Professional Training Course

DTP Online: Innovative Assessment

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DTP Online: Innovative Assessment

The course covers fundamental concepts and immerses participants in the practical application of a variety of toolsets, digital resources and strategies for course planning, design as well as creative facilitation and innovative assessment. It espouses the values of gender-awareness, inclusion and participatory engagement: peer to peer, peer to tools, peer to print and digital resources, and peer to resource persons. It uses a range of teaching tools such as case studies, simulations, concept maps, and authentic tasks to lead participants to uncover opportunities for experience sharing, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and reflection in a flexible manner.  The course is interactive, responsive, and gender sensitive and inclusive. It is responsive to the contexts and circumstances of the target audience and can be accessed on various equipment including computers, laptops, ipads and smart phones.

 Approach and Duration

 This online course is delivered over a period of two weeks encompassing a series of self-paced activities organised in asynchronous and synchronous sessions (three short live sessions). The training is preceded by a two-day preparatory engagement and an open ended post-training period.

 Who can participate?

 Academics who are interested in drawing on technology and pedagogy to broaden the learning space and to create and deliver exceptional learning moments for their students online. Those interested in pursuing a journey - from simple to complex, reinforcing what they know and exploring new tools, strategies and multimedia resources to create meaningful learning experiences that are immediately transferable to their courses to impact student learning outcomes positively.

 

Expected Outcomes

 

The course is expected to enhance the capacity, confidence, values and attitudes of academics to adapt innovative pedagogy online and in blended mode. It will motivate and sustain active and inclusive online communities of academics that promote continuous learning in and outside classroom walls. An enriched and stable teaching and learning experience is indispensable for accelerating the attainment of 21st-century skills, maximising learning outcomes among students and producing quality graduates.

 

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First published: 11/04/20Updated: 20/09/26

Section outline

  • Introduction to the Course

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    If you have taught a course, then you must have experience in assessing your students. When you assess students, you are able to gauge whether they have learned and whether the learning outcomes have been achieved. Assessment can also enhance student motivation. All these make the assessment a critical component of learning. However, for assessment to contribute to learning, it has to be realistic, relevant , and ‘what to assess’, ‘when to assess’ why assess’ should be closely linked. When assessment is realistic and relevant and focusing on learning, we refer to it as an innovative assessment. In this session, you will examine and practice a variety of innovative ways of assessing learning using online tools.

  • Introduction to Innovative Assessments

    • Learning outcomes

       
      By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

      1. Explain advantages and disadvantages of online assessment tools.
      2. Use appropriate online tools to assess learning during synchronous and asynchronous sessions.
      3. Use online rubrics to assess learning.

    • doTask 1: Submit the link to your eportfolio

      Please watch the video below on how to create and submit your eportfolio. Pay attention to the end where it is explained how to submit your eportfolio. When you finish:

      1)  Copy the published link to your eportfolio
      2) Paste it in the link here  according to the instructions in the video 
      3) Click submit 

       

       

  • Role of assessment in learning

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      Introduction


    • This section introduces the role of assessment in learning. To proceed to this section, click on Role of Assessments in Learning below.

    • The Role of Assessments in Learning - An Overview SCORM package

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      Task 2: Share


      clock Time required: 10 minutes

    • Experience sharing assessment in your university Forum
      Students must
      Make forum posts: 1

      What assessment methods are mainly used in your university? What have been the highlights and pitfalls related to assessment in your university?

      Contribute to the discussion by clicking Add discussion topic below.


  • Innovative Assessment

    • The previous section introduced the concepts of assessment for learning and assessment of learning. The next activity requires you to revisit this material and reflect upon its application to your practice.

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      Task 3: Reflect

      Based on what you have read, write in your journal how the assessments you use help in student learning or perhaps how they don’t.

      clock Time required: 15 minutes

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      Task 4: Critique

      Many lecturers complain about students’ regurgitation of content without understanding. If you were the Head of Department, how would you address this problem?

      clock Time required: 15 minutes

  • Alternative and Authentic Assessment

    • The next section focuses on authentic assessment. An authentic assessment is when the assessment of learner performance is as closely related to a real-life situation as possible. It involves the collection of information from a range of sources that are meaningful to the learner. In Authentic assessment, learners are permitted to choose tasks to demonstrate what they have learned. Alternative assessment is in direct contrast to what is often referred to as "traditional assessment," or "standardized assessment" for example quizzes, exams, or term papers.

      Click below to access this content.

    • Alternative and Authentic Assessment SCORM package

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      Task 5: Do

      Watch the video below on authentic assessment and compare it with the assessment strategies you have used in the past.  Summarise you answers in your journal here.
       
       

      clock Time required: 15 minutes

  • Strategies for Assessing Online Learning

    • This section is an introduction to strategies used in innovatiove assessments. It reviews use of selected innovative assessment techniques such as Wikis, Blogs, Journals and Discussion Forums. It aims at examining selected digital tools that are suitable for Assessment for Learning and for selecting e-assessments appropriate for specified courses

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      Task 6: Experience

                       Which of the following tools are you familiar with?

      clock Time required: 5 minutes

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      Task 7: Reflect

      Click the link to ‘Reflections on blogs’ below and responds to the questions therein. 



      clock Time required: 15 minutes

    • Innovative Assessment Strategies SCORM package

  • Tools for Assessing Online Learning

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      Task 8: Experience


      clock Time required: 15 minutes

    • Checklists and rating scales are tools that state specific criteria and allow teachers and students to gather information and to make judgments about what students know and can do in relation to the outcomes. They offer systematic ways of collecting data about specific behaviours, knowledge, and skills.

      The quality of information acquired through the use of checklists and rating scales is highly dependent on the quality of the descriptors chosen for assessment. Their benefit is also dependent on students’ direct involvement in the assessment and understanding of the feedback provided.

      Click below to learn about these  two tools. 

    • Rating scales and checklists SCORM package

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      Task 9: Critique

      Read the story of Prof Magundi of Lapella University and respond to the questions below. You need about 10 minutes to read the study.

      clock Time required: 15 minutes

    • Mini Case- Prof Magundi of Lapella University Page
      Students must
      View
    • Discussion on Prof Magundi's Minicase Forum
      Students must
      Make forum posts: 1

  • Rubrics

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      Task 10: Learn

      The focus on assessment rubrics has grown as Universities respond to the challenge of unemployment as well as the need to  enhance graduate competencies and address 21st Century skills. Authentic assessments are useful in this regard since they  are highly dependent on formative feedback on every task assigned. This is a far cry from the focus on grades that has dominated assessment and often validated superficial  learning characterized by stuffing and  regurgitation of facts.

      Now, we would like you to reflect on whether the assessments you created can be assessed using a rubric. If this is the case, please capture rubrics as an assessment strategy in your Unit Plan Template for Facilitation of Online and Blended Courses

      .      Next, we shall focus on the iRubric. A detailed step-by-step process on how to develop a rubric using the iRubric tool  is available in the video below.  Click on the video below the rubrics and follow this guidance.

      clock Time required: 15 minutes

    • Rubrics SCORM package

    •  

       

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      Task 11: Do


      1. Using your Course Design Template for Online and Blended Courses, look at the online course you are developing  and review the kind of assessment tools you would like use. We shall discuss these in subsequent sessions.
      2. Upload an example of a rubric you have previously used (this may have  been manually developed or computer assisted). Sample rubrics can be found in the resources folder inside the Readings Folder.


      clock Time required: 25 minutes

    • Submission of your rubric Assignment
      Students must
      Make a submission

  • Computer Assisted Assessment Tools

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      Task 12: Experience


      clock Time required: 5 minutes

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      Task 13: Learn


      We are now introducing the concept of computer assisted assessment and diving deep into two tools: Poll Everywhere and Socrative.

      Please choose one of the three computer-assisted assessment tools: concept maps, e-portfolios and Socrative you would like to familiarise with and take your time to learn more so as to apply the tool in your course effectively (as part of your learning plan in a self-paced approach, you may focus subsequent attention on the other tools).

      Click on the tool of your choice to learn more .

       

      clock Time required: 3 hours

    • Computer Assisted Assessments SCORM package
    • Concept Maps SCORM package
    • eportfolio SCORM package

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      Task 14: Do

      PollEverywhere

      Poll  Everywhere is a good tool for gauging whole class general learning outcomes or feedback. It provides for multiple choice questions, short answers, jumbled sentences, crossword, fill the gap exercises. It can also be integrated into Moodle. Poll  Everywhere is a great tool for stimulating real time student participation. The tool is useful for determining materials that students find easy or difficult. It can also be used to establish student expectations from a session as well as the students' impression of the teaching and learning experience or outcomes  e.g. challenging, innovative, demanding, informative.  

      Watch this video 

       

       

      In the journal below, note down key ways you can use Poll Everywhere in your assessment


      clock Time required: 15 minutes

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      Task 15: Do


      Dive Deep  into Socrative

      Socrative is another tool that you can use to assess students’ learning. You will be able to learn more about this by watching the video.

       
       

      The video shows many things you can achieve by using Socrative. You can set multiple choice quizzes, True/False quizzes, short answer questions. You are also able to provide explanation to students on the questions they would have attempted; thus improving learning. Secondly, Socrative enables students to view correct and incorrect responses, and in this way students instantly know how they have performed. Socrative also allows you to monitors students as they respond to the questions through the display of results Instructions on using Socrative

      1. Click on https://www.socrative.com/

      2. Click on Log in

      3. Choose student (not teacher)

      4. You will be prompted to fill in the room number. Type Ezati 

      5. Thereafter, you will be asked to write your name, please put in your full names

      6. Then respond to the questions.


      clock Time required: 45 minutes

    • When using Socrative, ensure that students use real names when joining the Rooms. This will make it easy for you to track the students.

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      Task 16: Reflect


      1. In preparation for the synchronous session: Look at the online course you are developing, suggest the kind of assessment tools you would use. We shall discuss these in our next meeting

      2. Rewatch the video on Socrative above then reflect on how you can use Socrative in your class. Note this in your journal below


      clock Time required: 30 minutes

  • Ethics in online assessments

    • One of the fears for engaging in online assessments is the issue of plagiarism and difficulty of verification that the participant is the one who engaged in the task. As we plan to engage in online assessments, we need to reflect on the ethical issues that might arise. The content below introduces key issues in online assessment, instructional design methods to securing online tests and online tools and methods that can be used to detect and prevent it.


    • Ethical Issues in Online Assessment SCORM package

    • iconTask 16:  Ethics in online assessments 


      Reflect in your personal journal how you intend to address the ethical issues that you might encounter as you engage in online assessment.
      1. What policies within your Institution will allow you to ensure ethical practices are adhered to by the learners?
      2. How will you ensure your learners know about the consequences of unethical practice in assessment?
      3. What support structures are there to ensure learners do not become victims of unethical practice?
      4. How will you track the students’ engagement with given tasks to ensure participation and fair levels of grading?

      Complete the Journal below

    • Students must
      Mark as done


      exit      Task 17: Exit Survey


      Please click below to complete the exit survey

    • Exit Survey URL
      Students must
      View
    • Students must
      Mark as done

      • Session Summary

        Re-thinking assessment can help tackle the challenges that instructors face. When used as part of a collection of strategies of assessment that include formal (summative) and informal (formative assessment), curriculum-embedded performance assessments, project-based assessments, etc., assessment for learning becomes a driver of innovation. There exist abundant opportunities to innovate beyond the traditional approaches to teaching and evaluation to provide greater flexibility, that includes capstone projects, and ePortfolios. Feedback on participants from prior knowledge or skills, relatively easy to construct and score, Self-Assessment Instruments.


      • You have now finished this training. The next is the advanced level in these three courses, which introduces more tools and delves deeper into what is introduced here.


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