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

Assessment shapes Learning…

AIM

• The aim of this study is…

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

Extraneous uses of assessment

• KIS• WIS

–League Tables»Choosing a University• etc

University

OUTPUT

• From findings

FIVE KEY QUESTIONS:

1. What is assessment for?2. How much?3. What sort?4. When?5. What constitutes

feedback?

METHODOLOGY 1

• Literature Review –

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.

YEAR GROUPS

Blah! Blah! Blah!

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

TUTORS

More Blah! Blah! Blah!

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