Assessment, Marking and Feedback

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Assessment, Marking and Feedback

• Karen Clegg, Graduate Training Unit, University
  of York

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Structure

• What do we mean by assessment?
• Marking
• Giving Feedback
• Assessment Alternatives
• A note on plagiarism

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Assessment in Psychology

• Essays
• Questionnaires/Surveys
• Experimental reports
• Presentations
• Multiple Choice
• Others?

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TASK 1

• In pairs discuss
• Why we assess students?
• Why we give marks to students?

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Forms of Assessment

• Diagnostic indicator of a learners aptitude
  and preparedness for a programme of study and
  identifies possible learning problems
• Formative designed to give feedback on progress
  and inform development
• Summative provides a measure of achievement
  made in respect of learning outcomes
• Ipsative provides information on an
  individuals present performance compared with
  previous (personal best)

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Norm Referencing marking to the curve

• Cons
• Achievement is relative to the cohort
• Incites competition for grades
• Improvement in LT isnt reflected in the outcome

• Pros
• Comparison between cohorts of students can be
  made (also year after year)
• Incites competition for grades

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Criterion referencing marking to a standard

• Cons
• Emphasis on accountability and evidencing the
  assessment system

• Pros
• Achievement is measured against a standard
• Individual achievement is measured (and can be
  compared)

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Task 2

• In groups of 3 or 4 design criteria by which to
  assess ONE of the following psychology essay
  titles
• a) Do we have multiple memory systems in our
  brain? Describe the areas of the brain linked to
  various types of memory and how memory is
  affected by disease or dysfunction in these
  regions
• b) Describe the physiological changes that are
  seen in response to stress. Under what
  circumstances is stress beneficial?

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What does assessment for learning involve?

• assessing learning outcomes
• being explicitly linked to assessment strategies
  and assessment criteria
• All of these should ideally be communicated to
  students or better still involve the students in
  negotiating the criteria so that they have a
  better idea of what quality is
• Assessment for accountability purposes needs to
  be moderated by internal and external means

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Good Feedback

• Sadler (1989) identified three conditions
  necessary for students to benefit from feedback.
  The student must
• a) possess a concept of the goal/standard or
  reference level being aimed for
• b) compare the actual (or current) level of
  performance with that goal or standard
• c) engage in appropriate action which leads to
  some closure of the gap

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Formative Feedback (Nicol and Macfarlane D, 2004)
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7 Principles of Good Feedback

• Good feedback practice
• Facilitates the development of self-assessment
  (reflection) in learning.
• Encourages teacher and peer dialogue around
  learning.
• Helps clarify what good performance is (goals,
  criteria, expected standards).
• Provides opportunities to close the gap between
  current and desired performance.
• Delivers high quality information to students
  about their learning.
• Encourages positive motivational beliefs and
  self-esteem .
• Provides information to teachers that can be used
  to help shape the teaching.

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Providing Feedback

• Do students know what the assessment criteria
  are?
• What about formative, as opposed to summative,
  feedback?
• Do the assessment criteria relate to degree
  classifications? Should they?
• What is the marking scale? Percentages, grades,
  pass/fail

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Constructive Alignment

• Aligning learning outcomes, teaching and
  assessment
• If students are to learn desired outcomes in a
  reasonably effective manner, then the teachers
  fundamental task is to get students to engage in
  learning activities that are likely to result in
  their achieving those outcomes (Shuell in Biggs,
  1999)

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Diversifying Assessment

• To what extent do we rely on traditional methods?
• Mode examinations (unseen, seen, timed), essays,
  reports, skeleton arguments, draft essays, PDP,
  portfolios, diaries, email discussion
• Medium VLEs, problem-based learning, web-based,
  multi-media, oral presentation
• Active Learning project work, community projects

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Innovations in assessment

• Self and Peer Assessment
• Reflective Writing
• Oral Assessment - Presentations and Moots
• CIT simulated learning
• Practice -based assessment/Clinic
• Critical Association

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Equitable Assessment

• Clearly stated learning outcomes
• Make criteria clear and explicit
• Interactive, experiential teaching
• Use a variety of assessment modes, medium
• Invite formative feedback from a range of
  stakeholders
• Use self and peer assessment to help develop
  understanding
• Build in reflection

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What is Plagiarism?

• Plagiarism is passing off someone elses work,
  whether intentionally or unintentionally, as your
  own for your own benefit.
• (Carroll, 2002)

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What do students understand by Plagiarism?

• Cheat
• Collude
• Fabricate
• Personate
• Plagiarise

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Why do Students Cheat?

• Pressure for good grades (a)
• Inadequate assessment that encourages students
  to cheat (b)
• Genuine confusion about what constitutes cheating
  (a)
• Laziness/poor management skills (c)
• (a. Franklyn-Stokes Newstead 1995, Ashworth, b.
  Bannister and Thorne 1997, c. McDonald 2000)

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Why do Students Cheat?

• Its your integrity. I come from a culture that
  you just dont pull that stuff. Its been
  instilled in me that youre absolutely honest
  about everything. Its just pure black and white
  with me (B)
• You just dont do it. Thats what were told
  We will be checking, we know all the sources on
  the internet and all the text books so if it
  looks familiar it probably is and we will check
  it so dont do it! (D)
• Maybe if I was desperate (E)

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Designing out Plagiarism

• Reduce final assessment
• Require evidence of the process of learning
• Set tasks that require analysis and evaluation
  rather than description (Bloom)
• Vary format ask for reports, case studies,
  problem solving (not essays)
• Ask for plans, drafts and outlines
• Change the content and up-date examples
• Use oral presentations and defence
• Provide training in citation for students

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Plagiarism Proof Assessment?

• The more analytical, specific and creative the
  task, the less likely the solution already exists
  and therefore, for the student, the task becomes
  create the solution not find the solution
• (Carroll, 2002)

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Making Assessment work for you

• Give specific instructions
• Use a signed statement of originality
• Ask for drafts
• Use Peer review
• Assess Process
• Set criteria that take collaboration into account
• Good Assessment Practice in terms of plagiarism
  is good practice in general!

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Prevention

• Plagiarism is an academic crime. Integrate
  examples of plagiarism into ethics/human rights
  teaching
• Acknowledge a collaborative working environment
• Dont let fear of plagiarism force you into
  narrow assessment techniques
• Train students in methods of research and
  citation
• Take responsibility and disseminate good practice

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What does good teaching involve?

• Motivational context purpose and a need to know
• Learner activity doing something
• Interaction with others discussion and
  conversation
• Opportunity to produce drafts
• Opportunities to reflect on feedback
• Range of formative and summative assessments