TLU Resources

"This aim of this seminar was to promote informed thinking about how assessment is conceived and practiced at third level with a view to greater alignment between teaching, learning and assessment. It allowed lecturers and academic managers to discuss and share good practice while also considering how current assessment procedures in place in their institutions might be enhanced to improve student learning, progression and success. Assessment for learning is one of the most powerful ways of improving student learning and achievement. Formative assessment, done well, improves student self-regulation and awareness of what needs to be done to enhance their learning, is forward focused and motivational. Participants considered how enhancing learning, teaching and assessment alignment can improve learning for different student cohorts and group sizes in times of limited resources and increasing accountability. The workshop element of the seminar gave participants the opportunity to share and take away some practical ideas and techniques that they could use in their classes. Participants in this seminar: Reflected upon the relationship between teaching, learning and assessment for learning Considered the challenges of effective management of assessment from an institutional, teacher/lecturer and student perspective Reflected on how assessment design, integration with the curriculum, marking and feedback could best be supported Discussed, shared good practice and considered current assessment procedures and how they might be enhanced with different student cohorts/group sizes Considered some practical/ impactful assessment for learning techniques that they may like to use in the future"

Using phenomenological and performative action research methods as a way to explore space, place and context Collette and Bill outlined their recent research projects and showed how the research outcomes were introduced into the Year 1 curriculum.

Virtual reality simulators have shown to be valid and useful tools for training psychomotor skills for endoscopic surgery. Discussion arises how to integrate these simulators into the surgical training curriculum. Distributed training is referred to as short training periods, with rest periods in between. Massed training is training in continuous and longer training blocks. This study investigates the difference between distributed and massed training on the initial development and retention of psychomotor skills on a virtual reality simulator. Four groups of eight medical students lacking any experience in endoscopic training were created. Two groups trained in a distributed fashion, one group trained in a massed fashion and the last group not at all (control group). All performed a post-test immediately after finishing their training schedule. Two months after this test a second post- test was performed. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Post-Hoc test Tukey-Bonferoni was used to determine differences in mean scores between the four groups, whereas a p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Distributed training resulted in higher scores and a better retention of relevant psychomotor skills. Distributed as well as massed training resulted in better scores and retention of skills than no training at all. Our study clearly shows that distributed training yields better results in psychomotor endoscopic skills. Therefore, in order to train as efficient as possible, training programs should be (re)-programmed accordingly.

PDF | A major decision that must be made during study pertains to the distribution, or the scheduling, of study. In this paper, we review the literature... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

"The spacing effect refers to the process of spacing a topic that is to be learned over time, rather than teaching the topic in an intensive session. The implication for our modules is that rather than teaching all of LO1 in weeks 1 and 2 (for example) we should consider if it is possible to divide the topic and teach some in week 1 and then revisit (perhaps in greater depth) later on in the semester. The topic is then spaced out over the semester. The available evidence tells us that this is a more effective strategy. This session will explore this strategy in more detail and present some of the evidence that supports this strategy"

"The spacing effect refers to the process of spacing a topic that is to be learned over time, rather than teaching the topic in an intensive session. The implication for our modules is that rather than teaching all of LO1 in weeks 1 and 2 (for example) we should consider if it is possible to divide the topic and teach some in week 1 and then revisit (perhaps in greater depth) later on in the semester. The topic is then spaced out over the semester. The available evidence tells us that this is a more effective strategy. This session will explore this strategy in more detail and present some of the evidence that supports this strategy"

"Having students retrieve information from long-term memory on a regular basis, is known to have a positive impact on learning. This is especially true when learners need to put a bit of effort into that retrieval process. Hence providing opportunities for learners to take tests (e.g. computer based multiple choice tests) can be a very effective strategy. This session will examine some of the evidence in favour of testing and discuss options for using this strategy."

"While we as educators might hate to admit it, assessment does drive student learning and is probably the one most important thing we can do to help our students learn. Formative assessment can help us as educators identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that we can make adjustments to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. If we wish to use assessment as a tool to enhance student learning the provision of formative feedback is crucial. We need to help students understand not only where they have gone wrong, but also what they need to do to improve and when they have done well, we need to help them understand what is good about their work and how they can build on it and develop further. This seminar focussed on how the Department of Mathematics and the Academic Learning Centre use Numbas, a free online platform aimed at numerate disciplines, to provide students with the opportunity to practice particular types of mathematical problems, receive instant feedback and advice on where they may have gone wrong, and to attempt other similar auto-generated questions. This seminar was aimed at academic staff who teach in a numerate discipline who would like to explore how they too can provide formative assessment opportunities to their students in an efficient and effective manner. Those who attended this session: Got an overview of some of the capabilities of Numbas Learned how Numbas can be used to enhance student learning Learned how a Numbas learning resource can be uploaded to Canvas."

While we as educators might hate to admit it, assessment does drive student learning and is probably the one most important thing we can do to help our students learn. Formative assessment can help us as educators identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that we can make adjustments to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. If we wish to use assessment as a tool to enhance student learning the provision of formative feedback is crucial. We need to help students understand not only where they have gone wrong, but also what they need to do to improve and when they have done well, we need to help them understand what is good about their work and how they can build on it and develop further. This seminar focussed on how the Department of Mathematics and the Academic Learning Centre use Numbas, a free online platform aimed at numerate disciplines, to provide students with the opportunity to practice particular types of mathematical problems, receive instant feedback and advice on where they may have gone wrong, and to attempt other similar auto-generated questions. This seminar was aimed at academic staff who teach in a numerate discipline who would like to explore how they too can provide formative assessment opportunities to their students in an efficient and effective manner. Those who attended this session: Got an overview of some of the capabilities of Numbas Learned how Numbas can be used to enhance student learning Learned how a Numbas learning resource can be uploaded to Canvas.

Student engagement is a central concept in the literature on teaching and learning in higher education. Research has shown that students’ active engagement in their learning is central to their academic success and that students who engage deeply with learning are better equipped for life-long learning. However, encouraging student engagement can be challenging. So, what can be done - how can we encourage students to engage in their learning in what, for many of us, are quite challenging times? One way of achieving this is through assessment. Assessment is probably the most important thing we can do to engage students in their learning. Traditionally, assessment practices have tended to focus on progression and completion rather than focus on enhancing student learning. If we wish to use assessment as a tool to enhance student learning the provision of feedback is crucial. We need to help students understand not only where they have gone wrong, but also what they need to do to improve and when they have done well, we need to help them understand what is good about their work and how they can build on it and develop further. This seminar outlined how staff from different discipline areas have developed their assessment practices to integrate feedback as a central component of their practice. Three different case-studies were presented and discussed with the intention of providing participants with a range of practical options that they might choose from and integrate into their own practice. The seminar was aimed at all academic staff, whether new to the whole notion of assessment and feedback, or those who wanted to improve their feedback practice with students, or those looking for ideas on how to enhance their current practice.