Case Story: BalladsintheBush

Summary	Case study in formative assessment using e-assessment from Australia
Group / workshop	Formative e-Assessment	Status	seed
Project details...

Situation

What was the setting in which this case study occurred?

The setting is in remote Australia. The general learning area is conservation and land-management. The specific area of the curriculum is "Recognise Animals", which is level 2, a first stage apprenticeship level. The students (many Aborogine) are training to be park rangers.

Students must be able to recognise the animals in their natural habitat. They also have to participate in animals surveys and also handle animals safely, such as snales and other reptiles.

Task

What was the problem to be solved, or the intended effect?

The problem is checking on students' knowledge to recognise animals and apply that in the field (bush). Students have to recognise different types of animals, be able to safetly handle different animals, and must be able to trap and survey animals.

Actions

What was done to fulfil the task?

Student activities include recognise snakes, identify the risk each snake poses, carry out surveys and trapping for the snakes, handle snakes safely and effectively, and report back on their findings.

This procedure is generally followed for all animals.

Each animal must be linked to the cultural background i.e. link the animal to the cultural and social beliefs. Some of the students' beliefs are tradtional and non-scientific and the learning seeks to respect this.

Every small section of the curriculum is assessed at its end using online assessment based on multiple choice questions.  Once complete, the results are send to the lecturer who will conduct a telephone interview to discuss the students' learning. Feedback will be given by telepohone or Centra (VOIP) or video conferencing (for group feedback).

Typical MCQs might relate to injured animals in specific contexts, or methods of birth for different types of animals.

Through this dialogue the tutor gets to know each student and identify their strengths and weaknesses, permitting their to provide specific, tailored support to each learner. The importance of the tutor being culturally sensitive is vital.

This process is repeated for each part of the syllabus.

The feedback is given during the post-test conversation (using telephone, VOIP or video).

Results

What happened? Was is a success? What contributed to the outcomes?

Successful students will complete the unit.

Some students drop out of the programme or take longer to complete the course because of the remote nature of the learning and assessment. Few students fail to complete the course but some take a significantly extended period of time to complete.

Where problems are identified during the feedback process then additional support will be provided via the local park ranger or the students will wait until one of the lecturer and student can meet in a local study centre, where face-to-face tuition can take place.

Traditional teaching and learning tends to complete the course much more rapidly with lower drop out.

Lessons Learned

What did you learn from the experience?

The course takes a lot longer to complete than traditional delivery.

Formative assessment is critical to the success of this programme

Many students prefer to print and read from paper rather than read on-screen.

Licensing

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.