All Ireland Society for Higher Education
| Name: | Joan Cleary |
|---|---|
| Email: | joan.cleary@staff.ittralee.ie |
| Institution: | Insitute of Technology, Tralee |
Research shows that lecturers need to take into account students' varying learning styles and allow them to utilize a range of strategies to demonstrate competency. The lecturer must take cognisance of what the Reflective Practitioner Peter Jarvis calls the students' `biography', all previous knowledge and experience that may help them to cope with new experiences. In order to accommodate a wide range of styles and abilities and to align the author's assessment procedures with the learning outcomes of a module, a change in the assessment procedures was proposed. After negotiating with the students, a standard unseen written test was replaced with two open-book assessments. Studies show that changing the form of assessment changes students' learning patterns, and the author emphasised that application of knowledge and skills would be assessed.
The first assessment was computer-based and the second a set of multiple-choice quizzes that were conducted through the e-learning platform, WebCT. The author was surprised with students' results, and questioned the students about their learning and preparation before and after releasing results. This survey brought out some interesting aspects regarding students' experiences and perceptions of assessment. Even though they were third year students it was the first time they had experienced open-book exams and hence tackled these in varying ways.
The author is repeating the procedure with another group of students, and will have comparative results to present.