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.     

The social field(s) of arts education today: living vulnerability in neo-liberal times

The arts are often seen as peripheral to the ‘real business’ of school and schooling. While this has been the case for some time now, the increasing pressures of high-stakes testing and ever-more draconian public funding schemes (particularly in the wake of 9/11) have created something of a ‘perfect storm’ for those working in the arts. Arts proponents today live and operate within a culture of scarcity, having to justify their increasingly marginalized vocations while competing for continually shrinking resources. The result is an often deep-bodied sense of vulnerability, one which saturates the social field (both micro and macro) of arts education in ways not often publicly acknowledged. In this article, I explore this notion of ‘vulnerability’ as a framework for understanding qualitative data which emerged from a three-year arts and education project I conducted in a large, northeast city in the USA beginning in 2003. In so doing, I look to open up a broader discussion about the oft-ignored intersection(s) between the material and aesthetic in arts and education – a discussion which is sober about the future of such work in times of economic scarcity and conservative retrenchment.     

Antecedents and socioemotional consequences of physical punishment on children in two-parent families

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to test a structural model of the antecedents and socioemotional consequences of mothers' use of physical punishment on children in two-parent families. METHOD: Mother-child data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, based on a sample of 1397 4- to 9-year-old children, were used to test a structural model derived by the author from previous research. The hypothesized model was revised; the revised model was cross validated on a split-half sample, and estimated separately by age group, gender, and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: The revised model fit the data well and was supported by cross-validation. Poverty, maternal birth age, parents' education, maternal depression, and marital conflict were directly or indirectly related to mothers' frequent use of physical punishment. Frequent use of physical punishment was directly related to children's socioemotional problems, as were maternal depression and marital conflict. Few subgroup differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Main findings indicate that the effect of poverty on mothers' use of physical punishment is indirect, and is mediated by maternal depression and marital conflict. Depressed mothers spank their children more frequently and experience higher levels of marital conflict, which, in turn, is directly related to their use of physical punishment. Younger, more educated mothers spank their children less often. Children who are spanked more frequently exhibit more socioemotional problems.     

Building a Better M.I.C.E. Trap: Using Virtual Focus Groups to Assess Subject Guides for Distance Education Students

ABSTRACT

Subject guides are often used as an alternative to in-person library instruction for distance education students. However, when students are not on-campus, it can be difficult to assess if they are getting all of the relevant information they need. In an organization that serves students located across the United States and even outside of the country, a method was needed to assess the effectiveness of library information provided to distance learners on specific topics. The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration (Hotel College) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), offers a number of on-campus and distance education courses, including classes taught at a satellite campus in Singapore. With diverse course offerings via distance education, the conventions and exhibitions subject area was chosen as a case study. Often referred to as M.I.C.E., the study of meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions in a hospitality context is a major subdiscipline within the Hotel College. After researching different approaches to studying the effectiveness of subject guides, a virtual focus group was chosen to gather feedback from students. This paper will demonstrate how focus groups can be created and how the information gathered can be used to increase effectiveness of subject guides. Readers will discover effective techniques and pitfalls for using virtual focus groups in conjunction with subject guides assessment.     

Teaching the Importance and Use of Web-Based Services to Assist Clients in Obtaining Public Benefits

Research suggests that social work students and practitioners are not particularly sensitive to assessing clients' economic hardship, nor when needed to assist clients in accessing relevant resources such as public benefits. To enhance students' understanding of the importance of engaging in these activities, this article provides educational content on the frequent occurrence and negative effects of poverty, advantages of receiving public benefits, barriers to program participation, and social work values and educational requirements. Examples of web-based services, an efficient strategy to assist economically disadvantaged clients in accessing public benefits, are then provided. Finally, teaching applications are drawn from the previous sections.     

Analysis of a Recursive Algorithm for Computing Binomial Coefficients

While recursion is a useful programming technique, there are times when it can be very expensive in terms of execution. This idea was demonstrated in a classroom exercise involving an analysis of a particular recursive algorithm for computing binomial coefficients.     

Predictors of depressive symptoms among foster caregivers

OBJECTIVES: The main purposes of this study were to determine (1) the prevalence of depressive symptoms among foster caregivers, (2) the social-demographics, risk factors, and social support predicting depressive symptoms, and (3) whether social support buffered the effects of the risk factors in the Illinois Foster Caregivers Study. METHOD: Telephone interviews were used to collect data from a sample of 189 foster caregivers in the State of Illinois. Interviewers pretested the survey instrument, which included valid and reliable instruments on depressive symptoms and adult report of childhood maltreatment, an important risk factor for depression. Multivariate ordered logistic regression models were estimated. RESULTS: The foster caregivers exhibited few depressive symptoms, with only one respondent scoring in the clinical range. Contrary to past research on the general population, caregivers reporting higher income were at an increased risk of exhibiting depressive symptoms. The three risk factors-experiencing less than excellent or very good health, childhood maltreatment, and insufficient time to carry out responsibilities-were related to higher levels of depressive symptoms. Foster caregivers who perceived their support group as helpful had a decreased risk of reporting depressive symptoms. We found no evidence that social support buffered the effects of the risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that foster caregivers were adequately screened for depression, but suggest that assessing and providing assistance for health problems, trauma from childhood maltreatment, and insufficient time to meet responsibilities might decrease depressive symptoms. Facilitating and enhancing the helpfulness of foster caregiver support groups also might decrease development of depressive symptoms.