A new online assessment toolkit now available
Friday, 09 December 2011
'Nothing we do to, or for our students is more important than our assessment of their workÔÇÖ
An excellent online toolkit has been created to help all staff with responsibility for student assessment. to Created by Dr Anne Crook, Enhancement Manager in the University's Centre for the Development of Teaching and Learning (CDoTL), ‘Engage in Assessment' is a new evidence-based, open-access website developed to support staff in all aspects of their assessment practices.
The website offers:
- Open access practical support for staff from assessment design through to implementation;
- Evidence-based resources and troubleshooting tips covering a wide range of assessment-related topics;
- Searchable database of discipline-specific and generic resources;
- Video clips of staff sharing their assessment experiences;
- Complements the existing ‘Engage in Feedback' website http://www.reading.ac.uk/engageinfeedback;
- Facilities to request and/or suggest a resource for the website.
The site is now available at http://www.reading.ac.uk/engageinassessment
The website is designed around seven key sections, each supplemented with a range of resources including case studies, video clips and ‘top tips'. A searchable database offers additional discipline-specific and generic resources for each section. The seven sections are:
- Why is assessment important?: This section covers the basic principles of ‘assessment for learning' and why ‘good' assessment practices benefit both students and staff.
- Assessment design: Provides a step-by-step guide on how to get started with assessment design and covers topics such as choosing the ‘right' assessment method, writing assessment criteria, designing out plagiarism and question design for exams.
- Peer and self-assessment: Covers the basic principles of peer and self-assessment - Why? How? Where? When? alongside troubleshooting tips.
- Assessing group work: Provides an overview of the challenges of group work, such as what to assess and how; assessing individuals within groups and dealing with ‘freeloaders'. Other topics covered include how to get started with group work and dealing with common concerns, such as collaboration vs. collusion and how to organise group size/composition.
- Assessing large numbers of students: The challenges of assessing large numbers of students are outlined and methods are presented for how to support student assessment and learning in large class situations.
- Using technology: The pros and cons of using technology-enhanced assessment are covered and the use of technology to design, deliver and manage assessment is explored with examples including the use of audio/video, digital publishing tools and online assessment platforms.
- Different ways to assess your students: The rationale for using different ways to assess students is explored and is complemented by a downloadable ‘A-Z Table of Assessment Methods'.
For further details please contact Dr Anne Crook in the Centre for the Development of Teaching and Learning a.c.crook@reading.ac.uk