chep annual conference: student engagement 24th january 2013 theme: - student engagement: a catalyst...
TRANSCRIPT
CHEP Annual Conference: Student Engagement
24th January 2013Theme: - Student Engagement: a catalyst for transformative change
Tim McLernonTitle: Congruent assessment and feedback that satisfies educators
and students in higher education.AN HEA SUPPORTED PROJECT
Faculty of Art Design & Built EnvironmentSchool of the Built Environment,
University of Ulster
The Study will explore…
• Underlying hypothesis…
• A thesis that…
• too much formal assessment and feedback.
• more informal assessment and feedback would enhance learning.
National Student Survey
• Students influencing policy?!
• Are the questions valid for the student discourse
FIVE KEY QUESTIONS:
1. What is assessment for?2. How much?3. What sort?4. When?5. What constitutes
feedback?
METHODOLOGY 1
• Literature Review – some initial findings.
• Two different discourses used by academics and students respectively
• Academics concerned with understanding feedback. Students not concerned with understanding feedback.
METHODOLOGY 2
• Focus groups with students
• How they study• What study activities• Focus on assessment• What feedback• What they do with
feedback• What they recognise as
feedback• etc
METHODOLOGY 3
• Semi-structured interviews with students
• How do you learn?• Do you learn from
assessment?• How do you prepare for
assesment?• How do you know what
to do?• Do you consider
previous feedback?• Etc.
Samples of assessment activities
• Explored
• Evaluated
• Exam papers
• Coursework & Briefs
• Assessment criteria
• Marking Schemes
EVALUATING EXAMINATIONS
• Exam Questions ask students to:
• - Discuss• - Explain• - Compare• - Describe• - Contrast• - Evaluate
• Student Answers consist of:
• - Bullet point answers• - Facts only• - Little discourse• - Careless grammar• - Careless punctuation
DISCIPLINES
• The organisation of universities is based around disciplines.
• The main social framework of universities is discipline based.
• HOW MUCH attention do we pay to the pedagogy of discipline.
• Patterns of student activity span a continuum from the HEAVILY DIDACTIC (eg Law and Medicine) to PARTICIPATIVE (eg the Creative Arts)
• Do you agree?
Task Area Hard SoftNonlife System Life System Nonlife System Life System
Pure
Applied
AstronomyChemistryGeologyMathPhysics
Ceramic EngineeringCivil EngineeringComputer ScienceMechanical Engineering
BotanyEntomologyMicrobiologyPhysiologyZoology
AgronomyDairy ScienceHorticultureAgricultural Economics
EnglishHistoryPhilosophyCommunications
Accounting FinanceEconomicsLaw?
AnthropologyPolitical SciencePsychologySociology
Educational Administration and SupervisionSecondary and Continuing EducationSpecial EducationVocational and Technical Education.
Clustering of Academic Task Areas in Three Dimensions(From Biglan 1973 – Law added by this author)
4 intellectual clusters: HP SP HA SA