Oct 21 Learning-oriented assessment

1. Learning-oriented
assessment in action
North-West University, South Africa
David Carless
University of Hong Kong
October 21, 2015
The University of Hong Kong

2. Issues to be addressed
1. Effective assessment designs
2. Student self-evaluative capacities
3. Student engagement with feedback
4. Challenges & Implications
The University of Hong Kong

3. Competing assessment functions
The University of Hong Kong

4. Learning-oriented assessment
A major priority in all assessment should be
to promote effective student learning
processes (Carless, 2014)
The University of Hong Kong

5. The University of Hong Kong
Productive assessment
task design
Student self-evaluative
capacities
Student engagement
with feedback
Learning-oriented assessment framework

6. Research process
The University of Hong Kong

8. The University of Hong Kong
ASSESSMENT
DESIGN IN HISTORY

9. Making History course
• Foundation level, year 1, 110 students
The University of Hong Kong

10. Making History LOs
Critical engagement with representations of
past; interpret connections between past &
present;
The University of Hong Kong

11. History Assessment
Fieldwork report (30%): Museum visit
Individual project (40%): draft 10%, final 30%
Participation (30%):
tutorial participation 15%
short weekly written responses 15%
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12. Museum report
1000 words or podcast
Issues: key messages; use of space;
coverage and omissions
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13. Project stages
• Topic brief
• Draft (10%)
• Final version (30%): 3000 words
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14. Use of social media
Students could upload drafts of work in
progress & receive peer feedback
The University of Hong Kong

15. Short in-class written responses
20-30 word answers on
topic for next class
Promotes student
engagement but
difficult to assess
(Carless & Zhou, 2015)
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16. SELECTED
TASK DESIGN
PRINCIPLES
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17. Spreading student effort/sustained
engagement
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18. Mirroring real-life uses of the discipline
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19. Incorporates feedback dialogues
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20. Flexibility & choice
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21. DEVELOPING STUDENT
SELF-EVALUATIVE
CAPACITIES
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22. Help students experience quality
Evaluative expertise is a
necessary condition for
improvement (Sadler,
1989)
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23. Use of exemplars
Sharing of samples to illustrate expectations
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24. Connoisseurship
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25. Dialogue about exemplars
The quality of dialogue around exemplars is
crucial in determining student learning
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26. Rubrics
Generating, applying or engaging with
quality criteria
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27. STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
WITH FEEDBACK
PROCESSES
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28. Key aim of feedback
To enhance student
ability to self-monitor
their work in
progress
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29. Closing feedback loops
It’s only feedback
if students take
some action
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30. Sustainable feedback
Enhancing student role to generate & use
feedback (Carless et al., 2011; Hounsell,
2007)
The University of Hong Kong

31. Peer feedback
Potentially more
plentiful …
But peers often viewed
as lacking expertise
The University of Hong Kong

32. To give is better than to receive
Providing feedback more cognitively engaging
(e.g. Nicol et al., 2014)
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33. Guidance & feedback
Integrated cycles of guidance & feedback
within learning activities (Hounsell, 2007;
Hounsell et al. 2008)
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34. Technology-facilitated feedback
Learning Management Systems
Use of clickers, EVS
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35. Audio (& video) feedback
Providing recorded verbal commentary
(instead of written feedback?)
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36. Same-day exam feedback
Discussion immediately after Law exam
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37. Exam debriefing
Supplemented by online discussion
Novel angles may be added to marking
scheme
The University of Hong Kong

38. Two-stage exams
Individual 80%
Group 20%
The University of Hong Kong
Carl Wieman

39. Issues & Challenges
The University of Hong Kong

40. Double duty
Competing priorities in
assessment
Reliability, Fairness,
Workload, QA etc
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41. Trust or distrust
Distrust as barrier for innovative assessment
(Carless, 2009)
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42. Feedback failing to connect
Difficulties for lower achievers to make
sense of feedback (Orsmond & Merry, 2013)
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43. Student response
Students interpret assessment based on
their own preferences, experiences and
motivations
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44. Feedback literacy
Teachers need to
help students
understand
purposes of
feedback & how
they can use it
The University of Hong Kong

45. Assessment literacy
Need for development in assessment (for
learning) literacy of university teachers (cf.
Price et al., 2012)
The University of Hong Kong

46. Communication about assessment
Rationales
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Potential benefits
Processes
Tackling challenges

47. Teacher X factor
Teacher determination to overcome
challenges & strive for learning-oriented
assessment
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48. THANK YOU
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49. The University of Hong Kong

50. Defining feedback
“A dialogic process in which learners make
sense of information from varied sources
and use it to enhance the quality of their
work or learning strategies”.
Carless (2015, p.192) building on Boud &
Molloy (2013)
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51. Shifts in feedback priorities
The University of Hong Kong
Increase Decrease
In-class dialogic feedback within
module time
Unidirectional comments after
completion of module
Written feedback comments on
first assessment task of module
Written feedback comments on
final task of module
Feedback for first year students Feedback for final year students