Tutor perspective

Due to the degree of involvement tutors had in the development of the rubric and the discussions that ensued, sessional tutors believed they gained confidence as their understanding of the marking expectations became clearer. As a result of the intense initial moderation, as well as being able to access other tutors' marking during the process, tutors had "an indication of when they were marking consistently in line with the other tutors". This accessibility of other tutors' marking, also built tutor confidence.

Tutors noted that the whole assessment process was "more transparent for both tutors and the students. The fact that students are going through the exact same process as tutors gives them a better insight into marking". Tutors agreed that the whole process empowered students. The tutors were satisfied that the students received valid, explicit, fair, comprehensive and educative feedback through the computer's profession ally presented format (Curriculum Council, 2001).

The development of the rubric:

"helps your understanding of the marking process so much better; what you're looking for; which is essential to fairness of marking."

Tutors agreed that more time was spent developing this type of rubric but the actual marking process was a lot quicker and easier for them, and fairer for the students. The quality assurance was therefore put in place at the beginning of the assessment process, through the development of a good rubric, so less moderation after the marking was needed.

One tutor claimed the instrument "forced" tutors to be very specific about what they thought so the assessment was not so "controlled by the unit coordinator". She explained how important it is "to be specific about the criteria and the weighting that it has within the assignment because it makes the moderation process easier. Using the rubric through the electronic tool seems to force you to do that."

The collaboration and the attention to detail when developing the rubric ensured common understandings between all the markers. The rubric provided neutrality and depersonalized the process allowing people to share equally, regardless of their experience. Through this process, the team developed a common language and were able to share ideas comfortably. "People seemed to have a much better voice in this process." An interesting point raised was:

"Sometimes the very new members of your team and the very inexperienced members can give you the richest input because they are not part of the system yet and they can see things that you take for granted so they can problematize things you have ignored and that's really important in the process of improving learning."

What was encouraging was that through this on-going process of designing and refining, the assignment tasks became "corporately owned rather than the possession of the unit coordinator."

On using the rubrics, tutors commented that "It was more consistent. It took away the subjectivity." A very experienced tutor said that a lot of marking is influenced by perceptions that do not necessarily match reality. She claimed "This tool can make you a little bit more aware of that, a bit more objective."

In contrast to the feedback from the students, one tutor asserted that not showing the marks on the published rubric was a good idea because it ensured the students focused on the criteria and not the mark.

"They were thinking yes, it has done that, or no, it has not done that. They were looking at the comment more than worrying, what will I give that, a D or HD? Less quibbling about their marks resulted."

Tutors claimed using the electronic tool was easy and efficient because it involved just clicking buttons; no collating of marks was needed; records were easy to access (no shuffling of papers); at any stage you could go back and look at overall or individual marks; it was very easy to change marks; it reduced busy work and was quick to be up and running so you could achieve a lot in a half hour here and there.

According to one tutor, "A lot of the things that had to be done manually previously are now done automatically on the computer." Another tutor said," I felt proficient using it. It made me feel organized." All tutors appreciated not having to add up marks or write student names and details on each feedback sheet.

assessment@yourfingertips saved tutors a substantial amount of time. It managed the student data so tutors were released from the non-productive busy work, such as entering student names, identification (ID) numbers tutorial group times, unit title/code details and tutor names. There was no room for mathematical errors when adding up the sub-marks as the tool calculated these. No calculations were necessary when collating the marks across assignments to derive the grade for the unit. All of this information was calculated and collated automatically through the tool and was readily available in a variety of spreadsheet views.

Tutors could view their whole tutorial group and compare tutorial groups if desired. Some of the ways student results could be viewed included alphabetically, numerically, by their ID numbers and by comments only. This flexibility was very useful for tutors to gain a clear understanding of the students' progress and general areas of concern across the assessments.

Another time-saving device offered by assessment @yourfingertips was the facility to store comments so they could be re-used, where applicable. Tutors appreciated the time this saved as they no longer needed to refer back to their previously marked work in search of the specifically worded comment which was appropriate to use again. The comments were easily copied and pasted into the rubric from their comment storage box. Whenever a tutor composed a comment that they thought could apply to more than one student's work, it was easily placed in the storage box for future reference. Because comments could be accessed by the other tutors, one tutor commented:

"Your professional judgments are more explicit because as you're writing them up you're sharing them with others. You are putting them out there to be tested by other people and I think that's a really healthy process."

By using assessment@yourfingertips, and participating in the associated moderation processes, tutors gained a thorough understanding of the particular assessment requirements so they were better equipped to scaffold the students' learning towards the unit outcomes. Monitoring student progress was more manageable, allowing time for working with students with individual needs.

Reviewing an individual's comments from multiple assignments in the unit allowed tutors an opportunity to check that their feedback was varied. By using this viewing facility, tutors were also able to readily identify recurring problems that a student may have been experiencing. Intervention could be easily arranged.

The flexibility of using laptop computers was noted although tutors without laptops found it quite an inconvenience having to "book out the uni laptops". The simplicity of the tool was well received by the tutors. Although assessment@yourfingertips had multiple views and applications, the team was introduced slowly to its features. As time progressed, different views and more complex aspects were introduced. Tutors appreciated the gradual introduction to the features so the ICT was not too overwhelming for them.

When discussing the experience of using assessment @yourfingertips, an experienced university tutor reflected:

"I don't think I have ever marked in a fairer way... I think this is the fairest process I have ever been through in terms of marking with a group of people."

Another experienced tutor said, "I felt more secure about how I had marked them than other assignments."

A more long-term view expressed was "the next time the assignment is written up for students, it is more explicit for them before they do the assignment, so that they are actually focusing on the right thing. It actually improves the quality of the assignment setting, as well as the marking."

The first-time tutors appreciated the ICT and team support saying:

"I thought that everybody knew more than me, then I realized that it was new to everybody so I relaxed. I felt I had the support and could ask silly questions if I had to. Sometimes I found that other people had the same questions so I didn't feel so bad. I felt confident to ask."

An inexperienced tutor stated that "You've got your team support with the moderating, which gives you confidence." Both new tutors believed their marking to be accurate and consistent as a result of the process.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

الأمين العام للعتبة العباسية المقدسة يتابع ميدانيًّا خدمات المواكب والأقسام المقدمة لزائري الأربعين

العتبة العباسية المقدسة تحدد موعد إعلان إحصائية زائري الأربعين

مجمع أبي الفضل العباس (عليه السلام) يختتم أعماله الخاصة بزيارة الأربعين بإقامة مجلس عزاء

العتبة العباسية المقدسة تنظم مجلس عزاء بذكرى أربعين الإمام الحسين (عليه السلام)

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

حجم جزء محدد من الجسم يعكس الصحة العامة ومخاطر الأمراض

تفشي عدوى بكتيرية بفرنسا يحتمل ارتباطها بنوع من الجبن الطري

دراسة حديثة تكشف ما تفعله الشاشات بـ"قلوب الأطفال" !

متلازمة المبنى المريض.. هكذا يتحول تكييف الهواء إلى خطر صحي ؟؟

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

كيف تتعامل مع حرارة الطقس أثناء القيادة؟

لماذا يجب عليك إيقاف تكييف السيارة قبل إطفاء المحرك؟

دراسة تكشف سببا محتملا وراء زيادة خطر إصابة الأطفال بالتوحد

تشيلي.. العثور على متحجرة حيوان ثديي صغير من زمن الديناصورات

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Case 2 Online portfolio and group multimedia project

Results, analysis and discussion Case 1 Online role play

Research methodology

The research context

Literature review Characteristics of good assessment practice

Using Online Environments to Promote Assessment as a Learning Enhancement Process

Utilizing an ICT Tool for Moderating, Marking and Managing Assessment in Large Tertiary Classes Conclusions

Response to feedback

Implications for teaching in large classes

Unit coordinator perspective

Findings Student perspective

Research methodology