There
are many reasons to consider alternative or inclusive assessments – from the
push for more engaging and compelling assessment tasks and modes – you know –
tasks that are more exciting than producing a recursive report that mainly
regurgitates the course; to designing out or preventing plagiarism; to complying
with the law on inclusive practice in re students with disability. This post
focusses on the Disability Law in the UK – but the advice, guidance and thought
processes provoked are designed to get us all thinking more about what assessment
we are setting – and why… WHY do we set an essay or the production of a
learning and teaching resource? Why do we require a group presentation or an
exam? What are we looking for in both the FORM and CONTENT of the assignment?
What knowledge and skills ado we want the students to harness and reveal?
Objectives:
to have considered a range of ways of
supporting students (with disabilities) in achieving their potential
to have a clearer understanding of the
value of supporting students (with disabilities) through alternative assessment
approaches.
Activity: Begin thinking about 'inclusive assessment' - what are your first responses to the pharse: inclusive assessment? What is your understanding of that inclusive assessment?
How would you
define 'inclusive - or exclusive - assessment'? Have you one or two
examples from your own experience that you feel demonstrate either inclusive or
exclusive assessment practice particularly well?
Some
reading and listening:
First,
a blog post from our very own Sandra Sinfield, following her experience of the
Discourse, Power and Resistance conference in 2013 – which all variously tackled
inclusion:
Second,
chapter 8 of our University Assessment Framework on 'Assessment for Students
with Disabilities', pp. 38-42, covering the legislative context, concepts of
'reasonable adjustments' and 'preventing substantial disadvantage', examples of
adjustments for different types of assessment, and the role of the DDS – or the
relevant chapter in your own institution’s framework.
Disability
equality duty
All
public sector bodies have the following ‘general duties’:
promote
equality of opportunity between disabled people and other
people
eliminate
discrimination that is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010
eliminate
harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability
promote
positive attitudes towards disabled people
encourage
participation by disabled people in public life
take
steps to take account of disabled people's disabilities,
even where that involves treating a disabled person more favourably than other people.
Maintaining
academic standards
The
Disability Rights Commission DDA part 4, Examinations, pp 6-7:
“The
purpose of assessment, whether it is formative or summative, is to determine a
student’s academic achievement and skills.
To do this, examinations and assessments must be rigorous regarding
standards so that all students are genuinely tested against an academic
benchmark.
But,
similarly, if they are to fulfil their purpose, they must also be flexible regarding
the model of measurement so that each student has an equal opportunity to
demonstrate their [sic] achievement. In
some cases this may mean changing the existing examinations or assessment
practices within an institution.
In
all cases it will mean being clear about precisely what is being assessed so that
modifications may be made without compromising academic standards…The aim,
wherever possible, is to change the delivery or mode of assessment, not to
change the way the assessment is marked.”
Assessments
fair – but still rigorous!
We
need to modify assessments without compromising academic standards:
“the
aim is wherever possible to change the delivery or mode of assessment, not to
change the way the assessment is marked...”:
all
students should be tested against an academic benchmark
assessments
must be flexible regarding the mode of measurement - this may mean changing existing
assessment practices
what
is being assessed must be clear.
Amendment
to DDA, 2005
Introduced
the concept of ‘competence standards’ – defined as: an academic, medical, or
other standard applied by or on behalf of an education provider for the purpose
of determining whether or not a person has a particular level of competence or
ability...
Competence
standards are, effectively, entry and assessment criteria. They must be
reviewed from a disability discrimination perspective and must describe
relevant and genuine competences that are strictly necessary for programme completion.
This will ensure that all students can demonstrate their particular competence
or ability in a particular area.
What
would be considered to be a competence standard?
For
example, the personal ability to perform a particular skill or technique e.g.
in:
dentistry
or other clinical field...
journalism...
physiotherapy...
translation...
counselling
psychology...
There
can’t be any adjustments made here, either in the form of, say, extra time or
permitting the task to be undertaken by a practical assistant at the student’s direction
What
would not be considered to be a competence standard?
Under
the terms of the DDA, the following examples are unlikely, in most cases, to
amount to competence standards:
being
able to cope with the demands of a programme (which might be relevant to some
students who have anxiety conditions)
having
good health and/or fitness (rather than sufficient health)
specific
levels of attendance (although attendance is linked to learning, particularly
with reference to practical skills; students need to show how they can “catch
up” on such skills following non-attendance)
speaking
or writing clearly (unless it is essential to the nature of the work).
Setting
a competence standard – a guide:
Identify
the specific purpose of the standard.
Apply these questions to the standard:
Does
the standard apply to all students?
Does
the standard have a legitimate aim?
Does
the standard meet the specific purpose?
Does
the setting of this standard impact negatively on disabled people? If so, is the
application of this standard absolutely necessary?
Is
this the only way the purpose can be achieved?
Have
you taken account of any changes that may affect this standard (such as changes
in technology)
If,
after considering all of these questions, the standard is still the only method
of achieving the aim set, then it is likely to be objectively justifiable and
therefore lawful.
Helping
students - setting a task providing:
information
about how the task contributes towards the overall objectives for the module
transparent
success criteria
clear
written instructions
where
appropriate, the opportunity to discuss the instructions
prioritised
reading lists.
Helping
students - completion of task
be
pro-active in supporting students...
be
approachable and ensure that the student knows who they should contact for
assistance
where
possible, ensure the student has the opportunity to submit a draft for comment
be
aware of the issues faced by the student and be patient.
Useful
support materials
clearly
written course objectives
assessment
criteria for tasks
clear
and explicit guidelines to help students achieve success
concise
and explicit reading lists
glossaries
of key terms (simple, straightforward explanations)
provide
diagrammatical models/representations whenever possible.
Types
of alternative assessment
option
to produce another piece of coursework instead of exam
oral
presentations and defences
portfolio
development
project
development
video
diaries
viva
voce.
Inclusive
learning, teaching and assessment website at Plymouth University:
Guidance
on how to foster inclusive and engaging teaching and learning
environments
Video
case studies of academic and professional staff talking about successful inclusivity
initiatives
Videos
of our students talking about their study experiences and how they might
be improved
Guidance
on developing inclusive assessment
Links
to key debates, research and resources about inclusive practice
in Higher Education.
MAF
and the alternative assessment
In
our case – we have asked for a multimodal or digital artefact as an alternative
to the traditional group presentation…
Activity: and
our vacation ‘problem’ is – what specific criteria would you generate for
grading the artefact – taking into consideration:
The
generic MALTHE grading criteria
The
MAF Learning Outcomes
The
‘affordances’ of a multimodal or digital presentation.
EXAMPLES:
Examples
of multimodal resources
From
#edcmooc:
Here’s
the artefact that I made myself when I did the MOOC again (this time as a CTA):
And
Ess Garland’s timeline – and now for something completely different!
Writing
ones – scroll down:
First
year Becoming an Educationalist students - 2015/16:
