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Quality issues
6.1 6.2 6.3 Authenticity of evidence and assignment design Documentation Internal verification(IV) / Review (IR)
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The educational term often used for such learner instructions is an assessment instrument. This term is used because the methods used for assessment can take many forms. For example, it could be a: Formal listing of tasks set within a vocational context (this is more commonly referred to as an assignment; the main focus of this guide). Workbook for a practical activity. Tutor observation or oral questioning checklist. Formal test/ examination.
Equally, an assessment instrument could use any combination of these elements. Taking this to an extreme level, learners could even design the assessment instrument(s) themselves.
The point here is that the chosen methods of assessment can take many forms. A good assessment strategy for a unit (or even the learning programme as a whole) would be one that uses a variety of approaches. In each case, the approach chosen will be the one that is the most appropriate to the learning outcomes and assessment criteria of the unit. Using a variety of approaches in any one unit will also help to retain the learners interest and allow for different styles of working and learning.
The challenge for the tutor and the programme team generally, is to create an assessment strategy that will interest, excite and motivate the learners. At the same time, it must be manageable for both learner and tutors. The best examples of assessment strategies will: Use a variety of assessment methods. Incorporate practical and relevant activities. Recognise the opportunities for integration across units.
What they will not have is a heavy reliance on report writing or tests/examinations.
Assignment Design Guide (International) 2009-10 v1.0 Authorised by Head of BTEC Assessment
Quality assurance will play an important part in the process of assessment instrument design. There should be checks to ensure that the method and style of the assessment is fit-for-purpose. This would include the design and layout, use of appropriate language for the level of learner, accuracy and detail when meeting unit requirements and, checks for the reality and relevance of the tasks set. The final test of a good assessment instrument will be at the point of use: does it do what was intended?
At this point, it is important to appreciate the relationships between the different processes:
Learning
Evidence
Assessment
The BTEC unit will define what learning needs to take place (the learning outcomes and unit content) and this will lead to a variety of activities that will be used by the tutor to facilitate the learning (the teaching and learning plan). Quite naturally, these activities will provide opportunities to generate evidence. Assessment instrument(s) should be used to capture the parts of this evidence that enable the tutor to measure whether the learning has actually taken place. That is, the assessment of the evidence will indicate what learning has taken place and therefore, indicate what has been achieved or what further learning is necessary and so on.
The focus of this guide will be the preparation of assessment instruments in the form of assignments for BTEC First, National and Higher National programmes. It will look at: The way an assignment might be presented. The way tasks might be structured. How the learner might be provided with feedback on their achievement.
The guide will also consider the relationship between the design process and quality assurance methods applied through internal verification/ review. However, this aspect is dealt with in much greater detail in the BTEC Internal Verification Guide for International Centres.
Assignment Design Guide (International) 2009-10 v1.0 Authorised by Head of BTEC Assessment
2 Getting started
2.1 Working with unit specifications
A good understanding of the unit specification is the most important step in the design of an assignment. The BTEC First and National units have been written using a standard format.
2.2
Unit structure
Current units Title This gives the unit number and full title
Unit Abstract
Learning Outcomes
These indicate what the learner will be able to do on successful completion of the unit
Unit Content
This provides the breadth and depth of coverage expected for each Learning Outcome
Grading Grid
This is provided as a grid defining the assessment (Pass) and grading * (Merit and Distinction) criteria
Provides information on possible delivery and assessment methods, links to other units, resources and references to indicative reading
A similar unit structure is used for the BTEC Higher Nationals. The most important difference between them however, is that BTEC Higher National units do not have merit and distinction grading criteria provided on the assessment guidance/ grading grid (See section 4.3: Using the grade descriptors).
Each BTEC unit will provide all the information you need to plan both your teaching and learning strategy and your assessment strategy (not grading for BTEC Higher Nationals). The unit is the standard against which you will measure the learners achievement and it will also be used to measure your ability to assess to the standard set. For this reason, you must not add or remove learning outcomes, unit content or criteria to the BTEC unit.
Assignment Design Guide (International) 2009-10 v1.0 Authorised by Head of BTEC Assessment
The order in which the unit is written (typically, four learning outcomes numbered 1 to 4) is not always the order in which it is taught or assessed. Equally, it is not necessary to deliver unit 1 before unit 2 and so on. In working with the units, you will need to consider and decide upon your: Learning Programme Plan The order in which the units that make up the programme will be delivered. You will need to consider the relationships between each unit and whether they need to be delivered together with, before or after other units.
Learning Strategy
The approach taken to deliver a unit (e.g. to deliver learning outcome 3 first through taught and practical experience followed by .). This is the point at which a teaching plan or scheme of work for the unit is designed.
Assessment Strategy
How the unit is to be assessed (e.g. three assignments that include a technical report in week 9 of the course, practical work and write up in week 20 and research followed by a formal presentation to the others in the class in week 30). This cannot be done without thinking about the other units: Do they link or support one another? Should the assessment be done at the same time (integrated)? Do deadlines for submission clash and put undue pressure on the learners?
A starting point would be to carry out an analysis of the unit specification using the assessment information. For BTEC First and Nationals the assessment information is presented in a grid, as shown in this extract from an engineering unit:
BTEC First and National grading criteria grids have three columns that provide the pass, merit and distinction criteria.
Note that in some of the unit grids, the bullet points for each criterion have a reference letter and number eg P1, P2, M1. Some specifications require centres to do this themselves so that they can track and record coverage and achievement of the criteria. 4
Assignment Design Guide (International) 2009-10 v1.0 Authorised by Head of BTEC Assessment
Technical units of this type tend to use this funnel approach where there are fewer merit and distinction criteria than pass criteria. This would be the case for say science, business and travel qualifications. Another style of grid, often seen in arts based qualifications (e.g. art and design, media) use a linear approach where each pass criterion has a corresponding merit and distinction criterion. The assessment information grid in a BTEC Higher National unit looks quite different. BTEC Higher National grids have both the unit learning outcomes and assessment criteria for pass on one page as shown here. This style of layout makes the link between the learning outcomes and criteria easier to see, which is important for an outcome based assessment model. An important thing to note is the different assessment approaches between BTEC Higher Nationals and BTEC First and Nationals. This is to do with the relationship between the outcomes, the assessment criteria and the assessment methods. 1. BTEC Higher National assessment is at learning outcome level. For the learning outcome to be achieved then all the criteria and relevant unit content has been achieved. All learning outcomes must be achieved for the unit to be achieved. 2. BTEC First and Nationals: the focus of assessment is on the pass criteria and relevant unit content. If all the pass criteria have been achieved then the learning outcomes and hence unit must have been achieved.
This is simply a difference in the way the two qualifications and their criteria have been written. A failure to work from the BTEC Higher National learning outcomes (as the main focus of assessment) can lead to problems when designing assignments. This would not necessarily be the case with BTEC First and National units. Whichever grid you are working with, the analysis needs to find the links between the learning outcome or outcomes and their related criteria and unit content. This will enable you to break the unit down into a suitable number of assessment activities. This could, for example, be just one project style assignment or alternatively, three to four assignments that cover the whole unit. The total number of assignments planned for any given unit needs to be considered carefully. Three is a reasonable target for the maximum number of assessment activities for a whole unit. More than this and the overall assessment load for a learning programme can start to become too great. It is a matter of balance, some units will require more assignments than others but assessment overload is something for tutors and the programme team to be aware of.
Assignment Design Guide (International) 2009-10 v1.0 Authorised by Head of BTEC Assessment
2.3
For example, let us consider an imaginary BTEC National unit that has four learning outcomes (LO). An analysis of the unit has found that learning outcome two (LO2) and three (LO3) are strongly linked and so a decision is made that these should be taught first followed by LO4 and then LO1. Further analysis of the grading grid for the unit shows the following relationships between the learning outcomes, assessment (pass) criteria and grading (merit and distinction) criteria (shaded area, in the diagram below, indicates linked criteria).