Assessment workshopNelson Mandela Metropolitan University

14 November 2006

ASSESSMENT

THE ACHILLES’ HEEL OF LEARNING?

PURPOSETO DISCUSS THE PROCESS OF ASSESSMENT IN NURSING EDUCATION

OUTCOMES•Is there a need for change regarding assessment in South Africa?•Find innovative ways to assess theory•Re-visit the design of practical assessment tools

FORMAT OF WORKSHOP

• INTERACTIVE• WE ARE ALL CO-LEARNERS• GROUP WORK• LOTS OF FEEDBACK

ASSMT 04

THEORY PRACTICA

Innovative Assessment Assessment Tools

Assessment Methods

SAQA:

“The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a framework on which standards and qualifications, agreed to by education and training stakeholders throughout the country, are registered.”

“The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a set of principles and guidelines by which records of learner achievements are registered to enable national recognition of acquired skills and knowledge, thereby ensuring an integrated system that encourages lifelong learning.”

ASSMT 04

• Design and development of outcomes based assessments

Demonstrate an understanding of design principles of outcomes based assessment

Design outcomes based assessments

Develop assessment activities

Design and evaluate assessment guides

UNIT STANDARDS

NSB Regulations define a unit standard as:

“Registered statements of desired education and training outcomes and their associated assessment criteria together with administrative and other information as specified in the NSB regulations.”

• All learners are compared to the same standards• It is clear what

• learners should know• assessors should assess against• moderators should moderate against

Critical Crossfield Outcomes

• Are generic life skillse.g. problem solving, teamwork, communication

• Have been neglected

Theoretical Assessment

• Is there an alternative to written examinations?

Practical/Clinical Assessment

• Longstanding problem of overcoming the risk of observer bias

• Resulted in the development of a plethora of clinical assessment tools which have subsequently been abandoned : ‘a long and tortured history’ [Wooley]

• More recent methods tend to involve continuous observation and incorporate reflection on practice

• The ‘specific competencies model’ is the most structured approach and the one that is favoured in nursing education today.