WORKSHOP: Assessment: Learnings Destination or Journey?

Intended Audience: This session is for all teaching staff who have an interest in designing better or alternate assessment items.

Workshop Description: Assessment is, indeed has always been, a practice that is central to all teaching institutions. It often happens so instinctively that little thought goes into whether it is as good as it could be Questions such as the following are often not examined:

What is the difference between an exceptionally good piece of assessment and a poor piece of assessment? Over and above testing what students have learnt and retained, what should assessment offer the students? How often and in what form should assessment take place? What is the relationship between feedback and assessment? When and how often should formative and summative assessment be utilised? What role does well designed assessment have in minimising the potential for plagiarism?

These and other crucial elements of good assessment will be examined in this workshop. For purposes of critiquing (for better or worse) actual assessment