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Assessment didactics

Competence-oriented assessment

Since the Bologna Process has led to a shift to competence-oriented study goals, there is a growing need for student-centered forms of learning that can be used to assess the student competences. In this context, the examination content is designed along the previously defined learning objectives of the modules.  E-assessments can help to accompany the learning process. More information on competence-oriented assessment can be found on the ZfQ's website on this topic.

Constructive Alignment

Constructive Alignment is a didactic concept based on an outcome-oriented understanding of teaching; teaching and learning methods are closely aligned with the intended learning objectives and the examination format. Constructive Alignment is one of the cornerstones of the Bologna Process.

A detailed description including examples of how to apply Constructive Alignment can be found on the e-teaching.org website on this topic(german).

 

Objectives as a starting point

Assessment tasks should be closely aligned with the learning objectives in order to support students‘ competence development. Learning objectives can be assigned to different taxonomy levels. Taxonomies help to order learning objectives according to logical criteria. The best-known taxonomy comes from the psychologist and educationalist Benjamin Bloom. In the following, we provide an overview of which e-assessment forms are best suited for each taxonomy level.

1. Knowledge of facts, methods and theories of the respective field of knowledge

2. Comprehension of connections / recognizing the meanings of partial information, recombination, making predictions

3. Applying knowledge to concrete, previously unknown tasks and problems

4. Analysis of facts and problems for essential elements

5. Synthesis / creative combination of known information

6. Evaluation / judgement of results

→  levels 1-3: Single-& multiple-choice formats.

→ levels 4-6: open-book/take-home, free-text formats.

→ E-Portfolios can combine different task types and can thus cover all taxonomy levels.

Competence-oriented assessment

Since the Bologna Process has led to a shift to competence-oriented study goals, there is a growing need for student-centered forms of learning that can be used to assess the student competences. In this context, the examination content is designed along the previously defined learning objectives of the modules.  E-assessments can help to accompany the learning process. More information on competence-oriented assessment can be found on the ZfQ's website on this topic.

Constructive Alignment

Constructive Alignment is a didactic concept based on an outcome-oriented understanding of teaching; teaching and learning methods are closely aligned with the intended learning objectives and the examination format. Constructive Alignment is one of the cornerstones of the Bologna Process.

A detailed description including examples of how to apply Constructive Alignment can be found on the e-teaching.org website on this topic(german).

 

Innovative testing!

E-Assessment platforms offer a variety of examination methods. Audio, image, and video materials can be integrated, and exams can be designed in a playful way. Contact us and we will discuss possible E-Assessment scenarios for your learning objectives.

→ Good to know: Our Moodle course "Question types in Moodle" provides you with a detailed overview of innovative assessment questions on the platform. (German)

 

→ Good to know: The University of Bern has developed an Assessment Toolbox to help you choose the appropriate assessment format.

Assessment drives learning: How to create competence-oriented questions

Bloom's taxonomy can be used to assess certain competences using specific verbs:  For example, if you want to test the learning objective level "knowledge", verbs such as "name" and "define" are suitable for creating questions. For the higher learning objective level "analyze", you can use verbs like "discuss", "deconstruct" or, of course, "analyze".

Integrate video & audio into e-assessments

SC- or MC-Assessment questions combining text/video/ or audio excerpts can also be used to test "apply" and "analyze" competency levels. Example: Were all characteristics mentioned? Is the process described correctly?

But even without analysis material, SC and MC questions can be designed in a competency-oriented way.

 

Do's & Don'ts: Multiple-Choice

With a steadily growing number of students, the multiple-choice exam has become established as a time-saving exam format. Due to the automated evaluation, MC exams are particularly suitable for online scenarios. With the correct formulation of questions and answer options (distractors), the didactic objectives of competence-oriented assessment can be achieved.

Question design for E-Assessments
Do'sDon'ts
  • Application questions
  • Each question has a specific focus
  • Cover-the-options-rule: questions could be answered without the given answer options
  • Selection of items: Restriction of question topics to partial aspects (chapters, lecture units, learning objectives)

 

  • Pure fact query (e.g. definitions)
  • Cover several aspects with one question
  • The design of the question distracts from the topic
  • Questions with ambiguous answers ("What would you do?")
  • Assuming knowledge of abbreviations of technical terms/institutions
Distractor Design for E-Assessments
Do'sDon'ts
  • Seemingly obvious distractors (e.g., common misconceptions).
  • approximately equally long and equally complex answer choices
  • Logical arrangement of answer alternatives (e.g., numerical values in ascending order)                                                                                               
  • Varying number of distractors
  • Minimal reading effort
  • Scientific terms are unevenly distributed across the answer alternatives
  • Absolute statements, such as "never", "always"
  • Correct answer can be identified by a pattern

Options to prevent cheating attempts 

  • Setting a rather short time to answer questions
  • Avoiding „googleable“ buzzwords in the assignment
  • randomized order of questions