- To what extent do you think you have achieved each of the learning outcomes for this week? If you think there is room for you to achieve these more fully, how could you do this?
In this week we learn and discuss the importance of assessment and feedback. We receive feedback from our peers on our micro teach session. The purpose of this session and feedback on the session was to practically implement all the techniques we learn in our PHGCE. We also learn about design and evaluation of an assessment and how to brief about it to our student. We also give our feedback to our peers and share our assessment strategies with them and also get feedback from them on our assessment strategies. Each of us share their assessment strategies which help us to improve our strategies and have an idea to deal with different kind of students and course related work.
- What have you learned this week about formative and summative assessment and feedback in HE?
Formative and summative assessment both are important at course and program level and they need to be design according to course requirements as well as according to the regulations of institute. Summative assessment must be handled at institutional level (Taras 2006). Formative assessment is diagnostic, it tells about the achievements of a student which allows teaching and learning activities to be changed according to the needs of a learner (Black and William 1998a). There are two ways of assessment, assessment as learning which involves a straight forward way of assignment and revision. Second is assessment for learning in which assessment are conducted using feedbacks, peers participate in assessment which gives them a chance to assess their progress and self-monitoring (Black and William 1998a).
Formative assessment using the principal assessment for learning gives strong support to a student for his summative assessment. Every institute handle the formative assessment on its own level and summative assessment is conducted according to the board and authorities who ae responsible to conduct them.
- How did you learn this? What supported you?
Every lecturer writes a course module according to the needs of a learner, that benefits their learning and achievements and for motivation and workload. A lecturer plans course or modules wisely, in which he puts his teaching plans and aims, learning outcomes of a module, assessment plan and student progression within that. Hence it is proved that assessment whether it is formative or summative is not the thing that happens on the spot but there is a long plan behind that in which purpose of assessment has been defined.
Where we talk about the importance of assessment and feedback, there is also some conditions to conduct an assessment as in UK 15 credit modules are typically associated with assessment ‘wordage’ of between 3000 to 5000 words. Also, lots of small assignments may limit a chance of reflection and make them ‘rather narrow in scope and undemanding in nature’ (Gibbs 2006b: 17). Limiting the number of summative assessments should not detract from subtask and regular assessment that contributes in summative assessment, these continues methods can provide important formative assessment and encourages learner engagement in a course module.
- What have you learned this week about the practice of supporting student learning in HE?
In this week we learn about the assessment plans and feedback, in which we also learn about assessment planning and a learner’s response on that. As above mentioned, that assessment must be designed and planned that facilitate a student to learn and encourage them to engage in a course module. There are some rules that must be taken care of to facilitate and supports a student learning in HE.
- There must be programme specifications that are clearly defined so that a student knows well about the course and purpose to learn that.
- Assessment regulation that are defined by the institute, in which all the guidelines related to assessment work load and limit of assessment per module is defined.
- Time to conduct an assessment.
In HE students get frustrated when there is too much assessment workload is there which is important thing that must be tackled wisely. For this a lecturer must work on it being in the limitations of institute regulations he must consider when assessment should be conducted to assess the learning outcomes of their module that also manages the student workload and allow them ‘adequate time to reflect on learning before being assessed’ (Quality Assurance Agency 2006c: 16).
- How has your understanding of this changed from doing this week’s topic and activities?
In this week we not only learn about assessment and feedback but we also learn some amazing methods which help us out to plan our assessments and also the way in which we give constructive feedback to our peers. We learn that an assessment must be conducted according at a right level. Like if there is a student of first year and a student of final year, we have to assess their learnings according to their level. Secondly, we have to grade the assessments in a proper way according to the university regulations. An assessment could be graded in a way that allows university to calculate the students’ final degree classification. Pass and fail grades are not easily determined and Knight (2000) suggests that we reserve grading for task which can be reliably graded and use pass/fail decision for others.
This week we share our assessment strategies with them and get feedback on them, which was a good way to improve our own strategies as our peers give constructive feedback on them. Side by side everyone shares their strategies that gives some new idea to us which we will apply in our future practices.
- What has challenged you?
In this as required was to provide feedback on their assessment strategies of our peers, we provided feedback to them but in somewhere we were not really aware about the level of their students. As we learn in this week that assessment must be conducted according to the level of the student like is, he a first-year student or a final year student, assessment for but must be different. It was a challenge for me to provide constructive feedback to my peers on assessment strategies they use.
- What has surprised you?
Credit level descriptors, SEEC level descriptors ‘define the level of complexity, relative demand and autonomy expected of a learner on completion of a unit or programme of learning’ (SEEC 2003: 3). SEEC defined and illustrate the progression between the levels. It was surprising for me that SEEC has set and defines all the levels and their progression in a well manner under the four headings which were knowledge and understanding, cognitive/intellectual skills, key transferable skills and practical skills. It defines the progression levels for year 1, year 2, year 3 and for master’s.
- What has this taught you about your strengths in your practice in supporting student learning, through formative and summative assessment and feedback?
In formative assessment we usually divide our course work in different portion and each portion have specific learning outcomes. We normally use different assessment strategies to assess the student performance in that but somewhere we miss to define the importance of that portion or importance of the assessment. As a solution to this is, we must clearly state for example there are two portions for a coursework and a final or summative assessment then we have to state that assessment for portion one contributes 20% in their final examination and the second one contributes 30% and final examination weight is 50%.
- What actions can you identify that you could take to further develop your practice in formative and summative assessment and feedback in the future?
Learning from this week activities and the strategies to decide for assessment are which I will adopt to improve my practice. For assessment and feedback nothing is more important then a module planning. If module is planned well then assessment and assignments didn’t increase my work load. If I am decided with, when to conduct an assessment which is good time for assessment for student to manage their workload then all the students will be encourage to participate well in assessment and activities of a module.