Assessment and Feedback Essay Example for Free

legal opinion and Feedback EssayAssessment drives the choices schoolchilds make nearly their learning. It is widely recognised that judgement and feedback lead the strongest potential to change how, and what, assimilators do to succeed in their learning (Ramsden, 2003). This Effective T to each oneing Guide on Assessment leave alones practical suggestions on assessment and feedback.Assessment of encyclopaedism and Assessment for Learning David Boud, a recognised researcher and scholar of assessment in higher instruction, suggests that assessment has many designs, but particularly to help students to improve their learning and certify students learning. These two purposes lead to different ways of thinking near what, how, and when to assess studentsAssessment OF Learning Assessment FOR Learning heightensed on learning that has already happened Foc intaked on learning for the future Making a judgement nigh final performance Goal is to provide utilizable breeding t o students about how to learn Designed to discriminate between students achievement and performance more effectively Focused on grades, precision and standard Helps students to identify what they do and dont know focus is on Concerned that tasks are reliable and valid improvement and, Testing usually takes dumbfound under standardised conditions and, Develops students judgements about the quality of their wrench and how Grade contributes to final certification. to improve. According to Boud and Associates Seven Propositions for Assessment Reform in high Education (2010), assessment has most effect when 1. Assessment is used to engage students in learning that is productive (including the need for assessment to be designed to focus students on learning) 2. Feedback is used to actively improve student learning 3. Students and teachers become responsible partners in learning and assessment 4.Students are inducted into the assessment practices and cultures of higher education 5. Assessment for learning is placed at the centre of subject and project design 6. Assessment for learning is a focus for staff and institutional maturation and, 7. Assessment provides inclusive and trustworthy representation of student achievement. The power of feedback Feedback plays an important role in improving students learning. A useful summary is that provided by Gibbs and Simpsons (2004).In their meta-study of the research about how assessment and feedback support student learning, 7 of their 10 identified conditions relate to feedback, and students understanding of feedback. These are Sufficient feedback is provided, both ofttimes enough and in enough detail Feedback focuses on students performance, on their learning and on actions under the students control, rather than on the students themselves and on their characteristics Feedback is timely in that it is sure by students while it still matters to them, and in time for them to pay attention to further learning or r eceive further assistance Feedback is appropriate to the purpose of the appellation and to its criteria for success Feedback is appropriate, in relation to students understanding of what they are supposed to be doing Feedback is received and attended to and, Feedback is acted on by the student. Hounsell (2004) also makes the following points about feedback It can be extrinsic (assessment- pore) or intrinsic (activity and practice-based) It can be immediate and verbal (in order to address the potential lack of engagement when it arrives after(prenominal) an assessment) It can be provided to be a whole class It can be many to many where students are involved in identifying the strengths and weaknesses (peer feedback) and, Feedback can be a loop it can be offered on unfinished work. A nonher useful idea is feed-forward. Feed-forward encourages students to use approximatelything like a print rubric (also captured by the idea of criteria and standards) to help cast their ap proach to an assessment. While a determineing rubric is routinely used by university teachers to mark/grade students work (as an mien of what a student needs to demonstrate (and the level they need to achieve) to receive a particular grade), the idea of feed-forward is about encouraging students to use that same information in the rubric to plan their work, and perhaps even, to self-assess it before submitting it for formal feedback. In summaryFeedback showcase Develop a marking rubric as a cover sheet. The rubric identifies the elements of the assignment, together with a breakdown of marks for each element or a description of the standard for an A, B, C, D, P etc. Feed-forward example Provide the marking rubric to students before the assignment is due so that they clearly understand whats expected, the levels of achievement, and can plan their approach accordingly.In marking student work, youll need a suite of feedback techniques. Remember, if youre going to be spending a lot of time providing feedback, you want to make sure that students read, use and engage with your feedback to improve their next assignment.The best way to do that is to have a range of techniques that you can draw on, when you need to. The table below describes some feedback techniques. Technique Why use this technique? How would I use this technique? Use a marking rubric that contains information To encourage students to engage, wrestle stiff aside time to discuss the rubric with students about criteria and standards. Offer it to with and develop an understanding of the in class. Provide examples of what an A, B, C, D students so that they can use it to plan high criteria and standards related to an and P level answer /assignment looks like. Explain achieving work.assessment task before embarking on theirthe differences to students and engage them in a work. dialogue. catch them to mark assignments samples so that they have to engage with the criteria and standards before e mbarking on their own assignment. Provide verbal global feedback to the whole To emphasise the common achievements and As you mark assignments, make a list of 3 things class. errors made across all assignments withindone well, and 3 things in need of improvement a student cohort. across the whole cohort. Use the next available class to provide feedback to the whole cohort. Be specific and provide an example. Post a summary on Moodle. Provide written feedback only.The mark/grade To focus students improvement efforts on is released only after students demonstrate a the written comment rather than the plan for improvement. number/grade. The technique assumes that the learning for students is located in the staff comments. Invite students to tell you 2-3 specific To develop students capacity to Ask students to write these 2-3 elements somewhere elements of the assignment they would like you self-assess the quality of their on the assignment cover sheet before submitting to focus your feedback on. submitted work. it. Your feedback on these elements does not need to be extensive but they sanction comment. Ask students to indicate the grade (ie, A, B, To encourage students to engage with the Invite students to write a 100 word justification C, D) they think their assignment should criteria and standards for the assignmentabout the grade theyve nominated. Your final receive. as part of their planning. feedback and grade does not need to align with the students but you may wish to note any differences in each of your perceptions about the quality of the work. Encourage students to demonstrate/write how For students to demonstrate how they haveMake this aspect a hurdle requirement to be theyve used your feedback as part of the next used feedback to improve future learning. submitted with the next immediate assignment. assignment. One observation you might make about each of these techniques is that they are focused on (i) engaging students with the criteria and standards, and (ii) with what the student does with the feedback they receive. If youd like to read more about these two ideas (and others like them), two articles may be especially useful to you Rust, Price ODonovan (2003) and Price, ODonovan Rust (2004). Consistency and fairness in marking and feedback Consistency in marking, or moderation, is aimed at ensuring fairness in marking, and requires finding or establishing agreement between markers. Making sure that assignments contain criteria and standards is a good start because the expectations involved are clear to the student and clear to the marker.Although this does not absolve the marker from interpreting students work, without criteria or standards, the job of marking ends up being much harder. The procedures for marking are set out in the Universitys Assessment Procedures (an excerpt of the principles is below) Where there is more than one marker, selected pieces of work from each a ssessment task should be reviewed by the subject coordinator to verify the level and accord of the marks allocated by the marker. This process, called moderation, increases the reliability of the assessment process and application of standards, promotes consistency, supports objectivity and establishes a shared understanding of standards and fairness in assessment. The university also has a marker schema with a range of Pass grades.80-100% A 70-79% B 60-69% C 50-59% D Ungraded P (may also denote satisfactory completion of a Masters Prelim course of post receive thesis) Graduate capabilities Alongside the conventional grading schema, from 2012, all commencing first year students will receive a endpoint on the achievement of the universitys six graduate capabilities at the end of the year Writing Speaking Inquiry/Research Critical thinking productive Problem-solving Teamwork There are some subjects which have been designated cornerstone, mid-point and capstone status. This means that their curriculum has been designed to teach, assess, provide feedback and report specifically on these graduate capabilities.For each graduate capability, students will receive one of three results exceeded expectations, met expectations or did not meet expectations. Each faculty has carefully crafted a description of what these standards look like. It may be the case that you will be asked to provide feedback to students about their graduate capability achievement as well. Because faculties will have already done substantial work outlining those standards, it is likely you will be asked to offer students that feedback. Summary When considered together, assessment and feedback are incredibly powerful levers for influencing the direction of students efforts, and their learning. For many students, the assessment in the subject is the echt curriculum.It is largely students reading and perception of what the assessment demands of them which is a key determinant in how they spend their time in a subject. Therefore, the messages that students take away about assessment from the documents the Subject Guide from interaction with other students, are important considerations. In the second week, you will discover just how crucial feedback is to this process and how the adoption of standards and criteria will help you mark and grade more efficiently and effectively. References Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2004). Conditions Under Which Assessment Supports Student Learning. Learning and Teaching, Issue 1, pp 3-31. Hattie, J. Timperley, H. (2007).The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. Hounsell, D. (2004). Reinventing Feedback in the Contemporary Scottish University. Scottish Quality Enhancement Workshop on Assessment, University of Glasgow available online at www. enhancementthemes. ac. uk/documents/events/20040604/Hounsellpaper. pdf. ODonovan, B. , Price, M. , Rust, C. (2004). Know what I mean? Enhancing student understandi ng of assessment standards and criteria. Teaching in Higher Education, 9(3), 325-335. Orrell, J. (2006). Assessment beyond intuition. Central Queensland University available online at http//www. learning. cq. edu. au/FCWViewer/view. do?page=8896, accessed Feb 2011. Price, M. , ODonovan, B. , Rust, C. (2004). Know what I mean? Enhancing student understanding of assessment standards and criteria. Teaching in Higher Education, 9(3), 325-335. Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education. (2nd edition). Routledge, NY London. Rust, C. , Price, M. , ODonovan, B. (2003). Improving Students Learning by Developing their discernment of Assessment Criteria and Processes. Assessment Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(2), 147-164. Taylor, J. (2008). Assessment in First Year University A model to manage transition. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 5(1).