Levels 2 and 3) of strengths in the work.

•Orsmond and Merry (2011) analysed tutors’ feedback using the following feedback categories based on Brown et al. (2003)

•JISC projects Assessment Careers (IoE) and InterAct (Medical Education, Dundee) have used amended versions to audit feedback in their institutions to increase dialogue and increase amount and type of feedback provided. The eFEP (OU) is looking at aligning tutor and student use of spoken and written feedback in a language programme.

Feedback profiles

Timing of feedback?

Formative assessment model

Online Preparation

In ClassSession 1

Onlineformativeactivity

Online Preparation

In ClassSession 2

Onlineformativeactivity

Week 1 Week 2

Feedback Feedback

Assessment Strategy

•Mini-portfolio of formatively assessed activities

•Built week by week (developmental), underpinning summative assessment task

•Regular, rapid, personalised feedback

•E.g. Individual elements of portfolio provide evidence/basis for summatively assessed reflective account of learning from the unit.

Targeted Approach to provision of feedback

1. Set Assignment

2. DraftSubmission

3. FormativeAssessment

4. Reflection and

Reworking

5. Complete Submission

6. Summative Assessment

“FormativeFeedback”

directly linked to current task

“SummativeFeedback” Feed forward

to inform future work

Via eMail

Via eMail

In-classOptional

Context20 credit, level six, UG unit ‘Tropical Land Use

and Conservation’

2010 Cohort of 40 students

Written (2000 word) assignment mid-way through the autumn term

FindingsComplete4 (16%)

Work in Progress15 (60%)

Outline6 (24%)

Submitted 25 (63%) Non-submitted 15 (37%)

60.8% 52.6%

Sum

mat

ive

gra

de

69.8% 61.6% 51.8%

Fine tuningReiteration &

EvidenceFine tuning & Content

Hand-in

Feedback length

Feedback content

66.6% 61.3% 46.2% 46.2%

Complete4 (16%)

Work in Progress15 (60%)

Outline6 (24%)

Submitted 25 (63%) Non-submitted 15 (37%)

60.8% 52.6%

Sum

mat

ive

gra

de

69.8% 61.6% 51.8%

Fine tuningReiteration &

EvidenceFine tuning & Content

Hand-in

Feedback length

Feedback content

66.6% 61.3% 46.2% 46.2%

1. Time on task2. Better organised/more

strategic3. Improved performance4. More feedback, better

understood, easier to respond to

5. Is this simply making better students better?

1

2

4

3

5

“feedback provided by tutors focused on performance on the assignment being assessed”Orsmond et al, 2011

“students often struggle to transfer learning from one unit to another” Orsmond et al. 2011

Biggs and Tang, 2007 do not regard the feedback provided on end of unit summative assessment as formative as the feedback is provided when the unit is effectively finished and students rarely pay attention to comments provided at the end of a course.

Glover and Brown (2006) comment that in terms of written feedback students receive plenty of it, but that it is often misunderstood in relation to assessment criteria.

Orsmond et al. (2005) found that a majority of students preferred verbal feedback from tutors as it enabled questioning and discussion.

Engaging Students in Assessment

• What approaches would you suggest to involve students more directly in the assessment process?

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?

Acceptable assignments?Essay

Newsletter

Magazine article

Written ReportData Analysis

Event

Oral presentation

Artefact

Web site

Audio reportVideo report

Competition entry Problems to solve

Job Application

Critique

Case Study

Poster

Unseen Writtenexam

Photo Essay

“Dragon’s Den™”

Seen writtenexam

“The Apprentice”

MCQs

Computer based assessment

Practice Observation

Wiki contribution Blogg/learning log

Research Article

Lab Practical

Reflective account

Annotated Map

Annotated Reference ListPortfilio

Translation

DissertationGroup work

Interview

Work based assessment

A Performance Roll play

ReferencesBoud, D. (1995). Assessment and Learning: contradictory or complementary? Assessment for Learning in

Higher Education. P. Knight. London, Kogan Page: 35-48.

Biggs, J. B. and Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. Open University Press/Mc Graw-Hill Education.

Bloxham, S. and Boyd, P. (2007). Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education: A Practical Guide. Berkshire, UK. Open University Press.

Cullen W. R., (2011) A multi-technology formative assessment strategy, Media-Enhanced Feedback case studies and methods, Proceedings of the Media-Enhanced Feedback event, Sheffield, 27 October 2010 pp 28-33

Ecclestone, K. (2000) Assessment and Critical Autonomy in Post Compulsory Education in the UK, in, Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 13, No. 2.

Glover, C. and Brown, E. (2006) Written Feedback for Students: too much, too detailed or too incomprehensible to be effective? Bioscience Education Journal (7)

Jollands, M., McCallum, N., Bondy, J. (2009) If students want feedback why don’t they collect their assignments? Proceedings of 20th Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference University of Adelaide, 6-9th December 2009

McAtominey, D. & Cullen, W.R. (2002) Effective e-Learning with VLE’s, Netskills Workshop Materials

Orsmond, Paul , Merry, Stephen and Reiling, Kevin(2005) 'Biology students' utilization of tutors' formative feedback: a qualitative interview study', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30: 4, pp 369 - 386

Orsmond, Paul and Merry, Stephen(2011) 'Feedback alignment: effective and ineffective links between tutors' and students' understanding of coursework feedback', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36: 2, pp 125-136.