Assessment and Feedback

Mark Russell and Helen BarefootThe Blended Learning Unit &

The Learning and Teaching Institute

League tables shaping priority?

NSS q’s for assessment and feedback

A. The criteria used in marking have been clear in advanceB. Assessment arrangements and marking have been fairC. Feedback on my work has been promptD. I have received detailed comments on my workE. Feedback on my work has helped clarify things I did not know 1= Definitely Disagree; 2= Mostly Disagree; 3= Neither Agree nor Disagree;4= Mostly Agree; 5= Definitely Agree

• How would you rate the degree programme you are mainly tied to?• How do you think students rate that programme?• Discrepancy?

• By yourself

Is assessment really that important?

Assessment defines the curriculum (Snyder, Rowntree…)

and yet …

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)

And so to learning

• Assessment drives learning• Alignment – ADL• C&G • HPL• JiTT• Conversational Framework• Anchored Instruction / challenge based instruction

• Learning is not a spectator sport

Effective assessment

Effective assessment

Case studies

• Case study 1

• Case study 2

• Activity: consider one of your own assessments that presents challenges and complete the case study proforma

Assessment Experience Questionnaire

Student learning is best supported when the following conditions are met:• Assessed tasks capture sufficient student time and effort• These tasks distribute student effort evenly across topics & weeks• These tasks engage students in productive learning activity• Assessment communicates clear and high expectations to students• Sufficient feedback is provided, often enough & in enough detail• The feedback is provided quickly enough to be useful to students• Feedback focuses on learning rather than on marks or students• Feedback is linked to the purpose of the assignment and to criteria• Feedback is understandable to students, given their sophistication• Feedback is received by students and attended to• Feedback is acted upon by students to improve their work or their learning

(Gibbs & Simpson, 2004)

Good Feedback PracticeGood assessment and feedback practice should:1 Help to clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, standards)2 Encourage 'time and effort' on challenging learning tasks3 Deliver high-quality feedback information that helps learners to self-correct4 Provide opportunities to act on feedback (to close any gap between currentand desired performance)5 Ensure that summative assessment has a positive impact on learning6 Encourage interaction and dialogue around learning (peer and teacher-student)7 Facilitate the development of self-assessment and reflection in learning8 Give choice in the topic, method, criteria, weighting or timing of assessments9 Involve students in decision-making about assessment policy and practice10 Support the development of learning groups and learning communities11 Encourage positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem12 Provide information to teachers that can be used to help shape their teaching

Nicol (2009)

NUS’ Principles of effective assessment

Assessment…1. Should be for learning, not simply of learning2. Should be reliable, valid, fair and consistent3. Should incorporate effective and constructive feedback4. Should be innovative and have the capacity to inspire and motivate such aswith the use of technology5. Should measure understanding and application, rather than technique andmemory6. Should be conducted throughout the course, not simply positioned as a finaleevent7. Should develop key skills such as peer and reflective assessment8. Should be central to staff development and teaching strategies, and frequentlyreviewed9. Should be of a manageable amount for both students and tutors10. Should encourage dialogue between students and their tutors, and studentsand their peers

LTI Assessment guidance

Feedback

Action without feedback is totallyunproductive to learning

Hi

Sound familiar?‘tutors become used to repeating important

advice to some students, with no evidence that they have read, understood, or learned from the points raised by them’ (Duncan et al)

• Feedback should alsocreate consequences

Student opinions (recent NSS comments)feedback from coursework or projects was not the most helpful and did not meet dead lines very well

Feedback very rarely allowed us to know how to improve before handing in the next piece

Turnaround on feedback for many assessments is relatively slow sometimes meaning you have handed in another piece before learning from the previous one

Sufficient feedback on assignments was not always given and this could be improved on to ensure students improve their marks as opposed to always staying borderline and within the same percentage range

The marking is hugely inconsistent and largely subjective

Poor feedback doesn't help me learn to correct mistakes for next assignment. Sometimes it’s embarrassing to approach the person who failed you

Feedback could be given in more depth and detail

What is prompt ?

2 days 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days uncoded No entry0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Limited choices Coding

Challenges associated with feedback

• Assessment too late -> feedback too late• Feedback too late after event• Helping and judging. And so view is important, really

important. • Praise the individual – hmm – might motivate but does it

directly improve learning ? – Stobart, Dweck• Is feedback about them or their commitmentto learning• Shy away from risk?

Plotting effectiveness vs. efficiency

Waste of time

Effectiveness

Effi

cien

cy (

or 1

/t)

Now vs. Now+ 12 months• Drawing on your case study

• Think about where your assessment is located and identify this on the grid provided

• Discuss in pairs why you think it is located here referring to the principles

• Identify some practicable steps to move it along/up

• Share with whole room

• Assessment Guidance

And the students …

• How do the students know (really know) assessment and feedback is important to us?

• Can I challenge you and ask Where is your feedback campaign?

• Where do the students see you said - we did?

• Can you build on existing activity / ideas to plan a campaign?

And finally …

• Identify a couple things that will you do as an individual to make things better

• What three things will you do as a module team to make things better?

• What three things do you want the School to do to make things better?

• 200 yards…

Remember

• Assessment can create learning opportunities• Assessment can enhance teaching• Good assessment is aligned and feedback rich• Guidance is out there

I received prompt feedback which enabled me to improve in time for the next assessment/exam

Timely, well-structured feedback is the only real way to appreciate progression, allow for individual reflection and result in self-improvement.