ENHANCING ASSESSMENT IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES  

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Introduction and context

How does one optimise assessment practices when resources seem to be diminishing and class sizes growing? Our interviews with academic staff in the biological sciences revealed a shared concern about how to maintain high quality assessment experiences, particularly for large undergraduate classes, in the context of limited resources. One academic commented

We have such massive classes and we don't have enough people to really [assess] properly. (academic)

As the diversity of the student population increases, so does the challenge to cater for the needs of those students and to provide them with meaningful and timely assessment and feedback on their progress.

Some biologists acknowledged that many of the valuable practical components of the first year curriculum had been sacrificed due to limited resources and larger classes in which it did not seem feasible to assess students' practical skills. Comments included:

There are skills that we might like to engender in a student...but the limitations on the equipment...prevent us from doing that in an ideal way. (academic)

... the curriculum has shrunk back to the degree where they get the minimum now...it's sort of shrunk back to being a minimum number of pracs...You know, to run one more practical class you really have to think very carefully where can we squeeze it in the week so that the rooms aren't bulging. (academic)

There are not enough resources to let students repeat pracs even though they sometimes butcher them the first time! (academic)

Others were concerned about their capacity to assess students' writing skills in essay or report form because of the time consuming nature of the grading and feedback process.

There is no longer sufficient student or teacher time for traditional assessment using student essays and detailed feedback. (academic)

There are particular resource and logistical challenges facing those who offer biological sciences courses by distance mode. For instance, at one university a lecturer commented:

...the practical assessments are lumped together and we would like them to do more group work but logistics is difficult.

Nevertheless, we were told of many innovative examples and creative approaches to optimising the quality of assessment and feedback while working within tight timelines and budgets.

[see also: Engaging large classes through assessment; Enhancing assessment for diverse student groups]

Views from the field: Strategies for enhancing assessment in the face of resource constraints

1. Marking schemes and training for sessional staff

One reality of large classes is the need to involve sessional staff, often postgraduate students, in the grading of assignments and examinations. The keys to success in working with sessional staff include:

• providing detailed guidelines, such as marking schemes, for each task [Example: Hancock 1];
• providing opportunities for all sessional staff to discuss the agreed approaches to assessment, including the use marking schemes and guidelines [Example: Gregory];
• clarifying expectations and making explicit the standards and requirements for each assignment. An effective approach is to provide models of student responses representing different grade levels [Examples: Gleeson; Taylor 1].

One university has developed online modules to prepare PhD students to be practical class demonstrators and to support sessional tutors in preparation for grading assignments. Some or all of the steps above may be converted to online training resources.

While the development of detailed marking schemes and training for sessional staff may seem time-consuming, it is time well invested that involves bringing all markers together to ensure shared understandings of expectations and standards. Investment in quality assurance processes early in the assessment process minimises the number of student queries and complaints that otherwise arise from inconsistencies between assessors.

[see also: Involving sessional staff]

2. Efficient feedback mechanisms

A key to enhancing assessment is ensuring that students receive effective and detailed feedback. Yet this does not come cheaply. Comprehensive and individualised written feedback can be very time consuming. Two ways to reduce the amount of time on written feedback, while at the same time ensuring that students know what they did well and how they might improve for next time, are provided below.

In both cases, an abbreviated form of feedback is given to individuals but all students have a longer version or 'key' to interpreting the meaning of the 'coded' feedback. This approach should be used with caution, ensuring that the coding categories are meaningful and clearly explained to students. Nevertheless, this gives you an idea of how some biologists have streamlined their feedback mechanisms.

A tip from one academic is:

...because everyone is just so pressed for time I have a key system. So 'G' is for 'too general' and so the markers just write 'G' on the abstract. The students are given the scheme and if you see a capital 'G' you lose one mark because it's too general. If you have a little 'g' you lose half a mark. So that's a technique to speed things up and not rewrite the same comment. [academic]

Another colleague uses a similar numbered coding system to save time while a third puts stickers on the essays of students who need to seek remedial help with their writing skills [Example: Cavanagh 1].

[see also: Providing feedback]

3. Using online and electronic resources to increase efficiency

We were told of many innovative ways in which learning management systems (e.g., Blackboard) and other emerging technologies and online tools are being used to streamline the assessment process.

Self-directed learning online assessment modules

Several universities have developed extensive online learning modules that students can use in their own time to test themselves and gain feedback on their performance [Example: Peat 3]. These may be in the form of games and crosswords [Example: Peat 5]. At one university biologists have found that students appreciate explanatory comments about their wrong responses in multiple choice questions as well as their correct responses [Example: Plastow].

[see also: Tests and quizzes]

Assessment in online problem-based learning (PBL) contexts

At one university, they used to have PBL classes in second year biology, but these are very resource intensive. The teaching team came up with the idea of redesigning a series of PBL scenarios for the Web. These scenarios are progressively released via Blackboard and are intended to foster self-directed learning. Assessment tasks may be integrated into such online learning activities and may be a very effective way of engaging large numbers of students in authentic learning and assessment experiences. Preparing such online resources may be time consuming, but if carefully planned, the longer term efficiencies may be well worth it.

Online hurdle/gateway tests of basic concepts

In the first semester of first year, students arrive at classes with a wide range of prior knowledge. One university has introduced online hurdle tests of key competencies for students in three subject areas, with three tutors to give extra support to students. Students can resit the test several times but they must reach a certain score (eg 70%) in order to continue with the course. This testing has led to reduced failure rates and significant improvements to final semester results [Example: Shapter].

A computer-marked test taken at the end of the practical class

An academic who is responsible for large, first year practical classes described how the assessment demands on demonstrators has been reduced by incorporating a short, open book online test into the end of each practical class [Example: Mrongovius 2].

Virtual assessment

'Virtual Microscopy' and the replacement of real microscopes with powerpoint slides is used in a Haematology class to equip students with the necessary skills in cell identification. This virtual use of microscopes is also used to examine students' skills and helps to reduce the need for large numbers of staff to be present in labs to supervise such assessment tasks [Example: Dow].

Audience response systems or 'electronic clickers'

Several interviewees told us of existing practices or plans to use 'electronic clickers' as a way of giving students in large lectures an opportunity to respond to questions in class. At two universities this technique is used in human biology/biology classes and has proved an effective means of engaging students and providing them with feedback on their learning in a formative manner [Example: Wood 1]

[see also: Engaging large classes through assessment].

4. Groupwork as a method to reduce the marking load

There are times when a group assignment may prove an effective means of ensuring that students learn from each other while at the same time reducing the amount of marking that might otherwise result from individual assignments. Groupwork is no guarantee of a reduced assessment load, but it may save time if students work in groups and submit fewer pieces of work. A biological sciences academic told us that:

...this works well as long as you have a method for marking the individual contributions of students. The combination of group and individual marks gives you a fair spread of marks. [academic]

[see also: Groupwork]

5. Systematically review assessment tasks and processes across the curriculum

It is important to streamline assessment processes and to reduce redundancy where possible. One academic referred to the realization that 'we've been over-assessing...so we've had to pull back on that', and described a strategy of course mapping and the importance of vertical (across year levels and subjects) and horizontal (within a single year level or subject) planning of assessment across the curriculum. There is often scope for streamlining assessment by looking carefully at how a subject's assessment tasks align with those required of students across the broader curriculum in the biological sciences.

One biologist, who reviewed the generic skills covered by her students in second and third year units, concluded that:

The preparation of full laboratory reports based around a particular experiment was not seen as essential to this topic, because this generic skill was already covered in a number of other second and third year topics. Consequently, in order to reduce student workload, the practical assessment could be streamlined to focus on the particular learning outcomes associated with the essential skills and knowledge addressed in each practical session. [Example: Benkendorff 2].

[see also: Curriculum planning and review] 

 

 

To reference material from this site, please use:

Harris, K-L., Krause, K., Gleeson, D., Peat, M., Taylor, C. & Garnett, R. (2007). Enhancing Assessment in the Biological Sciences: Ideas and resources for university educators. Available at: www.bioassess.edu.au