ARTLA: Augmented Remote Teaching, Learning and Assessment support for academics during COVID-19
The onset of
COVID-19 has necessitated us to replace our face-to-face interaction with students with preparing and instituting “Emergency Remote Teaching, Learning and Assessment” (ERT). This year, we want to follow a differentiated model of learning and teaching called
ARTLA (Augmented Remote Teaching, Learning and Assessment) which will combine contact tuition for smaller groups of students with online elements. The principles of good T&L&A in a F2F environment also apply to the online space - it is only the mode of delivery that is different. The point of departure for this process of adaptation is to rethink the outcomes, assessment and learning opportunities of your module for the online environment. It is important to design for the active involvement of students and to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning. The DeLTA process, adapted for the ARTLA environment, is available
here
.
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There are various questions we can ask when talking about assessment practice, but two of the most important questions are why and who we assess.
The first question, "Why do we assess?" relates to the purposes of assessment - broadly as well as of each individual assessment opportunity. The second question, "How do we assess?" has to do with the practice of assessment - the methods we use, the scheduling, the communication.
The video below contains an overview of these aspects of assessment:
Purpose of Assessment
The primary purpose of assessment is to improve students' learning and teachers' teaching as both respond to the information it provides. Assessment for learning is an ongoing process that arises out of the interaction between teaching and learning.
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1. Assessment for diagnostic purposes takes place when the strong and weak points of students in the academic sphere are determined in order to, for example,
make suitable remedial actions, selection, admission and placement possible.
2. Assessment for formative (i.e. assessment for learning) purposes primarily serves the learning process by offering students an opportunity to develop the desired
knowledge, skills and attitudes with the aid of timely feedback.
3. Assessment for summative (i.e. assessment of learning) purposes serves to elucidate decisions and findings on the progress of students, e.g. for promotion or
certification, during which value judgements are made on students' performance.
4. Assessment can form part of the information that is used for feedback purposes (i.e. assessment for quality promotion) to evaluate the quality of a learning and
teaching programme.
Methods of Assessment
The selection of appropriate assessment methods in a module is influenced by many factors: the intended learning outcomes, the discipline and related professional standards, the context of the course and its relationship to other courses, the level of study, the characteristics of the students, the available resources, the delivery mode of the course, and so on. The integration of technologies into assessment can provide opportunities to enhance student experiences and diversify the range of options available for students to learn and demonstrate their learning.
Below are links to resources on diverse assessment methods, for diverse contexts of learning and teaching, and with diverse students.
Source:
Peer assessment is a good way of doing formative assessment. Students learn how to give, receive and respond to feedback. The links below give some background information about this way of assessing.
Cornell University: Peer assessment
University of Waikato: Peer and self-assessment
Classroom Assessment Techniques or CATs are also used for formative assessment. Patricia Cross and Thomas Angelo (1988) are the pioneers in the field and in the document below they describe how CATs can be implemented as a quick way of giving lecturers and students feedback about the level of students' learning.
Classroom Assessment Techniques. A Handbook for Faculty.
University of Texas: Methods of assessment
Learning and Teaching; Forms of Assessment
University of Reading: A – Z of assessment
Assessment policy and practices at Stellenbosch University
The SU Assessment policy focuses on the criteria for excellent practice in assessment. The point of departure in this policy is that lecturers are best placed to make the necessary assessment decisions in their modules. Thus the policy does not propose to be prescriptive with regard to assessment strategies, but rather to create space within which lecturers can make justifiable choices with regard to assessment within their own environments, by offering lecturers a set of criteria against which they could measure their practices.
By means of this assessment policy, the University strives to make explicit the points of departure relating to policy that are implicit in existing institutional, faculty and departmental regulations and practices. In the spirit of "excellent scientific practice", as stated in the University's mission, an attempt is made to bring the assessment practices of the University in line with current, research-based views and standards regarding assessment.
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The Assessment policy and Plan for flexible assessment is available on the CTL website, click here.
