How technology shapes assessment design: Findings from a study of university teachers

Abstract

A wide range of technologies has been developed to enhance assessment, but adoption has been inconsistent. This is despite assessment being critical to student learning and certification. To understand why this is the case and how it can be addressed, we need to explore the perspectives of academics responsible for designing and implementing technology‐supported assessment strategies. This paper reports on the experience of designing technology‐supported assessment based on interviews with 33 Australian university teachers. The findings reveal the desire to achieve greater efficiencies and to be contemporary and innovative as key drivers of technology adoption for assessment. Participants sought to shape student behaviors through their designs and made adaptations in response to positive feedback and undesirable outcomes. Many designs required modification because of a lack of appropriate support, leading to compromise and, in some cases, abandonment. These findings highlight the challenges to effective technology‐supported assessment design and demonstrate the difficulties university teachers face when attempting to negotiate mixed messages within institutions and the demands of design work. We use these findings to suggest opportunities to improve support by offering pedagogical guidance and technical help at critical stages of the design process and encouraging an iterative approach to design.

Academic staff perspectives on technology for assessment (TfA) in higher education: A systematic literature review

“…As technology becomes ever more pervasive in society, the role and influence of technology is under review or even intense scrutiny. In education, while the range of technologies available for teaching, learning and assessment continue to grow, the adoption of technology by academic staff, in particular for assessment, is not uniform or sustained (Bennett, Dawson, Bearman, Molloy, & Boud, ; Spector et al , ). This systematic literature review explores the perspectives and experiences of academic staff utilising technology within assessment OF/FOR/AS Learning, specifically in the higher education sector.…”

“…Despite a growing number of studies into technological adoption within teaching and learning in higher education (Habib & Johannesen, ; King & Boyatt, ; Paiva, Morais, Costa, & Pinheiro, ) there is a need for studies that explicitly consider technology and assessment utilisation of academic staff (Bennett et al , ; Deeley, ). Studies which focus on student’s perspectives of technology and assessment prevail including a critical emphasis on the student voice within digital technology use (Manca, Grion, Armellini, & Devecchi, ).…”

Conceptualizing Open Educational Practices through the Lens of Constructive Alignment

“…Most higher education institutions have invested in some form of LMS, a toolset characterized by its closed, ridged, over functioned, and inflexible nature (Broekman, Hall, Byfield, Hides & Worthington, 2014). Many faculty gravitate towards using the LMS as a consequence of its availability (Bennett, Dawson, Bearman, Molloy & Boud, 2016). The physical and digital boundaries created by these environments determine available pedagogies (L. M. Dron, 2016).…”

Investigating different patterns of student engagement with blended learning environments in Australian business education: Implications for design and practice

“…Not foregrounded explicitly in a separate construct by Coates (2006) was online assessment encompassing the various LMS features, functions and approaches which might enable stronger student engagement with assessment tasks and feedback in online and blended learning settings. The assessment features of LMSs are seen as potentially key benefits in supporting teaching and student learning online (Bennett, Dawson, Bearman, Molloy & Boud, 2017), particularly relating to online assessment feedback (see Parkin, Hepplestone, Holden, Irwin & Thorpe, 2012;Jonsson, 2014;Dawson, 2017). More generally, assessment review and redesign involving a major focus on more effective assessment feedback is seen as a compelling means of enhancing the student learning experience in higher education (Boud, 2010;Nicol, 2010;Boud & Molloy, 2013;Henderson, Boud, Molloy, et al, 2016;Small & Attree, Rowntree & Parker, 2017).…”