References

Anderson T, Dron J Three generations of distance education pedagogy. International Review of Research on Distance and Open Learning. 2011; 12:(3)80-97

Barrett H, Carney J Conflicting Paradigms and Competing Purposes in Electronic Portfolio Development. Educ Assess. 2005; 1:1-14

Biggs J Teaching for Quality Learning at University (4th edn).London: McGraw-Hill Education; 2011

Bloom B Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals.New York, NY: Longman; 1956

Brown S Institutional strategies for assessment. In: Brown S, Glasner A Buckingham: Open University Press; 2003

Bryan C, Clegg K Innovative Assessment in Higher Education.London: Routledge; 2006

Chan C Using the ePortfolio to complement standardized testing in a healthcare professional program: better education or more busy work?. International Journal of ePortfolio. 2012; 2:(2)149-62

Assessment: Debate, Assessment Resources at HKU. 2014. http://ar.cetl.hku.hk/am_debate.htm (accessed 16 February 2018)

Dijkstra J, Latijnhouwers M, Norbart A, Tio RA Assessing the I in group work assessment: state of the art and recommendations for practice. Med Teach. 2016; 38:(7)675-82 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2016.1170796

Doody O, Condon M Increasing student involvement and learning through using debate as an assessment. Nurse Educ Pract. 2012; 12:(4)232-7 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2012.03.002

Education World. It's Up for Debate. 2015. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson304.shtml (accessed 16 February 2018)

Epstein RM, Hundert EM Defining and assessing professional competence. JAMA. 2002; 287:(2)226-35 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.287.2.226

Garrett BM, MacPhee M, Jackson C Evaluation of an eportfolio for the assessment of clinical competence in a baccalaureate nursing program. Nurse Educ Today. 2013; 33:(10)1207-13 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2012.06.015

Glasner A Innovations in student assessment: a system-wide perspective. In: Brown S, Glasner A Buckingham: Open University Press; 2003

Green J, Wyllie A, Jackson D Electronic portfolios in nursing education: A review of the literature. Nurse Educ Pract. 2014; 14:(1)4-8 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2013.08.011

Honebein PC Seven goals for the design of constructivist learning environments. In: Wilson B Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology; 1996

Huang A, Wub J, Yang S, Hwang W The success of ePortfolio-based programming learning style diagnosis: Exploring the role of a heuristic fuzzy knowledge fusion. Expert Systems with Applications. 2012; 39:8698-706

Huxham M, Campbell F, Westwood J Oral versus written assessments: a test of student performance and attitudes. Assess Eval High Educ. 2012; 37:(1)125-36 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2010.515012

Kanuka H, Anderson T Using constructivism in technology-mediated learning: Constructing order out of the chaos in the literature. Radical Pedagogy. 1999; 2:(1)

Lombardi J To portfolio or not to portfolio: helpful or hyped?. Coll Teach. 2008; 56:(1)7-10 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.56.1.7-10

Taking the Lead. 2011. https://www.rcm.org.uk/news-views-and-analysis/analysis/taking-the-lead (accessed 16 February 2018)

Medland E Assessment in higher education: drivers, barriers and directions for change in the UK. Assess Eval High Educ. 2016; 41:(1)81-96 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.982072

Orr S Collaborating or fighting for the marks? Students experiences of group work assessment in the creative arts. Assess Eval High Educ. 2010; 35:(3)301-13 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602931003632357

Pereira D, Flores MA, Niklasson L Assessment revisited: a review of research in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Assess Eval High Educ. 2016; 41:(7)1008-32 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1055233

Race P Why assess innovatively?. In: Brown S, Glasner A Buckingham: Open University Press; 2003

Reece I, Walker S Teaching, Training and Learning–A practical guide (6th edn).Sunderland: Business Education Publishers Limited; 2007

Sambell K, McDowell L, Brown S But is it fair?: an exploratory study of student perceptions of the consequential validity of assessment. Stud Educ Eval. 1997; 23:(4)349-71 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-491X(97)86215-3

Schon D The Reflective Practitioner.Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing; 1991

Scouller K The influence of assessment methods on students learning approaches: multiple choice question examination versus assignment essay. High Educ. 1998; 35:(4)453-72 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003196224280

Struyven K, Dochy F, Janssens S Students perceptions about evaluation and assessment in higher education: a review1. Assess Eval High Educ. 2005; 30:(4)325-41 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930500099102

Timmins F, Dunne PJ An exploration of the current use and benefit of nursing student portfolios. Nurse Educ Today. 2009; 29:(3)330-41 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2008.12.010

Turner K, Roberts L, Heal C, Wright L Oral presentation as a form of summative assessment in a masters level PGCE module: the student perspective. Assess Eval High Educ. 2013; 38:(6)662-73 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2012.680016

Innovation in assessment: Building student confidence in preparation for unfamiliar assessment methods

02 March 2018
Midwifery Education in Action
02 March 2018
Volume 26 · Issue 3

Abstract

Innovative assessment methods in which students are active participants promote deeper learning. At the University of Nottingham, a group debate and a ‘webfolio’ were implemented as methods of assessment in the 2015 undergraduate midwifery curriculum, and were evaluated by students. Thematic analysis of the evaluations showed that students enjoyed undertaking innovative methods of assessment, and that they developed confidence and engaged meaningfully with the content to be assessed. Students also commented that they developed multiple skills required for future professional practice as a midwife. However, thorough preparation of students to undertake an innovative method of assessment is vital in fostering student confidence.

Traditional methods of assessment in higher education, such as examinations and essays, still dominate the majority of curricula (Struyven et al, 2005; Pereira et al, 2016), despite being criticised in the literature (Sambell et al, 1997; Scouller, 1998; Medland, 2016). Sambell et al (1997) reported that students had negative opinions about conventional assessment methods, going so far as to suggest they negatively affected the learning process. Medland (2016) therefore recommended that higher education assessment systems move away from the testing culture, where students merely ‘learn to pass’, towards an assessment culture, where students ‘learn to learn’, and proposed that this could be fostered by the implementation of varied and innovative methods of assessment, in which students are active participants.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting British Journal of Midwifery and reading some of our peer-reviewed resources for midwives. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included

  • Limited access to our clinical or professional articles

  • New content and clinical newsletter updates each month

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address

Innovative assessment
Debate
Webfolio
Evaluation of assessment
Student confidence