The mini case studies Examples of assessment practices Paola Iannone University of East Anglia April 20, 2012 Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 1 / 1
Phase 3 of MU MAP Phase 3 of the MU MAP project sought to investigate assessment practices which differ from the traditional 3 hour closed book examination. More specifically we wanted to investigate the benefits, drawbacks, barriers to and effects of innovative assessment practices. As we have seen the closed book examination is still the dominant assessment method in mathematics, in all department surveyed. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 2 / 1
The general HE literature calls for innovations in assessment (Birenbaum, 1994) and so does the mathematics literature (Berry and Houston 1995; Houston and Lazenbatt 1996; Challis, Houston and Stirling 2004; Steen 2006). So what alternatives in assessment did we find? Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 3 / 1
The data collected for this part of the study came from Phase 2 of MU MAP. Once we contacted the Head of Schools of mathematics departments we asked them to give us names of staff who, in their views, were using alternative assessment methods. Once we had these names we contacted individual lecturers by email asking them if they wanted to take part in a telephone interview. We interviewed 16 lecturers from 12 institutions. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 4 / 1
What are alternative assessment methods? The examples we had from the participants can, with two exceptions, be divided into three categories: Assessment using CAA Group projects Individual projects/posters/presentation Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 5 / 1
Assessment using CAA 7 lecturers interviewed use some form of CAA. Common features include: Use restricted to Year 1 modules and to one coursework component (in nearly all cases the bulk of marks come from closed book examination) The tests are taken at various stages throughout term. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 6 / 1
Among the benefits of this assessment methods Immediate feedback Avoiding plagiarism Engagement Taylor questions to previous performance on test Cut of marking workload for staff. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 7 / 1
And for the drawbacks: Most CAA assess the outcome and not the process (although there are exceptions) Testing high level understanding can be difficult More suitable for applied mathematics/calculus than pure mathematics. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 8 / 1
Most lecturers interviewed have developed and adjusted CAA to the needs of their students and to their own needs. They believe that frequent tests and quizzes (made possible by the automated assessment offered by CAA) improve students engagement with the material. Students also appreciate the immediate feedback which is built in such assessment. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 9 / 1
Group projects 4 lecturers talked about group projects. The reasons given for the introduction of group projects lie mostly in the fostering of transferable skills such as team work, report writing and communication. Most lecturers felt that such skills are hard to teach/assess in mathematics. The main drawback associated to assessment via group projects is the difficulty in assessing the students individual work. Some solutions are proposed: Each student to keep a log book Each student to present one part of the project with a Q&A session to follow. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 10 / 1
Individual projects, posters and presentations 4 lecturers talked about a module assessed by a project. The assessment of the project varies: it can be a written report and a presentation, a poster and a presentation, and can include other assessed items such as in one case assessment of the students CV writing skills. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 11 / 1
Among the benefits of this assessment methods: It allows for assessment of transferable skills (such as oral and written communication, writing, word processing skills) as well as of mathematical competency It allows the assessor(s) to know the students on an individual basis Students engage in a creative way with one part of mathematics. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 12 / 1
Among the drawbacks: It is labour intensive for staff (supervising and marking) Marks can be less reliable than for other forms of assessment (but can be alleviated by moderation of the written and oral parts). Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 13 / 1
Despite the fact that running a project module can be more labour intensive than a module assessed and taught in the traditional way, the lecturers interviewed expressed satisfaction with teaching such a module. One important factor mentioned is that they get to now their students and what they can achieve much better than by teaching a traditional module. Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 14 / 1
Two exceptions 2 lecturers described modules assessed by methods which do not fall in this categories. Moore method (problem solving module) Engagement with mathematics Independent learning Labour intensive (for staff and students!) Multiple choice questions Engagement (test during term time) Not suitable to engage students with logical thinking Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 15 / 1
One final remark No lecturer reported institutional obstacles to the design and implementation of alternative assessment methods. The only obstacles reported are in terms of demands on staff time. They said that institutions were supportive of the introduction of a varied assessment diet and that in some cases offered financial help for the introduction of alternative assessment methods (e.g. software purchase). There is therefore an appetite for alternatives to the closed book examination and resistance from the institute could sometimes be a perception and not a reality! Paola Iannone (UEA) The mini case studies April 20, 2012 16 / 1