Summative Assignments Research Articles

Student engagement with a novel online assessment strategy

The study investigated the impact on student engagement and achievement of a "formative thresholded" continuous assessment strategy in which students had to meet a modest threshold, but their continuous assessment marks did not contribute to their final grade. Students were free to choose their own blend of tutor-marked and computer-marked assignments provided they met the threshold in a minimum number of assignments. For students reaching this threshold, the final grade was determined solely by an end-of-year examination. This assessment strategy was compared with one in which summative assignments contributed to the final grade alongside the final examination. The methodology took the form of data analysis of assessment records from more than 3500 anonymized students over a period of 7 years. Evidence was found for improved student engagement under the formative thresholded assessment strategy, with students choosing to complete many more computer-marked assignments, balanced by slightly fewer tutor-marked assignments. There was no change in overall retention. Many students made use of the capability to repeat different versions of the computer-marked questions. There was some evidence of students gaming the system (repeating questions until they obtained a version they had seen before), though most students did not do this at all and only a small number did so regularly. Students appeared to make better use of model answers, provided in response to three incorrect tries at a question, than of hints provided after each try. It was noted that the formative thresholded assessment strategy has potential for wider use.

“My noticing lens disrupts this narrative”: Preservice mathematics teachers' awareness of the self as noticer

AbstractTeacher noticing has been identified as central to enacting responsive and equitable mathematics instruction. Mathematics teachers' noticing is shaped by institutional and sociopolitical narratives and ideologies that persistently marginalize culturally, socially, linguistically, and neuro‐diverse learners. Gaining insight into how one's noticing is related to these narratives can enable a teacher to identify and reflect on how they frame, attend to, and interpret classroom activity, and how that in turn can perpetuate or disrupt inequitable mathematics instruction. We conjectured that learning to systematically analyze and reflect on their own noticing can enable preservice mathematics teachers to develop their awareness of themselves as noticers to support more responsive and equitable instructional practice. Using data from summative assignments in a course focused on learning from teaching, we investigate whether and how preservice teachers (PSTs) take up frameworks for responsive and equitable teaching to narrate their noticing, and examine what their narrations reveal about how they frame mathematics instruction. Analysis reveals PSTs problematized instruction to adopt aspirational frames for equitable practice, while also re‐narrating classroom interactions from dominant perspectives. These findings have implications for PSTs' learning to notice for equity and for designing teacher education experiences for this purpose.

Insights from a study on non-submission of assignments: How can students best be supported?

Non-submission of summative assignments has an impact on a significant minority of students but is not well understood (Prinsloo, 2019). At the University of Northampton, 70% of Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) students have a non-submission on their academic profile as they enter Level 4 and nearly 10% of all student assignments overall are not submitted (Coulson and Loddick, 2021). Students who fail to submit initially are offered a second submission point, but their grade is capped at 40%: data suggests that addressing this could close 50% of the GEM (Global Ethnic Majority) attainment gap. A study was initiated in partnership with IFY academic staff to research into the experience and implications of non-submission of assignments for GEM and non-GEM students in IFY. The project aimed to understand the long-term implications in terms of academic outcomes through understanding why students fail to submit and how they recover from this. Data on student outcomes in recent years was interrogated and interviews were planned with current and former IFY students who had failed to submit at least one assignment. These interviews were conducted by existing IFY students to encourage an open dialogue. Following low levels of participation in the research, the project was widened by inviting all undergraduates who had failed to submit at least one assignment to complete a survey with open-ended questions exploring the non-submission. Insights from this study will be reported, which will inform the practice of both Learning Developers and lecturers. If we can offer timely and appropriate support, we may be able to promote assignment submission, which in turn could improve student retention. This would allow more students to achieve their goals and contribute to a sustainable model of higher education.

Using a One Health Assignment as a Final Project in a Microbiology Course.

The One Health initiative is a comprehensive strategy that seeks to understand the balance between the human, animal, environmental domains and how each affects the health of the others. A One Health project is presented here that can be used as a final formative and summative assignment for undergraduate students enrolled in a microbiology course. Students learn about the initiative and then choose topics of relevance. They then synthesize concepts learned throughout the course and new information about the One Health initiative. An assessment rubric is provided that can be modified to a variety of different project types, not just papers, as described here. This One Health assignment helps students learn the importance of the microbiology concepts addressed in the course and also their real-world implications.

Reflective writing in undergraduate medical education: A qualitative review from the field of psychiatry

The aim of this study was to identify the types of reflective writing produced by a cohort of medical students undertaking a clinical psychiatry module as part of their undergraduate medical programme at a University in the Republic of Ireland. A random sample of 80 reflective essays were selected for review. These assignments were evaluated using a comprehensive content analysis process with a pre-determined reflective writing coding instrument and coding protocol. Dialogic reflection was the most common type of reflective writing identified, with 56.3% (n = 45) of the summative assignments categorised as such. Twenty five percent (n = 20) of the assignments were classified as descriptive reflection, while 18.8% (n = 15) of the assignments demonstrated critical reflection. Overall, the findings of the study indicate that this innovative programme was successful in fostering and developing reflective writing in medical students to quite an advanced level. The paper concludes with specific recommendations for facilitating reflective writing in professional and higher education.

Constructing active casual self-regulated learners from novice cardio-respiratory physiotherapy students

Purpose: 21st Century Cardio-Respiratory Physiotherapy (CRP) profession requires graduates to deal with ubiquitous and complex problems in their workplaces. CRP modules in undergraduate studies often incorporate massive summative assignments based on conventional lectures. For the past two decades, educators are urged to use active learning strategies to produce agile students of the modern era. Pedagogy recommends the use of active learning strategies to enhance students higher-order skills, engagement and self-efficacy. This concept is supported by three main learning theories- Constructivism, Cognitivism and Behaviorism. To date, there is no clear consensus on the choice of active learning strategies that targets the enhancement of student's self-efficacy, a skill that directly links to their employability. Hence, the aim of this study was to implement and examine the impact of “team-based learning” (TBL), an active collaborative learning strategy for a respiratory key note lecture – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in year two physiotherapy undergraduate program.

A Comparison of Teaching Methods for a Baccalaureate Nursing Health Assessment Course.

New teaching methods are designed and implemented to ensure student success and application of knowledge. One of these designs is the flipped classroom. Nursing programs are also integrating technology, including simulation, into nursing education in order to enhance student engagement. Although several research studies support flipped classroom methodology, no studies have compared traditional and flipped classroom teaching methods, as well as the use of a technology-enhanced classroom, in a baccalaureate nursing health assessment course. The purpose of this study was to compare learning outcomes and student satisfaction in an undergraduate health assessment course across three teaching methods: traditional lecture, flipped classroom, and a technology-enhanced interactive flipped classroom. All three methods incorporated virtual patient simulation. Using a quasi-experimental design, formative and summative assignment grades were compared. Student course evaluations were compared to assess satisfaction with each teaching method. Significant differences in mean grades were found in 12 of the 23 assignments. The technology-enhanced interactive flipped classroom section outperformed the traditional and flipped classroom sections on most of these assessments. Only one difference was noted in student satisfaction. The results showed that a technology-enhanced interactive flipped classroom design supported student learning. A longitudinal analysis of student performance is recommended.

Feedback on Teaching: Non-standard Minute Paper Methods

The importance of feedback in the learning and teaching context is widely recognised. In recent years, its primary focus has been on the provision of feedback to students, a unidirectional flow of information from educators to students on their formative and summative assignments. Feedback on teaching makes learning visible; however, this visibility depends on the teacher awareness of their impact on students. The uptake of end of class student feedback is relatively small in large classes. This paper reports on three lecturers’ account in collecting and responding to regular feedback on teaching in the School of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow. The lecturers’ accounts of their experience may be used as a starting point for educators willing to implement regular routine feedback on their teaching. Based on our experience, we propose guidelines emphasising structure and regularity in the collection of feedback on teaching.

COMPLAINTS WHICH FOREIGN INVESTORS MIGHT BRING AGAINST HOST STATES DUE TO COVID-19 RESPONSE, AND THE DEFENCE HOST STATES MIGHT USE AGAINST THE COMPLAINTS

Purpose: This summative assignment sought to explore the possible complaints that foreign investors might raise against host states, as well as how host states might defend themselves from such complaints.
 Methodology: This being a summative assignment, the author relied on review of existing literature, reference to case law and reflective learning, as well as, critical thinking to provide a critical analysis to the question. Fundamentally, the author explored the international investment treaty standards that could be used by foreign investors to raise their complaints, as well as the treaty-specific exceptions that may inform the defences by host states in response to foreign investor claims. The researcher adopted a case study design through a qualitative content analysis technique towards analysis documented information in the form of case laws, existing research literature, constitutional reports, such as international investment arbitration reports and agreement.
 Findings: First and foremost, the author found out that foreign investors might complain about the violation of the full protection and security standard. However, states might invoke the doctrine of force majeure to defend against such claims. Also, the author found out that foreign investors might complain about unfair and inequitable treatment insofar as imposing Covid-19 measures are concerned. Nevertheless, host states might rely on the defence of distress to counter any complaints that may be brought about by foreign investors. Finally, the author explored the potential complaints insofar as direct and indirect expropriations are concerned, which hosts states may defend themselves against through the provisions of the defence of necessity as well as the defence of public health.
 Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The author recommends that host states and foreign investors need to strike a balance between the protection of investments and public interests.

Formative assessment of programming language learning based on peer code review: Implementation and experience report

In programming courses, the traditional assessment approach tends to evaluate student performance by scoring one or more project-level summative assignments. This approach no longer meets the requirements of a quality programming language education. Based on an upgraded peer code review model, we propose a formative assessment approach to assess the learning of computer programming languages, and develop an online assessment system (OOCourse) to implement this approach. Peer code review and inspection is an effective way to ensure the high quality of a program by systematically checking the source code. Though it is commonly applied in industrial and open-source software development, it is rarely taught and practiced in undergraduate-level programming courses. We conduct a case study using the formative assessment method in a sophomore level Object-Oriented Design and Construction course with more than 240 students. We use Moodle (an online learning system) and some relevant plugins to conduct peer code review. We also conduct data mining on the running data from the peer assessment activities. The case study shows that formative assessment based on peer code review gradually improved the programming ability of students in the undergraduate class.

What factors influence student satisfaction with module quality? A comparative analysis in a UK business school context

Understanding the links between student satisfaction and module teaching quality is a concern to UK business schools. This paper explores the determinants of overall student module satisfaction, as well as their relative importance, comparing the module evaluation questionnaire (MEQ) responses of undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students in a UK business school. Based upon econometric modelling of the MEQ averages from 470 UG modules (21,096 student responses) and 93 masters modules (4429 responses) our results identify several key factors driving overall satisfaction in both groups. The helpfulness of lectures and seminars, involving direct student-teacher contact time, is the most important determinant of satisfaction. This is followed, in order of importance, by: the degree to which a module integrates well with other elements of the course; the usefulness of supporting on-line materials; and the appropriateness of summative assignments. Readings and feedback on formative assignments appear weaker drivers of overall satisfaction, particularly for PG students, as is the negative impact of perceived module difficulty. Module difficulty, however, is a strong driver of dissatisfaction for both groups, raising the question of whether excessive use of MEQs may lead to ‘dumbing down’ processes in higher education.

‘Incentivised reading’- Using an online VLE to measure engagement and attainment in student learning.

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) can be used as a resource repository but also as an environment to encourage independent student learning. Customised online assignments that can be assembled by the lecturer can be found in teaching resources such as Mastering Biology, developed by Pearson Publishers. In this study, student engagement in both summative and formative assignments was measured, and student attainment and qualitative feedback on the use of Mastering Biology was collected.During the period 2010-2017, the online VLE Mastering Biology was used to create online summative assignments and promoted to the students as ‘incentivized reading.'The results showed high student engagement in summative online assessment (94±3.2%) but lower engagement in formative online assessment (34±10.9%) and DSM assessment (36±3.5%) across all years. Student attainment increased after the introduction of Mastering Biology, in coursework (+13.2%), exams (+12.5%) and total module scores (+10.6%). Importantly, student feedback was also very positive about the implementation of Mastering Biology.This study suggests that students display high engagement with the summative online assessment. Lower engagement in formative assessment could be due to differences in student motivation. Lack of engagement in this assessment could be used to identify disengaged students and intervention and extra support could be given.

Moving from patches to quilts: developing self-aware, reflective leaders through curriculum innovation based on a Patchwork Text approach

A Patchwork Text is a creative approach to learning and assessment based on short pieces of reflective writing to promote deep, meaningful reflection. A five-year study was undertaken to explore whether this approach supports postgraduate students’ personal and academic development and the factors that influenced student experience, within one UK university. Our adapted approach encompasses patches of reflection, a structured Reflective Journal, formative feedback, and action learning within a constructively aligned curriculum. Between 2010 and 2015, 100 students attended the MSc Leadership Development programme and 71% (n=71) completed a questionnaire at the end of the first module. The questionnaire contained mainly open questions. The overwhelming majority of responses (89%, n=63) reported their experience of action learning was extremely positive. Eighty-five percent (n=58) reported that the Patchwork Text approach supported their academic development. Seventy-five percent (n=52) agreed the approach was helpful in relation to their summative assessment which comprised a reflective integrated portfolio. Thematic framework analysis of the qualitative data suggests the Patchwork Text approach increased self-awareness and insight; deepened and promoted on-going reflection; and facilitated critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis thereby enabling completion of the summative assignment. Findings suggest the adapted Patchwork Text approach increased students’ self-awareness as well as supporting them with both their summative assignment and the development of academic writing skills.

A detailed anatomy of students’ perception of engagement and their learning a threshold concept in core chemical engineering

An attempt has been made to reveal a detailed anatomy of students’ self-perceived engagement with material in a lecture and their learning of a key course threshold concept. A cohort of 80 students in a third year chemical engineering (64% response rate) course voluntarily recorded their engagement using a Likert-type scale at intervals of 5min in a (nominally 50min) lecture, together with written comments. Marks were awarded for a substantial, follow-up summative assignment to test their understanding of the threshold concept. It was found students were highly unaligned in their level of engagement with the lecture. A key reason was that individuals’ engagement varied highly significantly during the lecture. Six engagement styles were identified. Some 33% exhibited Type 1 (engage strongly at the start and slowly disengage) and 23% exhibited Type 2 (remain at a more or less fixed engagement). Significantly, there was no correlation between students’ engagement scores and marks awarded; in particular there was no correlation with specific lecture intervals in which material was identified as most important. Further, there was no correlation between the number of written comments made by an individual and their marks. It is concluded that student self-perceived engagement is not a good predictor of learning as assessed by marks awarded on a summative assignment. It is not known whether student engagement is predicated on particular lecture material and type of lecturer, or other contributing factors. The experimental design could be readily widely applied.

The quality of written peer feedback on undergraduates’ draft answers to an assignment, and the use made of the feedback

The research described here investigated the quality and characteristics of peer feedback given on a draft piece of writing in the context of an undergraduate summative assignment. It also investigated whether the recipients made use of the feedback, with the aim of discovering whether some types of feedback were used in preference to others. The peer feedback was characterised in various ways, and then a comparison with the feedback subsequently given on the polished piece of writing by the tutor was used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the peer feedback. Although the peers’ feedback had some different characteristics from that of the tutors, it was nevertheless of good quality. The examination of the use the recipients made of the feedback showed that much feedback was ignored. The use recipients made of the feedback depended very little on the characteristics of the feedback received, but did vary strongly across the recipients. The ability level of the recipients was not found to be a factor in this variation. The results of this research suggest that future work needs to focus more on students using feedback than on students giving feedback.

G265 The Postgraduate Certificate in Child Health - A Novel Method of Covering the RCPCH Curriculum

Aims Paediatric training is split into Levels 1, 2, and 3 with each level having a separate curriculum. Our trainees identified the Level 2 curriculum as being poorly addressed in their training. We aimed to address the Level 2 curriculum more robustly by designing a new programme to ensure that structured paediatric teaching could be provided to all trainees in our deanery. Methods To achieve this, we derived Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) from the RCPCH Curriculum. These were organised into systems which are addressed in 5 taught sections. Each section involves 30 h of distance learning and 30 h of face to face teaching. We have made extensive use of distance learning technologies such as Adobe Connect ® and Moodle Virtual Learning Environment ® . Formative assessment is used throughout the course with a summative assignment being submitted at the end of each section. Our course gained accreditation from the local University as a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) at Masters Level. Funding was secured from the local NHS Education department allowing the Certificate to be provided to all level 2 paediatric trainees in our deanery free of charge. Results The first PGCert in Child Health commenced in August 2010. Since starting, 83 trainees have enrolled with only 5 dropping out (6%). All dropouts occurred in the first year of the course. 39 trainees have, so far, completed the PGCert (47%). 39 trainees are currently enrolled on the PGCert for session 2013/14. Feedback from trainees has been very positive with 95% of trainees from 2010–2013 agreeing or strongly agreeing that they were happy with the teaching provided. Conclusion The PGCert in Child Health is now a well-established component of level 2 training in our deanery enabling robust coverage of the RCPCH curriculum for all trainees. The use of distance learning technologies has allowed us to deliver the curriculum in a way that is sympathetic to service demands and minimises travelling to and from study days. The feedback from trainees has been extremely positive declaring the education as being of a very high standard.

Do students learn to be more conscientious at medical school?

BackgroundProfessionalism in medical students is not only difficult to define but difficult to teach and measure. As negative behaviour in medical students is associated with post-graduate disciplinary action it would be useful to have a model whereby unprofessional behaviour at the undergraduate level can easily be identified to permit appropriate intervention. We have previously developed a scalar measure of conscientiousness, the Conscientiousness Index (CI), which positively correlates to estimates of professional behaviour in undergraduate medical students. By comparing CI points awarded in year 1 and year 2 of study we were able to use the CI model to determine whether teaching and clinical exposure had any effect on students’ conscientiousness.MethodsCI points were collected by administrative staff from 3 successive cohorts of students in years 1 and 2 of study. Points were awarded to students for activities such as submission of immunisation status and criminal record checks, submission of summative assignments by a specified date and attendance at compulsory teaching sessions. CI points were then converted to a percentage of maximal possible scores (CI %) to permit direct comparison between years 1 and 2 of study.ResultsCI % scores were generally high with each year of study for each cohort showing negatively skewed normal distributions with peaks > 89%. There was a high degree of correlation of CI % scores between year 1 and year 2 of study for each cohort alone and when cohort data was combined. When the change in CI % from year 1 to year 2 for all students was compared there was no significant difference in conscientiousness observed.ConclusionsWe have provided evidence that use of a CI model in undergraduate medical students provides a reliable measure of conscientiousness that is easy to implement. Importantly this study shows that measurement of conscientiousness by the CI model in medical students does not change between years 1 and 2 study suggesting that it is a stable characteristic and not modified by teaching and clinical exposure.

Pitfalls and Successes of Developing an Interdisciplinary Watershed Field Science Course

At the University of Vermont, an interdisciplinary faculty team developed an introductory watershed science field course. This course honed field skills and catalyzed communication across water-related disciplines without requiring specific prerequisites. Five faculty (geology, engineering, geography, natural resources) taught the four-credit course, highlighting interactions between the hydrosphere, biosphere, and solid Earth. The course, based in the Winooski River watershed, followed the river from its headwaters downstream to its outlet in Lake Champlain focusing on data collection and analysis methods, while exploring threats to this freshwater ecosystem. This course was offered as a summer field course in 2007. Student learning was assessed using weekly summative assignments and final presentations incorporating field data and acquired knowledge. Attitude and knowledge surveys, administered before and after this first year, documented increased self-assessed learning, affinity for the field learning environment, and that the course provided training relevant to various disciplines. The fiscally unsustainable summer model, and course evaluations guided major revisions to the course. The second offering, in 2009, met weekly during spring term to provide students with context before a two-week field component. This field component was held immediately after classes ended to avoid the need to pay faculty summer salaries.

Examining Principles of Formative and Summative Feedback

The assessment and feedback practices in social work qualifying courses have to include academic rigour and practice relevance. This study explored the way principles of feedback were evident in the formative and summative feedback given to social work students in relation to a case study that was submitted as part of a portfolio. The findings show that some variation exists in the way principles are evidenced, which suggests some tutors are more able to give feedback in relation to certain aspects of the case study. Differences also existed in the alignment of formative and summative feedback and the extent to which it focused on the tasks specific to the assignment. Establishing first and second order principles could help to conceptualise a more dynamic form of feedback and provide better alignment between formative and summative assignments. This might engage and empower students as more effective learners and provide greater consistency in tutor feedback.

Balancing e-lectures with podcasts: a case study of an undergraduate engineering module

The work described in this paper is based on an engineering module that has run for six years (each academic year since 2004). The module is run online although the learners are campus-based students. This has provided an unusual opportunity to compare the same students’ experiences of on-campus and online courses. The course comprises a rich online environment including e-lectures, podcasts, video clips, website links, animations, background reading, formative quizzes, summative assignments and discussion boards. The e-lectures comprise a PowerPoint-like screen with a spoken audio track and other facilities, including a rolling transcript, video controls (for stopping, pausing and rewinding) and a search facility. Each e‑lecture is short (a maximum of ten minutes) and links to some of the learning materials (e.g. video clips and formative quizzes). The podcasts are mp3 audio files, each lasting approximately ten minutes, and are produced weekly and published through the virtual learning environment. This paper presents a pedagogical model that has been designed to develop a structure for combining these virtual learning elements and considers some of the opportunities provided by such innovative approaches for the enhancement of engineering teaching at undergraduate level. It presents research findings on student learning outcomes and provides suggestions for adopting the design for learning model presented in the paper.