Vol. 14 No. 3 (2017)
Published:
1 May 2017
Articles
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Blending Formative and Summative Assessment in a Capstone Subject: ‘It’s not your tools, it’s how you use them’
Discussions about the relationships between formative and summative assessment have come full circle after decades of debate. For some time formative assessment with its emphasis on feedback to students was promoted as better practice than
Discussions about the relationships between formative and summative assessment have come full circle after decades of debate. For some time formative assessment with its emphasis on feedback to students was promoted as better practice than traditional summative assessment. Summative assessment practices were broadly criticised as distanced from the learning process. More recently discussions have refocused on the potential complementary characteristics of formative and summative purposes of assessment. However studies on practical designs to link formative and summative assessment in constructive ways are rare. In paramedic education, like many other professional disciplines, strong traditions of summative assessment - assessment ‘of’ learning - have long dominated. Communities require that a graduate has been judged fit to practice. The assessment redesign described and evaluated in this paper sought to rebalance assessment relationships in a capstone paramedic subject to integrate formative assessment for learning with summative assessment of learning. Assessment was repositioned as a communication process about learning. Through a variety of frequent assessment events, judgement of student performance is accompanied with rich feedback. Each assessment event provides information about learning, unique to each student’s needs. Each assessment event shaped subsequent assessment events. Student participants in the formal evaluation of the subject indicated high levels of perceived value and effectiveness on learning across each of the assessment events, with broad agreement also demonstrated relating to student perceptions for preparedness: ‘readiness to practice’. Our approach focused on linking assessment events, resulted in assessments providing formative communication to students and summative outcome information to others simultaneously. The formative-summative dichotomy disappeared: all assessment became part of communication about learning.
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Comparative Evaluation of Online and In-Class Student Team Presentations
Student team presentations are commonly utilised in tertiary science courses to help students develop skills in communication, teamwork and literature research, but they are subject to constraints arising from class size, available time
Student team presentations are commonly utilised in tertiary science courses to help students develop skills in communication, teamwork and literature research, but they are subject to constraints arising from class size, available time, and limited facilities. In an alternative approach, student teams present online using a variety of tools, such as screencast and blended media, but it is not clear whether this offers an authentic alternative to in-class experience. In this study, the two modes of presentation were compared in terms of student perceptions and academic performance. A survey probed students’ familiarity with digital technology, presentation anxiety, and differential perceptions of the two modes. Aside from a confirmation bias, no significant difference was found between those who presented in class and online. In a notable exception, a clear asymmetry appeared when students were asked to choose a mode for a future presentation: none of the online presenters opted for the in-class mode while a third of in-class presenters selected the online mode. Presentation anxiety was similar for in-class and online presenters and was insensitive to gender and familiarity with English. No significant difference was detected between the modes in terms of academic performance.
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Life101 Enhances Healthy Lifestyle Choices in Pre-Health Undergraduate Students
Stress levels in college students are increasing at an alarmingly fast pace. To combat this rising tide, universities need effective tools to promote student well-being and help them to recognize and manage their stress. One approach is to
Stress levels in college students are increasing at an alarmingly fast pace. To combat this rising tide, universities need effective tools to promote student well-being and help them to recognize and manage their stress. One approach is to teach students basic lifestyle skills to cope with stress and achieve wellness. This is important as it not only increases students’ retention within a chosen field of study, but assists them to achieve personal and academic success. To inspire our undergraduate students to adopt healthy lifestyle choices, a once-weekly course titled “Life101” was developed with topics that focused on students’ wellness such as stress management, emotional intelligence, financial management, nutrition, and exercise. Classes were taught through a combination of lecture, multimedia videos, and discussions. Here, we share our observational findings outlining the potential benefits (short- and long-term) for students participating in Life101. Based on pre- and post-course survey data from students, both in-class and online, Life101 had a significant positive impact on the lifestyle of our students. The main outcomes from this study were: 1) both in-class and online courses resulted in positive lifestyle changes in our students; 2) online students showed greater mastery of course topics compared to their in-class peers; and 3) long-term benefits from the course were reported after a one-year follow-up. Although, this collective positive impact may suggest that offering Life101 to undergraduate students can serve to improve students’ mental and physical health, a prospective study is needed to confirm these findings.
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Coral Reefs, Convicts, Cadavers, Coffee Shops and Couture: Customizing Experiential Learning to Increase Comfort and Engagement
Experiential learning (EL) can offer a high impact educational opportunity that benefits students from diverse backgrounds, creating an inclusive learning environment. Barriers to the generalization of EL can include a lack of
Experiential learning (EL) can offer a high impact educational opportunity that benefits students from diverse backgrounds, creating an inclusive learning environment. Barriers to the generalization of EL can include a lack of institutional support, risk avoidance, time, and faculty instructional ability. As well EL require additional efforts from students, which can include a non-traditional perspective of cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. The authors have experienced success in optimizing three important EL components: preparation, customization and on-site triage. We report results from a quasi-experimental qualitative study of 102 students who responded to a post-event perception survey of their comfort levels, understanding, preparation and instructor’s role. We found that students were generally positive about their EL, however; most positive of the instructor helping them feel more comfortable during the EL (x̅=3.80 on a 4.00 scale) and their feelings afterward (x̅=3.75). Students were very positive in their belief that they learned more from the EL than in a traditional class (x̅=3.75). There were positive and significant changes in students attitudes, perceptions and beliefs in the time prior to the event compared to the time during and after. Students were significantly more likely to exhibit higher comfort levels after the event than prior (t =-3.459, p < .001).
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Amplifying Student Learning through Volunteering
Student volunteer experiences are ubiquitous within higher education contexts. Despite this, there is further scope for understanding the qualitatively different ways students experience volunteering. To achieve this an explicit focus on
Student volunteer experiences are ubiquitous within higher education contexts. Despite this, there is further scope for understanding the qualitatively different ways students experience volunteering. To achieve this an explicit focus on understanding volunteer experiences from the students’ perspective and the relationship these experiences have with student learning is vital. This paper used a phenomenographic research approach to present the experiences of seven students involved in an interdisciplinary volunteer program in a community literature festival. The findings revealed experiences ranging from authentic learning to more sophisticated and amplified student experiences. While all students in this study found volunteering to be beneficial, we argue that differentiation of volunteer opportunities for students strengthens the provision for rich student learning through volunteering and the potential for students to be active in social change activities through volunteering.
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The Potential of Modelling Co-Teaching in Pre-Service Education
Two studies aimed to document the process of preparing for and teaching collaborative education courses and to determine students’ perception of collaboration and inclusion as a result of taking the course. Two sessions of collaborative
Two studies aimed to document the process of preparing for and teaching collaborative education courses and to determine students’ perception of collaboration and inclusion as a result of taking the course. Two sessions of collaborative teaching run by different professor dyads were studied over two 10-week quarters at a large public university. Multiple sources of data were collected. Ultimately, modelling collaboration and a positive attitude toward disability, collaboration, and inclusion provided professors an opportunity to help guide and shape pre-service teachers’ attitudes.