Learning Outcomes and Assessment - Achieving Constructive Alignment. CELT seminar, Treforest, April 2016, Richard Oelmann University of South Wales.

1. © University of South Wales
Learning Outcomes
and Assessment -
Achieving Constructive
Alignment
CELT Seminar (Treforest 14/4/16)
While you are waiting…
Cryptic towns:
1. A Dirty Place To Swim
2. Ship's Company
3. Old Car
4. If North Is Starboard

2. © University of South Wales
Richard Oelmann
Centre for Excellence in Learning and
Teaching
Senior Learning Technologist
Previously – taught on Primary Initial
Teacher Training
Previously – Deputy Head Teacher

3. © University of South Wales
Assessment and Learning
Outcomes

4. © University of South Wales
CELT Assessment Seminars
• Assessment for Learning at USW
• Learning Outcomes and Assessment
(Achieving Constructive Alignment)
• Developing Innovative Assessment
• Delivering Effective Feedback
http://slideshare.net/RichardOelmann

5. © University of South Wales
Seminar Summary
Constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996, Biggs & Tang, 2011) is an outcomes-based
methodology for designing, promoting and assessing deep student learning.
It is predicated on the belief that the student constructs his or her own learning through
engaging in relevant learning activities (hence constructive). Alignment refers to what the
teacher does, which is to create appropriate learning environments. This specifically
involves selecting the most appropriate teaching and learning activities and assessment
tasks for each of the learning outcomes.
In its most rudimentary form, this selection is governed by the main verb in the outcome
statement. In a more sophisticated form, verbs in learning or curriculum objective
statements are typically used as a basis for alignment and refer to the specific steps (or
component activities) that collectively lead the students towards the outcomes (Biggs &
Tang, 2011; Jackson et al., 2003).
This session will look at how we can develop modules using the principles of
constructive alignment in order to promote good teaching and thus deep student
learning.

6. © University of South Wales
Why is Assessment Important?
“[A]ssessment…has a
powerful influence on
learning and…changes to
assessment may have a
greater influence on
students’ learning than other
changes to the curriculum.
Assessment innovations are
therefore needed to improve
the quality of learning
outcomes...” (Boud, 2006)
“students can, with difficulty,
escape from the effects of poor
teaching, they cannot (by
definition, if they want to
graduate) escape the effects of
poor assessment.” (Boud, 1995,
p.35)”

7. © University of South Wales
What our students say:
“Only those [tutors] who gave more novel ways
[of assessment] …would explain to us that [the
assessment] is to build up our skills etc but I
think coursework and exams are there as its
traditional, and there are no explanations
behind the questions …it’s just like, this is the
coursework, do it … no explanation at all.”
Glamorgan Year 3 LLB student

8. © University of South Wales
Aligning Objectives, Teaching
Methods and Assessment
Learning takes place through the active behaviour
of the student: it is what he does that he learns, not
what the teacher does.
Tyler, RW (1949)
Basic principles of curriculum and instruction
University of Chicago Press
Constructive Alignment of learning outcomes and
assessment is predicated on the belief that the
student constructs his or her own learning through
engaging in relevant learning activities (hence
constructive)

9. © University of South Wales
Aligning Objectives, Teaching
Methods and Assessment
If students are to learn desired outcomes in a
reasonably effective manner, then the teacher's
fundamental task is to get students to engage in
learning activities that are likely to result in their
achieving those outcomes... It is helpful to
remember that what the student does is actually
more important in determining what is learned than
what the teacher does.
Shuel, TJ (1986)
Cognitive conceptions of learning
Review of Educational research, 56, 411-436

10. © University of South Wales
Constructive Alignment
LOLearning
and
teaching
activities
Designed to
meet LO
LO
Intended
Learning
Outcomes
LO
Assessment
Methods
Designed to
Assess LO
Biggs(1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, (SRHE and Open University Press,
Buckingham

11. © University of South Wales
Constructive Alignment

12. © University of South Wales
Key Decisions
First we get the objectives straight, what the students
have to do. Then we decide how to get them to do it.
Assessment serves a double purpose: it checks the
quality of learning, and for students, it defines what is to
be learned.
Biggs, JB (1999)
What the student does:Teaching for quality learning at university
Open University Press

13. © University of South Wales
Aligning curriculum objectives,
teaching/learning activities and assessment
tasks
Activity

14. © University of South Wales
Curriculum Objectives
Order the objectives below – which would be
assessed as higher skills?
Rank them as A,B,C or D
• Compare
• Solve
• Understand main
ideas
• Relate to principles
• Name
• Hypothesise
• Analyse
• Explain
• Classify
• Elaborate
• Describe
• Apply to 'far' domains
• Reflect
• Cover topics a-n
• Memorise
• Generate
• Learn procedures
• Apply to 'near'
domains

15. © University of South Wales
Aligning curriculum objectives,
teaching/learning activities and assessment
tasks
Curriculum Objectives
expressed as verbs
A
Reflect, Hypothesise, Generate,
Apply to 'far' domains, Relate to
principles
B
Apply to 'near' domains
Analyse, Compare, Explain,
Solve, Understand main ideas
C
Elaborate, Classify, Cover topics
a-n, Describe
D
Learn procedures, Name,
Memorise
Teaching/Learning
Activities
Designed to elicit desired
verbs
- Teacher controlled
- Peer controlled
- Student controlled
Assessment Tasks
Evaluate how well the
target verbs are drawn out
and used in context
The highest level of verb
to be clearly manifested
becomes the final grade

16. © University of South Wales
Blooms Taxonomy
BLOOM B S (ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives, the classification
of educational goals – Handbook I:
Cognitive Domain New York: McKay

17. © University of South Wales
Designing Curriculum Objectives
In designing curriculum objectives, it helps to use verbs
to specify the activities we want the students to perform.
These activities become the objectives.
In aligning instruction – the verbs are:
 Identified in the objectives
 Drawn out in the chosen teaching/learning activities
 Embedded in the assessment tasks

18. © University of South Wales
The Nature of Understanding
Declarative knowledge – knowledge you can talk
about
Functioning knowledge – knowledge you can put
to work
In designing curriculum objectives, there is always a
tension between coverage and depth of
understanding.

19. © University of South Wales
Teaching/Learning activities → Forms
of Learning

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Assessing Student Learning
Assessment is the most important single component
in the system:
 Why we assess
 What we assess
 How we assess
 Who is involved

21. © University of South Wales
What is Assessment?
In higher education, ‘assessment’
describes any processes that
appraise an individual’s
knowledge, understanding,
abilities or skills

22. © University of South Wales
USW Assessment Policy
• To introduce a standard and consistent idea across
the University and a focal point to implement change
• Aim: ‘ Assessment FOR Learning’
“ to develop a learning environment which promotes
the student learning experience, facilitates the
acquisition of competence in a range of relevant
skills and leads to increased learner autonomy.”
http://celt.southwales.ac.uk/documents/download/297/

23. © University of South Wales
Key principles from the policy
• Principle 1: Assessment design should drive and promote effective
learning
• Principle 2: Assessment is fit for purpose and methods are valid in
measuring achievement against learning outcomes
• Principle 3: Requirements of assessment are clear and timely
• Principle 4: Assessment standards are best understood through
active dialogue between staff and students
• Principle 5: Students should engage with assessment standards
seamlessly as part of their course in order to internalise those
standards and calibrate their own learning

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Key principles from the policy
• Principle 6: Ongoing formative feedback based on dialogue and
integrated into learning and teaching develops high level learning and
improves assessment prospects. Summative feedback should be
timely, be aligned to the learning outcomes, and should feed forward
• Principle 7: Assessment loads must be balanced and achievable
within appropriate timeframes, with a presumption towards fewer
more challenging assessments
• Principle 8: Students learn in different ways, and should be
challenged to do unfamiliar things, so there should be variety in
assessment across a course

25. © University of South Wales
Key principles from the policy
• Principle 9: Assessment judgements (i.e. marks/ grading/
classification) should be reliable and trusted, which involves
developing shared understandings/professional judgements in
course teams on assessment standards
• Principle 10: That assessment is secure
• Principle 11: That assessment is designed to minimise
opportunities for academic malpractice including plagiarism
• Principle 12: That some assessment in each level is based on real
life ‘live’ briefs and simulation, that take learners out of the
classroom, builds confidence, motivation and skills for employability

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Assessment Criteria
An assessment criterion can be defined as
what a student must do to demonstrate that
the learning outcome has been achieved

27. © University of South Wales
Constructive Alignment Revisited
LO
Learning
and teaching
activities
Designed to
meet LO
LO
Intended
Learning
Outcomes
LO
Assessment
Methods
Designed to
Assess LO
Biggs(1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, (SRHE and Open University Press,
Buckingham

28. © University of South Wales
So how do we do it?
• Redesign the learning outcome in the light of what
you believe students will need to do in the
assessment (iteratively)
• Try your assessment outline out on a non-specialist
before sharing it with your students
• Focus of assessment must always be about the
learning process of the student and not simply on
content of knowledge

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Need to avoid
• Hidden assessment criteria
• Assuming the students can read your mind
• Assessment where there are no apparent links to
learning outcomes
• Grading based on something that is not explicit in
the criteria

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Marking v Assessing
A criterion-referenced qualitative approach demands
holistic assessment, using the same framework used
for formulating objectives.
Do your assessments assess coverage or
understanding?