Educational Development Unit: Assessment and

constructive alignment
Teaching toolkit: Assessment and feedback:
http://bit.ly/assessmenttoolkit
General assessment and feedback If you would like to discuss aspects
workshops of feedback and assessment, please
- Introduction to Assessment for contact the EDU representative on
Learning your Faculty Education Committee
- A Practical Guide to Giving Effective
(or contact directly Monika Pazio or
Feedback
- A Practical Guide to Setting and
Tiffany Chiu)
Marking Assessments
- Focus on Programme Level Medicine – Jo Horsburgh
Assessment Design Business – Iro Ntonia
- Introduction to Feedback and Life Sciences – Kate Ippolito
Formative Assessment in the Faculty of Engineering – Monika Pazio
Medicine

Basic terms

Constructive alignment - The process of thinking about designing teaching

to best deliver the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) and then designing
the assessment to test whether those outcomes have been appropriately
delivered allows us to look at the alignment of the teaching with the
assessment.

Formative assessment (assessment FOR learning) - Formal and/or informal

processes teachers and students use to gather evidence for the purpose of
improving learning through continuous feedback.

Summative assessment (assessment OF learning) - Used to evaluate

student learning and indicate overall achievement against learning
outcomes, usually at the end of a course/programme.

Inclusive assessment - “An inclusive assessment regime allows an entire

cohort of diverse students to demonstrate their ability to meet the learning
outcomes of their programme. A student’s background, race, religion,
gender, sexuality, age, marital status or disability should not impact on
their opportunity to learn and to evidence that learning” (University of
Reading, n.d.)
Things to think about:

- Do your assessments currently enable you to assess and feedback on

students’ mastery of important skills and behaviours/attitudes, as well as
their knowledge?
- Does this range of assessment methods enable all students to demon-
strate their ability to achieve the learning outcomes?
- How do you provide a flexible range of assessment modes that allow to
assess the same learning outcomes in different ways?
- Is there an appropriate number and range of assessment methods at each
level?
- Are assessments spread throughout the year to enable students to moni-
tor their study strategies and to learn from and feed forward their teachers’
feedback?
- Are your summative assessments positioned to capture the student’s final
integrated learning?
- Do your assessment practices support students to acquire the skills they
need for success in real world contexts?
Useful literature:

Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2004) ‘Conditions under which assessment

supports students’ learning’, Learning and Teaching in higher education,
Issue 1.

Guzzomi, A.L., Male, S.A. and Miller, K. (2017). Students’ responses to

authentic assessment designed to develop commitment to performing at
their best. European Journal of Engineering Education, 42(3), pp.219-240.

James, L.T. and Casidy, R. (2016). Authentic assessment in business

education: its effects on student satisfaction and promoting behaviour.
Studies in Higher Education, pp.1-15.

Kearney, S. (2013). Improving engagement: the use of ‘Authentic self-and

peer-assessment for learning’ to enhance the student learning experience.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(7), pp.875-891.

Nicol, D. J. & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) Formative assessment and

self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback
practice. Studies in Higher Education, Vol.31.2, pp.199-218.