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All About Assessment in Higher Education. HRDC – CYCLE IV Assessment Methodologies - An overview Iram Sohail. Activity Time. ICE BREAKER. Focus of the Activity
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All About Assessment in Higher Education HRDC – CYCLE IV Assessment Methodologies - An overview Iram Sohail
Activity Time ICE BREAKER
Focus of the Activity “The focus of the session will be the need to assess university students. The participants will be divided into five groups. Each group will play the role of one of the stakeholders. The groups will then discuss the expected skills of university graduates. After sharing the summary of discussion in each group, the means to measure the skills will be focused. The presentation on assessment will address the issues raised in the discussion.”
Group formation • Five groups will be formed by tagging different numbers • Group 1 will work on Skills/abilities that students expect to learn from University education • Group2 will work on Skills/abilities that teachers expect that students should learn from University education • Group 3 will work on Skills/abilities that parents expect that students should learn from University education
Group 4 will work on Skills/abilities that management expect that students should learn from University education • Group 5 will work on Skills/abilities that employers expect that students should learn from University education • Each group will enlist the expectations, finalize and a member will present them on flip chart
Common Image Evoked by Educational Measurement and Assessment • Paper-and-pencil test – especially standardized • Multiple Choice questions • Knowledge recall questions – stereotypical format Assessment is much more than that…… • Formal assessment (Semester work, Mid-semester and Final exams) but still it is incomplete Why? Many of the assessments that are critical to the moment by moment classroom decisions are informal • Informal assessment (questioning,class discussions)
Key Terminologies • Assessment Any of a variety of procedures used to obtain information about student’s performance and answers the question “How well does the individual perform?” • Test An instrument or systematic procedure measuring a sample of behaviour by posing a set of questions in a uniform manner which answers the question “How well does the individual perform – either in comparison with others or in a domain of performance tasks”?
Measurement The process of obtaining a numerical description of the degree to which an individual possesses a particular characteristic, which gives answer to the question “How much?”
What is assessment? • Assessment is a rich conversation about student learning informed by data …….!!! • Assessment can be defined as gathering quantitative and qualitative information, using a variety of tools and techniques that are easy to understand and interpret. • WHY DO WE NEED AN ASSESSMENT SYSTEM? • To assess teaching and learning • To check proficiency in a wide variety of tasks at a class level. • To provide information to different people on how well standards are being met.
WHAT IS AN ASSESSMENT SYSTEM? • a coordinated process of gathering information to improve students learning. Such a system must include: • The specific purpose (s) for which the assessment is being carried out; • A wide variety of tools and techniques that measure what students know, value, and are able to do; • How the assessment can be interpreted and used to evaluate the standards and learning outcomes; What criteria will be used to determine performance levels for the standard. That is to determine if students are partially proficient, proficient or exceptional.
The Purpose of Assessment ……refers to any to any activity used to appraise students’ performance and to monitor students’ progress in terms of specific learning outcomes. • To provide the teachers feedback about student’s progress • To provide students with educative feedback • To motivate students • To provide a record of progress • To assess students’ readiness for future learning
Pre-assessing the Learners' Needs Identify Instructional Goals Simplified Instructional Model Pre-assess Learner’s Needs Provide Relevant Instruction
Types of Assessments • Placement • Formative • Diagnostic • Summative
Placement Assessment - to determine student’s performance at the beginning of instruction Possible queries • Does the student possess the knowledge and skills needed to begin the planned instruction? e.g. reading skills or basic essential mathematics concepts etc. • To what extent has the student already developed the understanding and skills that are the goals of planned instruction? Sufficient levels of comprehension and proficiencies etc. • To what extent do the student’s interests work habits and personality characteristics indicate that the one mode of instruction is better than the other? (e.g. group instruction versus independent study) “The goal of placement assessment is to determine for each student the position in the instructional sequence and the mode of instruction that is most beneficial”.
Formative Assessment- To monitor Learning Progress during Instruction used to monitor learning progress during instruction and to provide continuous feedback to both student and teacher concerning successes and failures. • Formative assessment is dependent upon specific tests for each segment of instruction (unit, chapter, course goal etc.) • Observational techniques useful for monitoring student’s progress which is directed towards improving teaching andinstruction
Diagnostic Assessment- to diagnose learning difficulties during instruction • A highly specialized procedure concerned with persistent or recurring learning difficulties that are left unresolved by the standard corrective prescription of formative assessment – much more comprehensive and detailed • Specific diagnostic tests and observational techniques are required • The purpose of diagnostic assessment is to determine the cause of persistent learning problems and to come up with remedial action plan
Summative Assessment- to assess achievement at the end of instruction • Typically comes at the end of a course • Designed to determine the extent to which course goals have been achieved • Primarily used for assigning grades • Techniques may vary from course to course • Teacher made achievement tests • Ratings on various types of performances e.g lab work, research reports, Viva Voce etc. The main purpose is grading, it also provides information for judging the appropriateness of the course objectives and effectiveness of teaching
Taxonomy????????? • What is it? Taxonomy reflects different forms of Thinking “He who learns but does not think is lost”. (Chinese Proverb)
What is Bloom's taxonomy and how can a teacher apply Bloom's taxonomy to classroom lesson plans? • Created by Benjamin Bloom for “categorizing and classifying levels of intellectual learning that commonly occur in the classroom setting”
Bloom’s Taxonomy- At a Glance • Taxonomy for categorizing level of learning • There are six levels of knowledge according to Benjamin Bloom et al. • The levels are thought to build on one another. • The higher levels of learning have to do with brilliance and getting well educated.
Applying Bloom’s Six Levels • Knowledge Level 1 – Recall Remembering previously learned material, recalling facts, terms, basic concepts from stated text (Name, List, Recognize, Choose, Label, Relate, Tell, Recall, Match, Define) • Comprehension Level 2 – Understand and demonstrating understanding of the stated meaning of facts and ideas (Compare, Describe, Outline, Organize, Classify, Explain Rephrase Show Relate Identify) • Inference Level 2 1/2 – Infer while demonstrating understanding of the unstated meaning of facts and ideas (Speculate Interpret Infer Generalize Conclude)
Application Level 3 – Put to Use ,Solving problems by applying acquired knowledge, facts, and techniques in a different situation (Apply, Construct, Model, Use, Practice, Dramatize, Restructure, Simulate, Translate, Experiment) • Analysis Level 4 – Break down examining and breaking down information into parts (Analyze, Diagram, Classify, Contrast, Sequence, Simplify, Summarize, Relate to, Categorize, Differentiate) • Synthesis Level 5 – Put together compiling information in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern (Compose, Design Develop, Propose, Adapt, Elaborate, Formulate, Originate, Solve, Invent) • Evaluation Level 6 – Judge presenting and defending opinions by making judgments about information based on criteria (Judge, Rank, Rate, Evaluate, Recommend, Defend, Justify, Prioritize, Support, Prove)
BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY • CreatingGenerating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing thingsDesigning, constructing, planning, producing, inventing. • EvaluatingJustifying a decision or course of actionChecking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging • AnalysingBreaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationshipsComparing, organising, deconstructing, interrogating, finding
ApplyingUsing information in another familiar situationImplementing, carrying out, using, executing • UnderstandingExplaining ideas or conceptsInterpreting, summarising, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining • RememberingRecalling informationRecognising, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding
Higher Order Questions • Higher level questions are those requiring complex application, analysis, evaluation or creation skills. • Questions at higher levels of the taxonomy are usually most appropriate for: • Encouraging students to think more deeply and critically • Problem solving • Encouraging discussions • Stimulating students to seek information on their own
TYPES OF ASSESSMENT METHODS Four methods that can be used to assess teaching and learning are: • Selected Response • Constructed Response (Essay Type) • Presentations. (Assignments/Small Research Projects/Role Plays) • Performance based task
General Principles of Assessment-an integrated process for determining the nature and extent of student learning and development • Clearly specify what is to be assessed has priority in the assessment process (specifying intended learning goals) • An assessment procedure should be selected because of its relevance (method for measuring learning) • Comprehensive assessment requires a variety of procedures (various assessment techniques to gather a pen picture) • Proper use of assessment procedures requires an awareness of their limitations (proper range to be more effective) • Assessment is a means to an end, not an end itself…(obtaining data on which to base educational decisions)
Some rules for better assessment in higher education • Link assessment to learning • Never assess without giving comments to students • about how they might improve • Learn from your students' mistakes. Use assessment to discover their misunderstandings, then modify your teaching to address them • Deploy a variety of assessment methods • Try to get students participating in the assessment process • Give lucid and frequent messages, that success in your courses will only be achieved through decisive demonstrations of understanding
Think about the relation between reporting and feedback • Use multiple-choice and other 'objective' tests very cautiously, preferably in combination with other methods • In subjects involving quantitative manipulations, always include questions requiring explanations in prose • Focus on validity (is what you are measuring important?) before reliability (is your test consistent?) • Do everything in your power to lessen the anxiety raised by assessments • Never set an assignment or examination question you are not ready to answer yourself • Reduce the between-student competitive aspects of assessment while simultaneously providing inducements to succeed against a standard
Be suspicious of the objectivity and accuracy of all measures of student ability and conscious that human judgment is the most important element in every indicator of achievement • Remember “Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer" -Colton
Key Questions….?????? • Do I make use of an appropriate variety of Assessment Activities? • Do I make use of various purposes for assessment, including both formative and summative purposes and also as a means of monitoring the success of my own teaching and future planning? • Are the assessment activities carried out in a way that will facilitate achievement? • Do I help students to prepare for assessment tasks so as to enable them to achieve success by having a clear understanding of the expectations required and how these can be best achieved? • Do I ensure that each assessment activity is well-tailored to the purpose for which for it is intended?
Conclusion “Assessment is the key to identifying and measuring achievement – it shows us when education works. As assessment experts, we aim to influence education policy and strategy around the world to enhance learning and ensure that individuals are able to access the benefits of their education”
