Workshop on Methodologies and procedures of documentation Round Table

1. Workshop on Methodologies and procedures of documentation Round Table “The core activities for the QA of SPs” The design of student-centred SPs and The assessment of students’ learning Alfredo Squarzoni, University of Genoa DoQuP Model

2. Items of the presentation • Importance of the definition of the learning outcomes as starting point for the design of SPs • Importance of the assessment of students’ learning, but not only: teaching and learning methods • Assessment Methods • DoQuP Requirements DoQuP Model

3. Importance of the definition of the learning outcomes as starting point for the design of SPs Standard A - Needs and Objectives The study programme should identify the educational needs of the labour market of reference, establish educational objectives coherent with the mission of the institution the study programme belongs to and the educational needs of the labour market of reference, and learning outcomes coherent with the established educational objectives. DoQuP Model

4. The choice to start from the definition of the educational objectives and of the learning outcomes in the definition of a system of iQA is a consequence of the Bologna process. DoQuP Model

5. The introduction of an educational system organised in cycles implies the passage from a staff-centred or input-based approach to a student-centred or output-based approach, which assume the student as the centre of the teaching and learning process. In the new study programmes the attention should be focused mainly on what a student has to learn and on the development of his/her competences than on what have to be taught, because it is the student who has to be prepared at best for his/her future role in the society. DoQuP Model

6. In an output-based study programme the main emphasis must lie on the degree or qualification profile. The degree profile must clearly define the aims and purposes of the programme, in terms of learning outcomes, i.e. what graduates will know, understand and be able to do by the time they have successfully completed the programme, and educational objectives, i.e. what can be expected of the graduates in terms of the kinds of tasks they are equipped to undertake, their level of expertise and the responsibilities they can assume. DoQuP Model

7. Quality Requirement A1 - Educational needs of the labour market The study programme should identify the educational needs of the labour market of reference. The educational needs should be identified in terms of professional profiles and/or functions/roles/activities expected for the graduates and associated required competences. DoQuP Model

8. Quality Requirement A2 - Educational objectives The study programme should define educational objectives in terms of professional profiles of the graduates and/or functions/roles/activities students are to be prepared for and associated key competences to be developed and obtained by the students during the learning process consistent with the mission of the institution which the study programme belongs to and the educational needs of the labour market of reference. DoQuP Model

9. Quality Requirement A3 - Learning outcomes The study programme should define learning outcomes in terms of what students are expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of the educational process consistent with the established educational objectives. DoQuP Model

10. Importance of the assessment of students’ leaning, but not only Importance of the assessment of students’ learning in the establishment of an internal quality assurance (iQA) system is stated by the Standards and Guidelinesfor Internal QA within Higher Education Institutions 1.3 Assessment of students Students should be assessed using published criteria, regulations and procedures which are applied consistently. DoQuP Model

11. But assessment of students’ learning is not independent from teaching and learning techniques. To allow students to reach the intended learning outcomes, a SP should best organize teaching and learning activities and assessment (‘alignment’ of teaching and learning activities and assessment of the intended learning outcomes of a SP) DoQuP Model

12. How to implement competences, defined on the base of intended requirements of society, in terms of approaches to teaching, learning and assessment has been one of the main topics of Tuning II project (Universities’ contribution to the Bologna process - An introduction, 2nd edition, http://www.unideusto.org/tuningeu/publications.html) DoQuP Model

13. The true importance of a competence approach to design of SPs is now widely understood and shared, but understanding of the concept alone is insufficient. The true importance lies in the implications a competence-based approach has for teaching, learning and assessment. In other words, which appropriate modes of teaching, which learning activities might best foster competences in terms of knowlwdge, understanding and skills, and how do we assess these competences. DoQuP Model

14. Consequently, according to Tuning approach, the use of competences and learning outcomes as starting point for the design of a SP implies changes regarding the teaching, learning and assessment methods which are used in the SP. DoQuP Model

15. Teaching methods A wide range of teaching techniques are used in universities. The set of teaching techniques strongly depends on the instructional form of education (face to face education, education by correspondence or distance education). The Tuning consultation revealed the following list (which is far from exhaustive): DoQuP Model

16. Lectures; • Seminar (small group teaching); • Tutorials; • Research seminar; • Exercise classes or courses; • Workshops (classroom based practical classes); • Problem-solving sessions; • Laboratory teaching; • Demonstration classes; • Placement (internship/traineeship); • Work based practice; • Fieldwork; • Distance learning (which may be paper based or ICT based); • e-learning (which maybe entirely on-line or ‘blended’ using other techniques and learning environments). DoQuP Model

17. Such lists are indicative only and are really a list of categories of teaching activity, since how each is undertaken may vary widely not only between academics but within the everyday practice of any one academic, depending on the focus of the teaching and the intended learning outcomes for the students. DoQuP Model

18. Learning methods As with teaching, a wide range of learning activities are used in universities. Apart from attending lecturers or reading books and journals, the following (inevitably partial) list of commonly used learning activities is the result of the Tuning consultations: DoQuP Model

19. Conducting searches for relevant materials in libraries and on-line; • Surveying literature; • Summarizing (those readings which seem to be most relevant to their current needs); • Learn to pose problems as well as solve those set by the lecturer; • Conducting increasingly complex research/independent projects or group projects; • Practising technical, mathematical or laboratory skills; • Practising professional skills (for example in Nursing, Medicine, Teaching); • Researching and writing papers, reports, dissertations of increasing difficulty (in terms of size and complexity of the material); DoQuP Model

20. Working with other students to co-produce a report/design/answer to a problem; • Preparing and making oral presentations, either in groups or individually; • Making constructive criticism of the work and others, and using the criticism of others productively; • Chairing and participating usefully in meetings (of seminar groups, for example); • Leading or being collaborative members of teams; • Work under time constraints to meet deadlines; • Communicate questions and findings with others using a variety of media; • Learn to criticise their own work. DoQuP Model

21. Assessment methods To complete the cycle of learning one must also look at how the students’ achievement of learning outcomes is assessed. Assessment is not just the rounding off of the teaching and learning period but to a large extent a central steering element in those processes, and directly linked o learning outcomes. Also the methods used to evaluate the learner’s achievement in a course unit are numerous. DoQuP Model

22. At one time, in some countries the oral examination was the most used method of assessment, while in others it was the essay. In a number of countries even today the essay remains a commonly used mode. But today the methods used to evaluate the learner’s achievement in a course unit are numerous. They may include the following, but again this is not an exhaustive list, merely which arose from the Tuning work: DoQuP Model

23. Written examinations; • Oral examinations; • Test of knowledge or skill; • Performance of skills while being observed (for example in work placement, laboratories); • Laboratory reports; • Work placement reports or diaries; • Professional portfolios; • Fieldwork reports. DoQuP Model

24. In particular written examinations can take a wide • range of formats, including the following short list of • common ones: • essays; • multiple choice questions; • problems to solve (e.g .in mathematics, physics, linguistic among others); • analysis of cases/data/texts; • reports (for example a review of relevant literature review, a critique of contrasting research papers). DoQuP Model

25. Also oral examinations can have a wide range of • formats, within the following two categories: • oral questioning by (usually) more than one lecturer; • demonstration of practical skill/set of skills. DoQuP Model

26. Each mode of assessment can be a good one, as long as the task is appropriate to the unit of study and to its intended learning outcomes. DoQuP Model

27. Central to all of these ways of assessing student work during a programme is feedback. The assessments may be used to enable the learners to evaluate their own progress and improve on previous performance (formative assessment) or by the institution to judge whether the learner has achieved the learning outcomes of the course unit (summative assessment). DoQuP Model

28. Of course, in any programme of study, or part of it, there is a need for summative assessment. However, most times the assessment of students’ learning has both a formative and a summative function: the grade given is the summation of the student’s achievement in that element, and the feedback from the lecturer is the formative part. DoQuP Model

29. Finally, it goes without saying that almost any form of assessment can have adiagnostic function for both lecturer and student. By seeing what has not been achieved, what has been achieved with little effort, what is excellent and so on, both the teacher and the learner know where more work is needed or where effort can be diverted. DoQuP Model

30. Tuning consultation has evidenced that in many institution requirements and guidelines have been developed for the assessment of learning, but European wide guidelines have been established in the document Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. They establish that: DoQuP Model

31. “Student assessment procedures are expected to: • be designed to measure the achievement of the intended learning outcomes and other programme objectives; • be appropriate for their purpose, whether diagnostic, formative or summative; • have clear and published criteria for marking; • be undertaken by people who understand the role of assessment in the progression of students towards the achievement of the knowledge and skills associated with their intended qualification; • where possible, not rely on the judgements of single examiners.” DoQuP Model

32. DoQuP Model Quality Requirement B2 – Design and planning of the educational process The SP should establish a curriculum and characteristics of the didactic units able to permit the achievement of the established learning outcomes within the official length of the SP, according to a gradual process and didactic activities coherent and coordinated among them. DoQuP Model

33. Expected activities and behaviours • For each didactic unit the SP should define at least: • … • assessment methods (e.g.: written examinations, oral examinations, etc.) and criteria (descriptions of what the learner is expected to do and to what level, in order to demonstrate that a learning outcome has been achieved and to what extent); criteria for measuring students’ learning (e.g.: attribution of a final grade, fitness declaration, etc.) and criteria of attribution of the final grade, if any; … DoQuP Model

34. The assessment methods and criteria should provide evidence of their capacity to check the effective achievement of the intended learning outcomes by the students and ensure trust that the level of achievement by the students is assessed in a credible way. DoQuP Model

35. Thanks for your attention DoQuP Model