ENHANCING ASSESSMENT IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES  

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Introduction and context

In large classes with diverse student groups, such as those characterising many undergraduate biological sciences courses, it can be particularly challenging to assess learning in ways that enhance engagement and support the needs of all students. If learners do not see the relevance of what they are learning, they are far less likely to be motivated to learn and engage with learning activities and peers. Assessment can play an important role in motivating students to learn and in connecting them with the learning environment.

Effective assessment in diverse student groups requires that careful thought be given to the range of assessment activities. Different students have different learning styles and different ways of engaging with the disciplinary material. Some are happy working with their peers, while others much prefer to work alone. The secret to success is ensuring that assessment tasks are varied, meaningful and clearly articulated. This includes making assessment criteria explicit to students for all types of tasks.

Many staff and student interviewees commented on how the biological sciences offered particularly good opportunities to assess students in practical and authentic ways, given the laboratory and fieldwork activities that tend to characterise the discipline. Students also commented that groupwork and working in pairs in practical classes, for example, helped to motivate them because they felt they needed to do their share of the work.

Assessment is a powerful motivator in itself, particularly when graded or when peer assessment is involved [see also: Principles of assessment]. The challenge is to harness this ability of assessment to motivate and direct students' learning in a way that encourages student engagement and desirable, productive approaches to learning.

Strategies employed to enhance student motivation and engagement with learning through effective assessment

Cultivating intrinsic interest in the biological sciences

Students become more motivated if they are interested in the subject area they are studying. Many academics put considerable effort into making their classes engaging and sharing their own enthusiasm for their discipline. One student described how she tries to find an interesting aspect of all her studies:

... if you have an interest in it you're going to make more of an effort to like get the learning experience. ... But even stuff I'm not interested in, like I think I have to do ecology, I'm not really that interested in ecology, but I look at it, like I want to work with cats. And I think, well, if I love cats - you know domestic cats - then I maybe need to consider how feral cats work in with the ecology. So every subject, I try and take something of what I want to do and so it forces me to... It motivates me to enjoy the subject. [undergraduate student]

We heard of courses with increased enrolment after restructuring [Example: Wood 2] and subjects that have to be capped because of high student demand [Example: Cooke 3]. Students told us that they particularly enjoyed fieldwork [Example: Postgrad 2] and assessment tasks that gave them a sense of personal ownership of their work [Example: Postgrad 1].

Encouraging self-regulated learning

Preparing students to develop their own motivation for lifelong learning was seen by many as an important generic skill. To this end, many academics progressively give more responsibility to students for managing their own learning as they progress in their degree. This applies both to individual assessment tasks [Examples: Brightwell; Ross 1; Walker 1] and to work done in collaboration with other students [Examples: Hargreaves 2; Kleindorfer; Macaulay; Meyer; Mulder 3; Walker 2]. Nurturing students' own self-assessment skills helps to promote self-regulated learning. [Examples: Fairweather 1; Ross 1].

[see also: Learning outcomes in the biological sciences; Assessing generic skills]

Promoting learning goal orientation rather than performance orientation among students

Students' motivation is usually enhanced when the purposes of assessment are explained and linked to learning objectives and outcomes. Many staff give students clear, explicit learning outcomes to achieve and use criterion referenced marking schemes [Examples: Hargreaves 2; Macaulay; Mulder 3; Oldroyd; Ross 3]. These schemes help to ensure transparency and consistency in the assessment process. Students said that they found it more rewarding to be assessed against set criteria rather than being graded using a normal distribution curve with a fixed percentage of students at each achievement level.

[see also: Curriculum planning and review; Involving sessional staff; Outcomes and assessment]

Catering for a range of learning styles

It is motivating for students to be able to demonstrate their own particular strengths in assessment tasks, be they in practical skills, problem solving, oral presentations or essay writing. Setting a range of different assessment activities enables a diverse range of students to demonstrate their abilities. While it is not always appropriate, the development of individualised assessment tasks appeals to students. We heard from students who had enjoyed making and researching their own collection of fungi and others that had liked worked on their own particular plant species [Example: Postgrad 1]. Students said they felt more empowered in a unit of study when they were given some choice of assessment methods or a choice of project topic [Examples: Fairweather 1; Hargreaves 2; Sanderson]. It is important to ensure that the demands of the assessment tasks are consistent with the learning objectives and are within the capabilities of the students.

[see also: Differing knowledge and interests; Principles of assessment]

Establishing a climate of constructive discourse about assessment

We were told of fruitful discussions about assessment methods between academic staff that led to improved practice. Often these took place during end-of-semester reviews or during the restructuring of units and courses. Some staff involve students in decisions about assessment. For instance, they may discuss the assessment criteria for an oral presentation [Example: Fairweather 2]. Many staff make a point of gaining student feedback after major assessment activities, which may lead to modifications of the assessment method [Examples: Abbott; Cooke 2; Macaulay; Mulder 1; Taylor 1; Taylor 3]. Students who participate in a Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS) program gain the benefit of discussing assessment with their peers who are one or two years ahead of them [Examples: Miller 1; Miller 2; Wood 2].

Students may be involved in formal assessment of their peers, a skill that some academics see as important for students' later working life. [See Peer and self-assessment].

Incorporating interaction with staff, students and online resources

Interacting with other staff and students provides extra motivation for learning to many students, with small group, face-to-face interaction generally being the preferred format. Small classes, practical classes and tutorials give students the chance to work with others in small groups. Groupwork may also serve this function . The PASS program is another strategy for providing opportunities for students to interact with their peers. [Examples: Miller 1; Miller 2]. Interaction is harder to manage in large classes. Some lecturers use online discussion boards [Examples: Cavanagh 3; Taylor 3] and other use 'clickers' to increase the level of interactivity of large classes [Example: Wood 1]. Other online forms of assessment that engage and motivate students are online quizzes, and E-portfolios.

[see also: Engaging large classes through assessment; Groupwork; Online assessment; Porfolios and reflective journals; Tests and quizzes]

Designing authentic assessments that encourage students to make meaning for themselves

Students said that authentic assessments that related to the world outside the classroom were more likely to engage their interest.

Case studies were interesting because they kind of integrated what we would almost be doing in the real world and made us think about the situations that we could come across when we are actually working. So they were interesting. Yeah. (undergraduate student)

Students also said they felt motivated when the assessment task was related to ongoing biological research [see also: Teaching-research nexus] or when it enhanced their employment prospects [Examples: Cooke 2; Kleindorfer]. Many examples of authentic assessment activities were described, including:

• Students prepare answers to questions typically asked by tourists [Example: Robertson];
• Students complete official disease report forms related to fish health [Example: Benkendorff 1];
• Students provide background information as if it were for a Minister to address a particular issue in parliament [Example: Fairweather 1];
• Students prepare an ecotourism proposal [Examples: Cooke 1; Kleindorfer];
• Students complete problem sheets based on real events [Example: Sanderson];
• Students write grant applications and journal articles [Example: Mamo];
• Collaborative fieldwork with staff from the Department of Environment and Conservation [Example: Wilson 2]; and
• Collaborative medical research surveying airborne fungal spores [Example: Taylor 4].

Providing timely, constructive feedback

The most effective feedback is timely and constructive. It should provide a combination of praise for what has been done well, along with constructive suggestions for improvement in the next assessment task. Students will be motivated to succeed if they feel that they are making progress and have a clear 'roadmap' for ways to improve. Disengagement will result when students feel that the tasks are too difficult, too easy, or meaningless. They will feel particularly de-motivated if feedback tends to be negative with limited suggestions for improvement.

We heard of many feedback strategies designed to foster meaningful further learning. These ranged from online feedback for quizzes [Example: Plastow], to peer feedback on research reports [Example: Mulder 3], and recorded oral feedback on essays [Example: Peat 4]. Whatever feedback strategy is used, it should help students develop a clear sense of their own progress.

[see also: Providing feedback]

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