Alice Lau

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"E for Enhancement" Assessment for Learning at
the University of Glamorgan
Alice Lau Research Fellow in Assessment Esyin
Chew Senior Lecturer in Technology Enhanced
Learning, Teaching and Assessment
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Content of Presentation

• Setting the Scene
• The development of a University 'Assessment for
  Learning' policy
• Student attitudes to assessment
• The way technology can be used to support the
  'assessment for learning' policy
• Where Glamorgan is in its enhancement of
  Assessment through technology
• Where we hope to be by the end of the Gwella
  project.

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Setting the scene
Assessmenthas a powerful influence on
learning andchanges to assessment may have a
greater influence on students learning than
other changes to the curriculum. Assessment
innovations are therefore needed to improve the
quality of learning outcomes... (Boud, 2006)
if one changes the method of teaching, but keeps
the assessment unchanged, one is very likely to
fail. (Elton and Johnston, 20024)
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The Development of a University 'Assessment for
Learning' Policy

• Review of assessment across the Institution 06/07
• assessment methods being used are still largely
  traditional
• Use of essays, closed book exams and lab reports
  are the most common!
• Little and slow uptake to innovative forms of
  assessment despite strong support from the
  University
• Review of assessment loadings for 15 first year
  awards
• Significant variations on the loading of
  assessment across the same year ( from 6 pieces
  to 29 pieces of assignment)
• The poor student experience on assessment and
  feedback identified by the NSS and our internal
  student survey
• Senior management commitment to change in
  learning, teaching and assessment Assessment
  for Learning

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Glamorgan Assessment Policy

• To introduce a standard and consistent concept
  across the University as a focal point to
  implement change
• Aim Assessment FOR Learning
• Source http//celt.glam.ac.uk/Assessment/u
  niversity-of-glamorgan-assessment-policy
• to develop a learning environment which
  promotes the student learning experience,
  facilitates the acquisition of competence in a
  range of relevant skills and leads to increased
  learner autonomy.

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Key principles from the policy

• Fit for purpose aligned to learning outcomes
• Promote a balanced usage of formative and
  summative assessment
• Promote authentic and inclusive assessment
• Promote student motivation, independence
• Avoid assessment overload and bunching
• Provide timely, appropriate, stimulating feedback
  and feedforward in order to engage students in
  learning
• Promote innovative assessment (e.g. TEL,
  self/peer assessment)

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Innovative TEL Assessment

• Blackboard with the following facilities
  integrated
• Module Overview
• Learning Materials
• Staff Information
• Communication Discussion Board, Announcement,
  Email
• Resources TalisList
• Assessment Turnnitin, QMP, Blackboard
  Assignment Tool and etc

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Learners Expectations Experiences

• National Student Survey
• Student Expectation Project
• Student Voice Reps
• Change Academy
• Internal Student Survey

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Students view

• Assessment Process
• Students want clear, specific and consistent
  communications from tutors on assessment
  information.
• Including what the assessment is, when the
  deadline and hand-back date are, Where is the
  information? How to reference? Where and how to
  hand in their work? What are the Marking
  criteria?

there are many options to hand it assignments
in it can be confusing, itd be helpful if they
lecturers just give one option so you know
where it will be.
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Assessment Button (Bb Template )
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When the deadline and hand-back date are, Where
is the information?
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Students view

• Students would like diverse assessments
• They want flexibility and choice when completing
  assessment

It would be better if there were different ways
of assessing, rather just all coursework and
exams at the endYou do get quite enthusiastic
about the first one or two but when it gets to
the fourth one, it does become so mundane and so
dull. You just feel your going through the
motions of turning them out. Perhaps more
interactive assessment would be good.
I think you should be able to hand in work in
different ways you could hand in a video and put
the work in that way instead of an essay if you
cant express yourself through words and through
different medium.
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Choices of Technologies for Lecturers and Student
to Use in the Assessment Process

• The diversity of assessment tools - Turnitin,
  Questionmark Perception, BB Assignment, Social
  Software

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Students view

• Students want assessment to be little and
  often.

I would have expected little and often so you
know how you are doing as you go along,
especially the first year.I want smaller
assessments, more frequency and better
communications with tutors.
I think as far as assessment it should be a
weekly thing, if I have a project that has three
months before its due I procrastinate
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Students view

• Feedback and feedforward
• Students want feedback to be timely, detailed and
  clear.
• In particular, they want 1-1 feedback.
• Students appreciate opportunities to gain
  feedback from their peers.

Sometimes you just get comments such as you
write well. I want to know how do I write
well? Tell me. If I write well why dont I write
excellently? What dont I do right? We never get
that feedback
if its feedback too late you have no time to
use it, and you cant work on it and most of your
coursework is out of the way
Type up feedback. Some handwriting are
unreadable!
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Example of Meaningful Feedback in Grademark
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Example of Immediate Feedback in QMP
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Students view

• Support
• Students want support to be available both in and
  out of term time.
• They appreciate tutors who emphasis office hours
  to provide 1-1 support, using online forum to
  provide out of term support

We had an online forum in our European Union
module. Out tutor made it available over the
Christmas holiday. It was really good and when
you are away and in a bit of a panic, you dont
normally get the support. He the tutor would
write something on there to invite everyone to
ask questions. ..It was on Blackboard (BB) youd
write a question and hed answer and everyone was
able to access it. Then people would write follow
up questions. It was really useful people were
writing stuff you may not have thought about
including. It was helpful. You helped each other
out and it wasnt competitive. ..I got the best
coursework mark I ever got I have to say,
definitely really useful.
...past example is the best way to show what
needs to be donethe best way is to show us what
is good and whats not.
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In/Out of Term Time Support

• VLE with online submission, plagiarism detection,
  assessment and feedback tool Turnitin
  Grademark and Blackboard Assignment Tool
• 2. Assessment management system enables educators
  to author, schedule, deliver, and report on
  surveys, quizzes, tests and exams Questionmark
  Perception
• 3. Social Software personal reflection on blog,
  collaborative wiki project and etc.

Image sourced from http//www.ambujex.com/images/
homeflash.jpg
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• Benefits

• Student
• Formative assessment
• Improve academic integrity
• Digital receipt
• Assessment feedback after the post date on BB

• Lecturer
• Automated submission process
• Promote academic integrity (avoid plagiarism)
• Everything is on Blackboard!
• Meaningful feedback

Image sourced from http//www.ambujex.com/images/
homeflash.jpg
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Where Glamorgan is in its enhancement of
Assessment through technology

• The University of Glamorgan have implemented the
  Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy
  2007-2012.
• Technologies are available in GlamLearn for all
  academic to use in their teaching practice QMP,
  Turnitin Grademark, Assignment Tool etc.
• A Senior Lecturer of Technology Enhanced Learning
  and Teaching is delivering on TELA targets.
• Awareness raising of online assessment through
  group training and one to one support for staff.
   

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Turnitin, Grademark Blackboard Assignment Tool

1. Active submission 9435
2. Usage 235 Instructors 3000 Students
3. 121 Support from Nov-March More than 70
   Academics
4. Group Trainings for Academics 8 sessions (Total
   attendees 36)
5. Group Trainings for Students 6 sessions (Total
   attendees 71)

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Questionmark Perception

• Group Training for Academics (Total attendees
  QMP 1 32, QMP2 27, 3 awareness raising
  sessions and implementation of the first phase of
  the module evaluation project)
• 100 active instructors
• Early Days Questionnaires 670
• Study Health Check 490
• Student Experience project 1143

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Sources of Support

• CELT Website http//celt.glam.ac.uk/
• Online Assessment Wiki - http//glamorganonlineass
  essment.pbwiki.com/
• LearningZone Blog http//learning.weblog.glam.ac
  .uk/
• Plagiarism Blog http//plagiarism.weblog.glam.ac
  .uk/
• The user guides (e.g. QMP and Turnitin) that were
  developed in-house can be found under the Staff
  Support Resources section of CELT website.
• These have been an effective approach to
  promoting TEL A with many other good practice
  and supporting documents available all the time
• CELT communicates within the department and
  across the University through its blogs.
• This generates interest, discussion and comments
  from academics across the institution.

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Glamorgan Voices for the TEL A Support and
Enhancement
Thanks for your email (with helpful step-by-step
guide) and many thanks for taking the time to
meet with me yesterday.  I found our time
together very helpful. I look forward to meeting
again. Jonathan Evans (Lecturer) 
The Grademark is good to provide detailed
feedback of my assignment. Student (BUS)
The Turnitin Originality Report is impressive. I
can use it to check my poor referencing format,
improve them and re-submit it again to the
lecturer. Student (HASS)
Many thanks for taking me through the Turnitin
mechanism with such patience! Really grateful
for your time! Liz Parkes (Lecturer)
Thanks for the training yesterday, I have set it
up for one of my modules already and introduced
it to the students today who all seemed quite
positive about it. Christopher Retallick
(Lecturer)
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Faculties Development

• Over 30 modules leaders and their team has put
  forward proposal to review their assessment and
  feedback strategy, a number of them are going to
  utilise technology as part of their review.
• Replacing traditional essay with digital
  storyboard
• Replacing seminar write-ups with an online
  reflective log maybe via blogging
• Planning to have their student submit their work
  as audio diary, and also looking to provide audio
  feedback.
• To introduce a group assessment getting students
  to construct online mircosites
• To introduce the use of online assessment in the
  form of MCQ as part of the assessment regime
• To demonstrate and share with others an online
  marking system
• There are others who also stated that they are
  open to any suggestion to improving their
  assessment via the use of technology

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Links
QA
Thank you

• Alice Lau Research Fellow in Assessmentamlau_at_gl
  am.ac.uk
• Esyin Chew Senior Lecturer in Technology
  Enhanced Learning, Teaching and Assessment
• echew_at_glam.ac.uk
• http//celt.glam.ac.uk