| The Theory and Practice of Assessment |
Dr. David Nicol, University of Strathclyde with Dr Steve Draper, University of Glasgow
Please download the keynote texts by clicking the links below.
Watch Dr Nicol's Keynote (This presentation is a 'webcast'. Click on the link to open)
Read Dr Nicol's paper (Download will open in a new window)
Overview: This paper provides a frame of reference for the theory and practice of assessment in higher education. It presents 10 principles of good assessment and feedback practice based on research. It also provides the rationale for these principles and their selection criteria. The dynamics inherent in the implementation of these principles are analysed in relation to two dimensions. The engagement-empowerment dimension is about the extent to which the principles support the development of learner self-regulation. The academic-social dimension is about the extent to which the principles bring together, in a mutually supportive way, academic and social experiences. It is argued that principles are an essential tool for teachers as they design, implement and evaluate their assessment practices. The framework is applied to the design of, and the problems identified with, the first year experience in higher education.
Overview: This paper is a personal review, valid only for today, of what I understand about assessment principles. (As with the rest of the conference, I'm only thinking about Higher Education, and I'm using "assessment" in the British sense to refer to judgements of learning outcomes i.e. roughly of what learners do, not evaluation of what teachers do.) It is written in May 2007 for the REAP online conference. At this point we have had two years to reflect on and improve the principles about assessment that were used in the project proposal. Nearly all the data has been collected, much has not been analysed, and almost none has been reflected on and digested. I feel I know some things that I didn't understand at the start of the project, I know some things I must work out but haven't yet, and I assume my understanding will be significantly further forward in, say, another year's time. This conference is a chance to seek feedback, contradictions, and other challenges to my evolving understanding: so here is a snapshot review of my own ongoing developmental process.
Session details
A chat session was held here in relation to these two Keynotes on the 29th May from 09:00 - 10:00 UK time (BST). You may view a transcript of this chat from the link below.
Chat transcript - Theory and Practice of Assessment
The discussion forum will be open throughout the conference, and can be accessed through the 'Join the discussion' link below.
Join the discussionUse the 'Join the Discussion' link to view all the posts for this session. As a taster, below are the last 5 posts for this session's discussion fora.
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David - sorry about the delay with my response (I haven't been logging in recently). This sounds really interesting - I'd definitely be keen to hear about what you're discussing. Thanks, Vanessa.
Vanessa,As I have been working on these principles in relation to our university strategy, I have now added a principle on summative assessment. I have created one for now although it is such a big area that it may require two. However, the other 10...
Vanessa Thanks for the question which touches on debates David and I are having. If you look at my conference paper, accompanying David Nicol's keynote (http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/Portals/2/CSL/keynotes/david nicol/A_momentary_review_of_assessm...