Author Archives: Sally Jordan

Four Colly Birds

Day 4. What gift was delivered on 28th December? Thinking about possible answers to this question should help you to identify the theme’s of today’s post, so perhaps I’ll stop writing now! Some people say that the first day of Christmas is … Continue reading

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Three French Hens

Day 3. eAssessment design. I’ll start thinking about question type soon enough; in the meantime, this post is about how you run the questions. In OpenMark, usual practice is to give students multiple (usually three) attempts at each question, with increasingly … Continue reading

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Two Turtle Doves

Day 2. Integrate your eAssessment.  The desirability of integrating your eAssessment is true at various levels. The sorts of things I’m thinking about include: 1. Don’t just think about eAssessment as an add on. We talk about alignment of teaching … Continue reading

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A partridge in a pear tree

Day 1. Before you start….Think!  What is the purpose of this assessment?  What are you trying to achieve? Is it assessment of learning (summative) or assessment for learning (formative)? Or perhaps it is diagnostic – providing information for your students … Continue reading

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Think before you assess

As well as the reading that has sparked my recent posts on Learning Outcomes and Revolution or Evolution?, I’ve been reading articles about multiple-choice questions and about assessing practical work. I’m fairly sure that I’ll be saying more about both of those topics … Continue reading

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Revolution or evolution?

I seem to have taken part in a lot of discussions recently in which I, or others, have talked about the need for a real ‘shake-up’ of what we do in assessment. It is indeed depressing that we continue to … Continue reading

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Learning outcomes – love them or hate them?

I went to an excellent meeting yesterday, the next step in bringing ‘joined-up thinking’ to assessment in modules in our Physics and Astronomy and Planetary Sciences pathways. There are issues, not least that some of the modules are also used … Continue reading

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The Learning Thermometer

Last week I took part in another webinar in the Transforming Assessment series. This one was about ‘The Learning Thermometer’ and was given by Helen Stallman of the University of Queensland. There is more information at http://www.learningthermometer.com.au/. Helen has an interest … Continue reading

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An experiment in the essay-type paper

The title of this post is the title of a paper I have just read. It was written in – wait for it – 1938. It’s a delightful little paper, but its findings are shocking. I came across it whilst … Continue reading

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Deadlines

Whether you love or hate deadlines probably depends on whether you are currently struggling to meet one.

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