August 7, 2018

In this series of bulletins, we are drawing on Subject Experience Survey questions to inspire the our weekly topics. This week’s focus comes from

Question 9: The goals of the assessment tasks in this subject were made clear to me.

Implementing the CSU Value INSIGHTFUL in your teaching.


An insightful approach means we remove ambiguity, we are each clear and agreed about our goals and actions, and we better position ourselves for success.

By: Margaret Bearman, Phillip Dawson, David Boud, Matt Hall, Sue Bennett, Elizabeth Molloy and Gordon Joughin.

Source: Guide to the Assessment Design Decisions Framework

The Rationale performs a pivotal function in ALL assessment in that it allows us to ask and answer the questions

• For teachers: “Why am I setting this task and what benefit does it provide to the students in my subject/course?
• For students: “Why am I doing this assessment task”?

With this week's focus on Question 9 of the SES in mind, the Rationale and the Goals of assessment tasks can be regarded as interchangeable terms. We can classify assessment as being of (summative), for (formative) or as learning (Dann, 2014). Our CSU Subject Outlines Policy requires “for each assessment task … a brief rationale for the task which reflects the learning outcomes for a subject”.

Reflecting on the Rationale allows us to clarify the goals of the assessment task. This INSIGHTFUL approach helps teachers and subject designers with the important elements of assessment design and it tells students about the knowledge, skills and discipline applications in the assessment task that will allow them to achieve their desired learning outcomes.

Page 36 of the “Guide to the Assessment Design Decisions Framework” includes the following list of assessment considerations:

• Which purposes of assessment and outcomes does this task address?
• Why does this task exist? Are there other tasks that would achieve these goals better or more easily?
• Is this task a good use of everyone’s time?
• Who benefits from this task?
• What do learners think this task is for?
• How will you communicate the rationale of this task to learners, colleagues and the broader community?
• How does this task’s rationale connect to the overall rationale of the unit and program?

This resource contains expanded considerations and further links to other key questions to ask yourself as you develop assessment tasks.

Providing yourself with clear answers to these questions will provide you with the means to communicate a clear rationale for each assessment task to your students.

And remember: TELL STUDENTS that the Rationale will explain the GOALS of the assessment tasks, so that when this question appears on the Subject Evaluation Survey they should be in no doubt that “The goals of the assessment tasks in this subject were made clear to me”.

References

Bearman, M., Dawson, P., Boud, D., Bennett, S., Hall, M., & Molloy, E. (2016). Support for assessment practice: Developing the Assessment Design Decisions Framework. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(5), 545-556. doi:10.1080/13562517.2016.1160217

Bearman, M., Dawson, P., Boud, D., Hall, M., Bennett, S., Molloy, E., & Joughin, G. (2014). Guide to the Assessment Design Decisions Framework. Retrieved from http://www.assessmentdecisions.org/guide/

Dann, R. (2014). Assessment as learning: Blurring the boundaries of assessment and learning for theory, policy and practice. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 21(2), 149-166. doi:10.1080/0969594X.2014.898128

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Link to: Folder with all previous issues of Teaching Tuesdays

AND A SHAMELESS PLUG!! Teaching Tuesdays@CSU is designed for busy academics to quickly glance at the topic of the week and then decide if they want to learn more by following the links to further resources.
BUT ... Teaching Tuesdays on Twitter provides links to a range of current resources on a whole lot of topics of interest for Teaching in Higher Education. Why not follow us on Twitter for snapshots of the broader canvas?

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Contents
1....Monday Morning Mentor - FINAL WEEK - LAST CHANCE!!!!!
2....Learning Analytics to support your teaching - The Pulse
3....Teaching support resources at CSU
4....Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC
5....CSU Professional Learning Calendar
6....Bonus CSU resource - Lynda.com
7....Magna Commons Subscription
8....Links to previous bulletins
9....Subscribe

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Monday 20 Minute Mentor ****ENDS ON AUGUST 12****

Your window of opportunity to access this resource is WILL CLOSE NEXT MONDAY.

You have until the end of Monday August 12 to listen to the topics that interest you and download the accompanying resources. Access will be removed after the 12th.

Topics for this week's final offering are:

What Is the Role of Communication in Teaching Excellence?

How Can I Make My Multiple Choice Tests More Effective?

For the unique weekly passwords

CSU staff, please contact Ellen McIntyre: elmcintyre@csu.edu.au

or, Watch for weekly announcements on YAMMER and WHAT'S NEW.

Quote from a CSU Academic on Yammer: “These are good."

Email feedback: “It was easy to listen to, non-sensational and credible. I love the fact that the short session can be ingested at any time of the day.”

Topics so far in 20-Minute Mentors:

How Can I Help Students See that Sweat-Working Hard and Smart-Is Key to Their Success?

How Do I Use Controversial Issues to Build Cognitive Skills in my Students?

How Can I Teach Routine Courses with Energy and Enthusiasm? This is about teacher presence.

How Do I Discuss Academic Integrity During the First Class?

How Can Improving Student Feedback Improve the Quality of Each Educational Encounter? This is about feedback from students and teaching responses, e.g. Subject Experience Survey.

How Do I Get Students to Come to Class Prepared?

What are the Secrets to Making Highly Effective Educational Videos?

What is Essential in a Grading Policy?

How Do I Release My Students' Natural Zest and Curiosity for Better Learning?

How Can I Use Simple Gamification Strategies to Engage my Students?

How Can I Move My Teaching Forward at Midcareer?

How Do I Set Students up for Success in Online Courses?

How Can I Inspire Creative Confidence in the Classroom?

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The next “THE PULSE” is out!

Understanding student engagement in your i2 site

http://www.csu.edu.au/division/learning-and-teaching/home/analytics-and-evaluations/the-pulse

For any questions, or to submit an idea for a future The Pulse, please email analytics@csu.edu.au

The Pulse provides a picture of what is happening within CSU with regard to learning technologies and learning analytics to enhance our knowledge, challenge our thinking and stimulate conversation about the use of technology/analytics in learning and teaching.

(Compiled by Ian Holder with input from other Adaptive Learning and Teaching Services staff in the Learning Technologies Unit).

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You have access to a range of quality CSU resources to help you incorporate educational resources and techniques into your teaching. Check out the following:

• Teaching at CSU - the Division of Learning and Teaching website with links to resources for Teaching Staff, Online Learning, Assessment, Curriculum, Indigenous Curriculum, Workplace Learning, Technologies, Feedback and Analytics, and Learning Spaces.
  
• Resources for Learning and Teaching Academic and Professional Staff - searchable CSU database
  
• Learning Technologies - the starting point for a range of learning design options
• CSU Learning Exchange: Technologies in Context - a searchable database to promote online learning and teaching strategies
• The CSU wiki - a faculty-based source of learning and teaching information and strategies

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Professional Development opportunity for all.

Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching is an

open access COURSE for the Australian Higher Education Sector.

This teaching induction course provides key introductory learning and teaching concepts and strategies for those who are in their first few years of university teaching. The self-paced course is comprised of 11expert-developed modules, and several specialty modules and resources.

For more information on how to enrol, please contact

Sheeja Samuel- email: ssamuel@csu.edu.au ph: +61 2 6051 9742, or

Kellie Smyth - email: ksmyth@csu.edu.au ph: +61 2 6272 6270

NOTE: Completion of this course will provide some credit and a pathway into the CSU Grad. Cert. in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education (GCLTHE). It can provide a basis for commencing preparation for Associate Fellowship (HEA).

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Regular seminars on teaching-related topics are listed on the

CSU Professional Learning Calendar - accessed directly here

or from the Division of Learning and Teaching front page - accessed here

CSU Professional Learning Calendar:

'Open' PL Series - Session 1: What is Open? Adobe Connect session 9 August 2018 at 12:00 pm; OR

During moderation: Fair, valid and consistent. Adobe Connect session 8 August 2018 at 1:00 pm or 9 August 2018 at 1:00 pm OR

Drop In - Sessional Staff. Adobe Connect session 10 August 2018 at 11:00 am.

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All CSU students and staff members have access to Lynda.com, an online subscription library that teaches the latest business, creative and software skills through high-quality instructional videos.

A search for 'enhancing learning' with a filter for Education and eLearning returned 116 results. Resources range from general teaching tips, to keynote lectures, to the specifics of various tools and applications for employing educational resources and techniques.

For example,

Learning to Teach Online (2h 5m).

Using TED to enhance learning (4m 14s) and Engage students in learning content with Quizlet (7m 10s) video as part of the broader topic of Teacher Tech Tips (8h 45m).

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All staff with a CSU email address have free access to our annual

CSU subscription to the Magna Commons series of online seminars

Presentation handouts, full transcripts and supplementary resources are available for download if you don't have time to listen to the seminar.

How to subscribe

Staff with a CSU email address can obtain the Magna Commons CSU subscription code from Ellen McIntyre elmcintyre@csu.edu.au

Magna Commons suggests seminars to watch this month related to DEVELOPMENT:

• Building a Tougher Student: Applying the Research on Intellectual Development
• How to Create a Successful Graduate Teaching Assistant Training and Development Program
  
• The Role of the Strategic Plan in Building Faculty Development Programs

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Suggest topics that you would like for Teaching Tuesdays; or
Share your own teaching tips article.

Click on the Green Contact Ellen McIntyre button (below, or at the top of the bulletin) to offer your suggestions.

Folder with all previous issues.

Issue 1 Group Work; Issue 2 Engagement; Issue 3 Engagement;

Issue 4 Academic Integrity; Issue 5 Feedback; Issue 6 Feedback;

Issue 7 Active Engagement; Issue 8 Building on Prior Learning;

Issue 9 Student Diversity; Issue 10 Learning Outcomes;

Issue 11 Deep Learning; Issue 12 The Teaching-Research Nexus;

Issue 13 Improving Student Learning; Issue 14 Planning for Effective Student Learning; Issue 15 Feedback for Teaching; Issue 16 Gamification;
Issue 17 Activities for Effective Learning; Issue 18 Dialogic Feedback;

Issue 19 Student Evaluation; Issue 20 Enhancing Learning

FoBJBS Newsletter: BJBS-News

FoA&E Newsletter: NeXus

Email: elmcintyre@csu.edu.au
Website: https://www.csu.edu.au/division/learning-and-teaching/about-us/learning-academy
Phone: +61 2 6933 4726
Twitter: @TeachingTuesday

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