Summative Assessment for learning: A student-centred and learning-centred approach in - PowerPoint Presentation

Summative Assessment for learning: A student-centred and learning-centred approach in a Mode 2 higher education context 2019 Heather Goode The Da Vinci Institute E: heather@davinci.ac.za

There is consensus that assessment is an integral component of the teaching and learning processesOften used to determine whether the outcomes and aspirations of education are being met. Assessment can be used for learning, to measure progression, achievement or certification, for recognition of prior learning, diagnostic purposes and evaluation for quality purposes. Assessment is thus crucial to aspects of quality in higher education.Assessment is differentiated as Diagnostic, Formative, Integrated and Summative Assessment, Module assessment vs Programme or Level assessmentAssessment

SAQA National policy on Assessment, links learning and assessment within the context of lifelong learning and the development of the whole learner and comments:“Assessment is sought which enables learning and which can measure changes in learning” (SAQA, 2014: 3).Common definitions of quality aligned to the purposes of higher education often include “fitness for purpose” and “value for money” (Cheng, 2017)Yet there is social accountability in higher education,As Cheng (2017) points out, the most common definitions of quality, ignore the emancipatory power and purpose of higher education and the developmental needs of academics and their students. Assessment & Quality

If a key purpose of higher education for students is learning, (not just certification of competencies and knowledge)then learning-centred approaches are key.Growing need for assessment aligned to real-world applications, drawing on theory to solve problems relevant to future/current workplaces – a Mode 2 approach describes this as “ Knowledge produced in the context of application” (Nowotny, Scott & Gibbons, 2003; Gibbons, 1999)From several HEI purpose statements & policy, an aspiration of higher education is independent (or self-directed) life-long learners as a graduate attribute. SAQA (2012) describes this within the level descriptors as ‘Management of Learning’Higher Education as Learning-Centred

Greater modularisation and semesterisation has increased the number of summative assessments students are required to complete,As higher education is often time constrained, multiple purposes need to be achieved in short timeyet summative assessment for/as learning is seldom explored despite policy leading to applied competency assessmentWhere modules are separately assessed each semester/year and integrated in an overarching summative integrated assessment per qualification, a learning centred approach contributes to further student success. Summative Assessment for Learning

Outcomes based teaching and learning (T&L) is based on aligning T&L and Assessment to meet outcomes and criteria to ensure students meet the requirements for a qualificationExpressed in Graduate Attributes & Programme outcomes Cascaded down through course outcomes and assessment criteriaConstructive alignment: assessment is aligned to the intended learning outcomes and students construct knowledge through teaching and learning experiences. Assessment provides the opportunity for students to provide evidence or demonstrate their knowledge and learning, and/or for the assessor to measure or certify this knowing or competency. Higher Education as Learning-Centred

Assessment and Academic Integrity

Learning in Higher Education

Sambell, Montgomery and McDowell (2013) describe that from the 1970s, research began to indicate that assessment perceptions and experiences influenced students approaches to learning more than teaching processes or formal curriculum as indicated in outcomes.Previously Biggs (1987) identified a third approach to learning and studying – the strategic or achieving approach, which he associated with assessment. the student focuses on organising learning specifically to obtain a high mark or gradeLater Biggs (1999) developed the term constructive alignment to describe alignment between what the educator intends students to be able to do, know or understand, and how educators teach, and what and how they assess this knowledge or competencyStudent-centred assessment within Teaching and Learning Processes

Links assessment to the learning processAfL previously used interchangeably with formative assessment (Baird, Andrich, Hopfenbeck & Stobart, 2017)Often contrasted with Assessment of Learning (i.e. measurement of learning or competency) Bennett (2011) took issue with this oversimplification as it “absolves summative assessment from any responsibility for supporting learning” (p. 7). And functions can overlapLearning theory, and assumptions regarding learning, strongly influence assessmentAssessment for Learning (AfL)

Summative assessment for learning within an applied competency approach. This applied competency approach is linked to a Mode 2 approach by assessing higher cognitive applications through utilising experience and prior knowledge linked with theoretical underpinnings, critical reflection for metacognition and feedback and feedforward. Summative Assessment for Learning

As the objective of higher education in relation to students is learning, it seems appropriate to harness all elements of research, teaching and learning, curriculum and assessment to achieve the same objectives. Positioning Assessment as for learning, as learning and as motivating learning can increase the impact of curriculum and learning outcomes when these are aligned. This works well within an adult learning context where adults are time constrained and focus on the most relevant tasks, including alignment to applied competency and knowledge produced in the context of application. This paper argues that summative assessment functions can contribute to learning where preparation for summative assessment and feedback from such assessment is essential for further academic success in higher education. Conclusion

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