Building sustainable expertise in marking: integrating the moderation of first?year assessment
Fiona Bird
Department of Zoology, La Trobe University
Robyn Yucel
Language and Academic Skills, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering,
La Trobe University
This poster outlines a study in which an integrated moderation of assessment program (IMAP) was developed to improve the quality and consistency of assessment feedback received by students and their ability to use this feedback to improve their scientific report writing skills. The IMAP comprised a range of processes including marking rubrics, sample reports, moderation workshops and peer-review activities, which support both explicit and tacit knowledge transfer within the teaching team, between staff and students and among students. It drew on examples of best practice from the higher education literature to create a comprehensive package of teacher and student training. This study aimed to quantify the efficacy of the IMAP to achieve its aims of improving reliability and efficiency of marking of first-year biology reports by a large team of markers. The results of the study indicate that variation between markers tended to decrease (that is, reliability tended to increase) after they had participated in the program, particularly when they were divided into experienced and novice groups. The time taken to mark the reports also tended to decrease (that is, efficiency tended to increase) after participation. The teaching team's perceptions of the IMAP were generally positive, and their constructive feedback will be used to refine and improve the program for future use.
Effective assessment of scientific reasoning and research skills in a large class setting
Kay Colthorpe
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland
Susan Theiss
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland
Judit Kibedi
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland
There has been a strong push recently to encourage science students to develop the attributes of 'being a scientist' in their undergraduate years, particularly in their approach to science, through the development of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and appropriate use of evidence. These skills have been developed through activities such as research experiences and inquiry-based classes. However, this creates a significant challenge: to develop and apply effective assessment methods that are aligned with the learning objectives and desired graduate attributes, in a program with large enrolments. This poster reports on a project designed to develop effective and sustainable methods of explicitly assessing the scientific and research skills of Bachelor of Science students in a large class setting with multiple markers. The efficacy of the assessment methods was evaluated by identifying evidence of scientific reasoning and research skills in student work, and comparing the outcomes of different markers. Student perceptions of the assessment tasks were also explored through course evaluation surveys. The results show that evidence of scientific reasoning and research skills were present and identifiable within the student work and could be graded in an equitable and repeatable manner, although differences did exist between markers. As student numbers in undergraduate science courses are increasing, there is a need to develop greater flexibility in assessment practices. This project demonstrates that it is possible to effectively and equitably assess scientific and research skills in large classes, and also emphasises the need for robust moderation procedures.
Evaluation of the implementation of criterion - referenced assessment in a school of zoology
Ashley Edwards
School of Zoology, University of Tasmania
Student cohorts are becoming increasingly diverse in both their composition and their backgrounds. This diversity sees teachers needing to devise strategies to facilitate the learning of students with a broad range of abilities and experiences. One way in which teachers can improve students' learning and clarify expectations is through the provision of constructive feedback and increased transparency in the assessment process. The implementation of criterion-referenced assessment (CRA) in the School of Zoology at the University of Tasmania provided this opportunity, and is outlined in this poster. The use of assessment rubrics is now being evaluated in all our undergraduate units. Students' perceptions of the effects of CRA rubrics on the clarification of the assessment process are being measured through unit evaluation responses. Staff are also being surveyed at the conclusion of each unit about their use of CRA rubrics as both assessment and feedback tools. Early results show that third-year students perceive the use of CRA more positively than first-year students. The author suggests that management of student expectations during this implementation phase will greatly influence student perceptions of the value of CRA.
Peer and self?assessment of peer?led tutorials to promote student engagement
Yvonne Hodgson
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences,
Monash University
Ross Young
Department of Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine,
Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University
Peer and self-assessment of course and group work can promote sustainable assessment by encouraging students to develop evaluation skills that they can take beyond the classroom. This poster outlines how peer and self-assessment can be used in a tutorial setting as part of formal coursework assessment procedures. Weekly peer-led tutorials were introduced in a biology unit as part of a peer-assisted learning (PAL) program. Students worked in small groups to research and present weekly cases as interactive tutorials to the full-class cohort. The full-class cohort provided peer assessment and feedback to the small group, and members within the group undertook peer and self assessment of member contributions. Student marks for peer assessment of the tutorials correlated well with staff marks. In self-assessment of the small group work, 52 per cent of students gave themselves a slightly lower mark than that received from their peers. An anonymous survey using a five-point Likert scale was used to evaluate student experiences of this peer and self-assessment regime. Analysis of survey responses revealed that peer assessment encouraged students to listen more attentively to their peers' tutorials and to be more conscientious in contributing to their own group's tutorial. In general, students thought peer assessment was valuable and considered that it gave them a greater sense of involvement and responsibility. Peer and self-assessment thus promoted student engagement in the PAL program and provided an opportunity for students to develop peer and self-evaluation skills.
Practical support for assessment scholarship that acknowledges academic workload and prior (in)experience
Clair Hughes
Teaching and Educational Development Institute, University of Queensland
Anne Bennison
Teaching and Educational Development Institute, University of Queensland
Growing acknowledgement of the importance of the scholarship of assessment has led to the emergence of support structures and resources. There is also now recognition in the form of grants and awards at both institutional and national level to support further participation in this area of scholarship. However, recognition at this level is usually dependent on the successful completion of previous work on a smaller scale. It is possible, and indeed common, for academics to engage in small-scale scholarship of assessment in their own courses, and to introduce assessment enhancement at the program level as a response to institutional quality assurance requirements. However, the additional effort required to consult authoritative assessment literature, develop an evaluation plan and related instruments, collect and analyse data and represent outcomes in a way that constitutes worthwhile contributions to the scholarship of assessment can present significant obstacles to busy academics and those who are inexperienced in educational scholarship. This poster reports the findings of two assessment-enhancement projects implemented at the University of Queensland. Of significance was the availability of a research assistant to a network of academics undertaking projects in their own educational settings. The research assistant was asked to perform a number of tasks ranging from the drafting of ethics submissions to the observation of teaching sessions. A major conclusion of this project is that too little attention has been paid in the past to the provision of such practical support, and that this is an important consideration in the design of future assessment-enhancement projects.
Fostering deep approaches to learning: collaborative learning and peer assessment
Lisa Tee
School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University
The main challenge for teachers of pharmacology is to transform students' perceptions from 'pharmacology an extensive amount to know and remember' to 'pharmacology = an interesting and essential subject that enhances competency in both clinical pharmacology and the prescription of medications'. This poster outlines a novel method of integrating a range of teaching techniques including case-based learning, collaborative lecture review and group work in the preparation of a final written examination, which was followed by peer assessment and an evaluation process. These strategies were implemented in a third-year pharmacology unit in the Bachelor of Pharmacy at Curtin University in the first semester of 2010, involving 138 students. Results of a pilot study indicated that 99 per cent agreed that the combination of collaborative learning, exam preparation and peer assessment helped them to achieve the unit learning outcomes; 98 per cent responded positively to the collaborative lecture review; 82 per cent agreed that preparation of the exam questions helped then to adopt a deep approach to learning for understanding; and 78 per cent found that peer assessment helped them to take a deep approach to learning (Ramsden 1992). Interestingly, due to an error in communication between the unit coordinator and tutors, the exam was conducted as an open-book exam in some classes, and thus differed from our original intention. The students who rated peer assessment less favourably perceived that an open-book exam had not helped them to achieve the unit learning outcomes.
