Changing students’ assessment preferences: The case of an assessment development center in a veterinary gross anatomy course

The present study explores the development of students’ assessment preferences by investigating how these preferences evolve after experiencing an assessment development center in a veterinary gross anatomy course. The sample in this study consists of 42 students in the second year of a Bachelor's degree in medical veterinary science, enrolled in a ‘gross anatomy course’. Data were collected in a pre-test–post-test design using the Assessment Preferences Inventory. The results indicates that students’ experience with an assessment and development centre can result in the development of students’ assessment preferences towards assessment formats testing more ‘higher order’ skills. Results of this explorative study should not be overstated, however, due to sample size and research design.     

Researching assessment as social practice: Implications for research methodology

Recent educational journals on both sides of the Atlantic have seen a resurgence of debate about the nature of educational research. As a contribution to these debates, this paper draws on theoretical and methodological ‘thinking tools’ of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Specifically, the paper explores what Jenkins [Jenkins, R. (2002). Pierre Bourdieu. London: Routledge and Falmer] refers to as Bourdieu's “reflexive epistemological pluralism” and its implications for research into higher education, with a particular focus on assessment as social practice. This particular theoretical and methodological understanding is used to critically reflect on a study conducted in 2005 on the impact of a policy on anonymous examination marking which was implemented at the University of Cape Town in 2004. The study collected both quantitative data of student examination performance pre- and post-policy implementation, as well as interviews with course conveners. The paper argues that when viewed interdependently the data offers insight into some of the “principles of vision and division” [Bourdieu, P. (1996). The state nobility: Elite schools in the field of power. Cambridge: Polity Press] at work in assessors’ judgment-making process. The assessors’ deliberations expose ideological tensions between the dual challenges of equity and excellence in the context of a historically white liberal university under transformation.     

Not playing the game: student assessment resistance as a form of agency

Within self-regulated learning, learners exercise agency by setting targets, formatively monitoring progress, and evaluating results in ways which inform their own goal attainment. However, in real-world classroom situations, assessment processes can elicit behaviours that are more ego-protective than growth-oriented. Resistance to teacher expectations in assessment can arise from the individual’s need to protect his or her own identity or ego within the psychosocial context of the classroom. In addition, resistance can arise from strategic choices learners make to cope with competing demands on their time and resources. Thus, students may exercise their agency by not following assessment expectations or protocols (e.g. lying, cheating, or failing to give their best effort). These choices seem to undermine assessment validity. This paper shares student voice data from the Measuring Teachers’ Assessment Practices (MTAP) project (n = 46 students in seven focus groups) in New Zealand and the Supporting Student-assessment Success (SSAS) Project (n = 108 first-year university students) in Australia. Both highlight the different ways students resist, subvert, or act in contention with assessment. These data show that students in both sectors do not always act in the growth-oriented ways that educators envision. Students reported exercising potentially maladaptive assessment agency via Assessment dishonesty, Purposeful underperformance, and Doing it alone. These categories were underpinned by three differing rationales: Protection, Strategic prioritisation, and Mini-max. Educators must be mindful of these potential student actions and motives, working to establish psychological safety within the learning environment, and making sure links between learning and assessment are clear.     

浅谈国内高等音乐教育中常见问题及对策

音乐是一门情感的艺术,音乐教育以音乐艺术为手段,音乐教学要突出音乐学科的特点,这是由音乐课程的本质决定的。本文从高校开展传统音乐课程的意义以及一些教学教法的可行性研究等方面阐述高校的音乐教育。以音乐审美为导向,突出美育性能,尊重多元文化,处理好共性与个性的关系,面向全体学生,体现人人参与是高校音乐课程设置必须遵循的原则。     

浅谈旅游英语翻译中的常见问题及解决办法

中国经济地位的提升和国际地位的提升促进了中国在世界上的影响力,中国吸引的外国游客数量越来越多,语言问题顺利解决决定了沟通的有效性,良好的旅游翻译能够加深与国外游客的沟通交流,促进我国旅游业的发展。     

Educational reform as a dynamic system of problems and solutions: Towards an analytic instrument

Large-scale educational reforms are difficult to realize and often fail. In the literature, the course of reform and problems associated with this are frequently discussed. The explanations and recommendations then provided are so diverse that it is difficult to gain a comprehensive overview of what factors are at play and how to take them into consideration. In this article, a model to provide a comprehensive framework for the analysis of educational reforms is presented. Education is conceptualized as a social system and educational reform thus as the manner in which this social system adapts to a changing context. The upper secondary education reforms undertaken in the 1990s in the Netherlands are adopted as a test case to evaluate the utility of the model. The results of the study paint a picture of educational reform as a loosely organized system of problems and solutions. The possibilities and potential limitations of the model are discussed in closing.     

Measured lives: the rise of assessment as the engine of change in English schools

The year 2000 marks the end of compulsory education for the first cohort of students to experience the National Curriculum throughout their school careers. This article describes their experience of assessment and compares it with the testing regime that those children who start school in 2000 are likely to experience. Changes in policy from the early Task Group on Assessment and Testing proposals are analysed, especially the increasing priority given to the use of assessment for monitoring and evaluating the performance of teachers, schools and local education authorities. This shift is interpreted in terms of underlying assumptions about effective strategies for change. While Conservative and Labour governments have pursued somewhat different goals, they have used a similar change strategy. This explains why the general thrust of policy has continued in a broadly similar direction - towards ever more testing in schools and the use of results as performance indicators. It is argued, however, that this strategy cannot be pursued indefinitely. After a point, further improvements will only be made if teachers are helped to work ‘smarter’, not just harder. Policy-makers need, therefore, to look again at the contribution that formative assessment - or assessment for learning as part of pedagogy - can make to lifelong learning, in a more coherent, balanced and ‘educational’ system.     

Students’ assessment preferences and approaches to learning: can formative assessment make a difference?

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the relationships between hands‐on experiences with formative assessment, students’ assessment preferences and their approaches to learning. The sample consisted of 108 university first‐year Bachelor’s students studying criminology. Data were obtained using the Revised two‐factor study process questionnaire (R‐SPQ‐2F) and the Assessment preferences inventory (API). The study shows that differences in assessment preferences are correlated with differences in approach to learning. Students’ preferences for assessment methods with higher‐order thinking tasks are significantly lower after actual experience with a formative assessment. Moreover, students also changed their approaches to learning after hands‐on experience with a formative mode of assessment. Surprisingly, this change evinced a more ‘surface approach’ to learning. Nevertheless, this is in line with other recent research findings. The paper ends with some possible explanations, and new directions for research are proposed.     

Designing and developing a programme-focused assessment strategy: a case study

Abstract

This case study describes the process that the Humanities Programme Team, in Dublin City University’s Open Education Unit, has undertaken with regard to developing a systematic, programme-focused assessment strategy. It charts the development of an Assessment Matrix that facilitated the enhancement of programme coherence in the context of a distributed modular provision model, and facilitated the use of an appropriate range and scaffolding of assessment types in relation to learning outcomes. To conclude, four recommendations on developing a programme-focused assessment strategy are presented: explicitly link assessments to both programme and module learning outcomes; provide adequate supports and resources for those designing and writing assessments; provide those Assessment Writers with appropriate professional development, as well as an opportunity to be part of an assessment writing community; and to embed a programme-focused assessment strategy into a programme’s quality assurance processes.     

Struggling and juggling: a comparison of student assessment loads across research and teaching-intensive universities

In spite of the rising tide of metrics in UK higher education, there has been scant attention paid to assessment loads, when evidence demonstrates that heavy demands lead to surface learning. Our study seeks to redress the situation by defining assessment loads and comparing them across research and teaching intensive universities. We clarify the concept of ‘assessment load’ in response to findings about high volumes of summative assessment on modular degrees. We define assessment load across whole undergraduate degrees, according to four measures: the volume of summative assessment; volume of formative assessment; proportion of examinations to coursework; number of different varieties of assessment. All four factors contribute to the weight of an assessment load, and influence students’ approaches to learning. Our research compares programme assessment data from 73 programmes in 14 UK universities, across two institutional categories. Research-intensives have higher summative assessment loads and a greater proportion of examinations; teaching-intensives have higher varieties of assessment. Formative assessment does not differ significantly across both university groups. These findings pose particular challenges for students in different parts of the sector. Our study questions the wisdom that ‘more’ is always better, proposing that lighter assessment loads may make room for ‘slow’ and deep learning.     

The Education for All Global Monitoring Report: a mid-term assessment

The Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report is six years old and seven reports have been produced (UNESCO, 2000–2008). It is a product of the outcomes of the World Education Forum in Dakar held in 2000. It is designed to track progress towards the realization of the six EFA goals and to hold governments and the international community to account for their promises and pledges. This short article reviews the genesis, evolution, characteristics, and influence of the GMR to the beginning of 2008. It concludes that the report is now a well established feature of annual international reporting and has helped to strengthen UNESCO’s voice. It is a reference point of some significance but it will need to adjust its reporting and its argument as 2015 approaches.

Perceptions of Portuguese undergraduate students about assessment: a study in five public universities

This paper draws upon a broader piece of research on assessment in higher education, particularly focusing on issues regarding the fairness and effectiveness of the assessment methods and their implications for the learning process. The perceptions of undergraduate students are analysed taking into account the effectiveness and fairness of both traditional and learner-centred assessment methods, as well their influence on the learning process. In total, 624 students participated in this study in five Portuguese Public Universities in different areas of knowledge and programmes. Data were collected through questionnaires. Findings suggest that assessment is seen as more effective and fairer when it is done through the use of learner-centred assessment methods rather than by traditional assessment (e.g. written tests or exams). The students also claim that they devote more time to study when assessment is performed through learner-centred assessment methods than by traditional ones. The most used assessment methods are written tests and oral presentations in group. However, differences in the programmes were identified as well as differences according to gender. Implications of the findings for assessment and for the teaching and learning process are discussed.     

Quality of WIL assessment design in higher education: a systematic literature review

We investigated the quality of work-integrated learning (WIL) assessment design in higher education programmes, through review of peer-reviewed studies published internationally and in English, 1990–2015. Such a review is timely in light of vested interests from a range of WIL stakeholders; high-level endorsement of WIL across university programmes; a regulatory environment requiring development and assurance of higher-order learning outcomes; and a WIL assessment literature that identifies a number of challenges and opportunities. We searched six electronic databases, yielding 20 intervention studies that met inclusion criteria. Findings reveal high-quality assessment design, albeit a need for greater involvement of industry/professional partners in assessment practices and stronger alignment between reflective assessment tasks and students' WIL experiences. The evidence base under review largely comprised qualitative and mixed methods studies, with the indication that the quality of the study design had improved over time, although variably across disciplinary fields. The key recommendation from this review is that resources are needed to support research-active WIL academics, partners and students to: (a) design and participate in assessment practices, which promote integration of student learning, across university and work settings, and achievement of higher-order learning outcomes and (b) pursue a collaborative research agenda involving robust evaluation research, inclusive of quantitative studies.     

Patterns in the form of formative feedback and student response

Formative feedback currently receives attention as an effective means of increasing student learning. However, how to frame feedback to achieve the best effect is an ongoing debate. In this study we analyse a written data-set of 174 segments of teacher feedback and student response, coded using 10 emergent feedback and 14 response categories. As it is argued that feedback is a dialogue between students and teacher, links between feedback and response segments are viewed as a dialogical framework that we visualise and understand using network analysis. From this network we conclude that some ways of formulating feedback are more productive and likely to lead to types of responses that signify learning than others. We thus identify the reflection group of responses, consisting of the categories reflective response, explanation and students investigate own thinking. The feedback categories that link primarily to the reflection group are open question, wondering question and leading question, which we categorise as the questioning group of feedback. We discuss these patterns against a previously published framework, and by discussing specific examples we further our understanding of what makes feedback formative.     

An assessment innovation as flywheel for changing teaching and learning

This contribution shows an example of how an assessment innovation can serve as a flywheel for changing teaching and learning. This article first explains the development of an authentic, competence-based performance assessment in pre-vocational secondary education (pre-VET). Using these assessments in pre-VET, that is preparatory to VET, is important for motivating students for a future in VET. Second, in an action research 34 teacher teams of 11 pre-VET institutions implement the new assessment, supported by researchers and teacher coaches, to illuminate how it motivates students, prepares them for VET, and influences teaching and learning. Data from 76 teachers, 68 students, 24 teacher coaches and 3 researchers showed how implementing these assessments raised questions about changing educational content and pedagogy to fit a competence-based approach. Increasing teachers’ expectations of students, changing student-teacher interaction patterns, and developing teachers’ practical understanding of competencies and how they can be observed and discussed in assessments are some of the intriguing challenges that require further support for proper implementation of competence-based assessments and developing an aligned competence-based teaching and learning process.     

Personal understanding of assessment and the link to assessment practice: the perspectives of higher education staff

The study investigates how higher education staff understand assessment, and the relationship between these understandings and their assessment practices. Nine individuals attended a workshop that guided them through the creation of a concept map about assessment, which was subsequently discussed in one-to-one semi-structured interviews. We found considerable variation in understanding of assessment, both between and within participants, and this appeared to be a consequence of the varied contexts within which assessment operates. Some assessment practices were highly complex, and at times closely entwined with teaching. In addition, individuals’ practices helped to illuminate variation in how underlying concepts (e.g. assessment for learning) were understood. The approach supported the construction of the participants’ understanding of assessment, and enabled the exploration of the interplay between thinking and reported practice, which were closely aligned. It also drew attention to the need to further develop methodologies which capture both the complexity of thinking about assessment and real-world assessment practices.     

略论我国司法解释的问题及对策

司法解释对于弥补法律规范本身存在的缺漏 ,保证法律的正确实施 ,具有重要的作用。目前我国法律实践中的司法解释还存在不少问题 ;对法律的实施产生了消极影响 ,只有采取针对性的措施解决这些问题 ,才能提高司法解释的质量 ,保证法律实施的准确和公正     

Rethinking assessment: managing behaviour and reducing disaffection

Disaffection and behaviour problems continue to be a cause of concern in many schools. Although many schemes and initiatives have attempted to address these issues, few have proved completely successful. It is suggested that in the light of the current phase of educational reforms, with its emphasis on raising standards and target setting, the role of increased assessment in the generation of these problems may have been overlooked. The experiences of a number of schools in exploring a different approach to pupil assessment emphasising the development of a number of generic ‘life skills’ are explored and the effects on these two issues discussed.     

Paragogy and flipped assessment: experience of designing and running a MOOC on research methods

Abstract

This study draws on the authors’ first-hand experience of designing, developing and delivering (3Ds) a massive open online course (MOOC) entitled ‘Understanding Research Methods’ since 2014, largely but not exclusively for learners in the humanities and social sciences. The greatest challenge facing us was to design an assessment mechanism that was (i) rigorous yet practicable at scale, vis-à-vis over 60,000 students from highly diverse backgrounds; (ii) compatible with the pedagogical orientation of the MOOC provider; and (iii) meaningful to the nature of the course subject. Based on a network analysis of forum interactions and a qualitative analysis of a random sample of 116 research questions proposed by students, we explore how participants’ understanding of research methods developed through a series of carefully sequenced ‘e-tivities’ and ‘open peer assessments’ over the duration of the course. The aim of this study was to consider a model of ‘flipped’ assessment, drawn from elements of ‘paragogy’ and the IR Model that acknowledges and exploits peer learning opportunities that are not routinely captured by completion statistics.     

教师教学效益评价中的熵权评价法

教师教学效益的评价是一个结构复杂和影响因素众多的系统。本文在对教师教学效益影响因素进行分析的基础上,应用熵权评价法对评价进行定性与定量分析,从而给出客观、公正的评价。