Students are engaged in two different forms of assessment at Yoobee.
Formative assessment
Formative assessment is the assessment that forms learning i.e. it is like a progress test, or a draft run at a project where the purpose is to gain feedback. It’s often considered the informal assessment.
Summative assessment
Summative assessment is the assessment that is the sum of the learning, i.e. an end of term test, final submission of the project. This is the assessment that gains the credits of the course. It’s often considered the formal assessment.
Each type of assessment will cover the learning outcomes associated with the course. As per our NZQA requirements summative assessment can’t be changed, without approval and notification. In most cases they are very static.
However formative assessments may be already designed into the course or, added by you. Imagine a group of students how have just learn a design tool or a piece of coding, and there is a task to practise that tool or coding. That is a formative assessment as well as a practice task. It is formative as there is feedback on and assessment of the outcome. Perhaps you get the class to comment and discuss the outcome, but you as a tutor observe and assess what elements went well and what didn’t. Then the ‘what didn’t go well’ might be covered as a follow-up task, revision exercise, extra teaching, further reading for homework etc.
Interesting:
Assessments were previously thought of as evaluation OF learning. Nowadays education approaches assessment is a different way: assessment FOR learning. An interesting quick read or a longer read.
This section involves how the tutor supports the students through assessments. Section 3.1.2 will cover the process of assessment marking.
The due dates are in the Programme Outline given to each intake. Programme Outlines are discussed in section 6.1.4
It is suggested that the due dates are on Sunday at 11.59pm. This means that students can work in the weekend on their assessments. However, the students need to be aware that during the weekend the Yoobee Online team is NOT there to answer questions or solve problems.
The assessment regime will differ for each course and programme. The approach to assessment should be the same.
At least 2 weeks before due date
This will depend on the assessment and the minimal optimal timeframe to complete the assessment.
- Introduce the brief – covering the points on how to read a brief, not how to read this exact brief. Refer students to the How to Read an Assessment Brief, section 1.3.4 in their Orientation module. This could be done as a message to the intake, or a live session, or as a forum’s thread. You know the class, so make a decision that suits them best.
- Let them know that 1:1 sessions will be open and the dates of these sessions. Remind students how to book a 1:1 session. (This is where your specific Assessment Calendly event might be used)
The week of due date (at the latest)
Provide the opportunity to have an FAQ Live Session.
In the Monday morning post remind students:
- Of the due date/time
- That in the weekend there is no one around to contact
- That no submission is considered a submission so encourage to submit the work even if uncompleted.
- If they submit incomplete work, then students should wait for feedback to use when working on a resubmission if necessary.
- Extensions are required at least 2 days before due date, unless it is out of their control i.e. a car accident on the Saturday
- If there are any issues with submission to take screen shots of the problems and email helpdesk@up.education
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If a student contacts you for an extension, follow the extension instructions located in Section: 4.1.1
After due date
Review the submissions and check who has not submitted. The engagement/touchpoint plan has you contacting students who have not submitted. Make a note this in the assessment tracking document and your actions in SELMA. Don’t worry if the submission is on Sunday after 11.59pm. It should be submitted before Monday start of work.
If a student has not submitted, check if everything is ok. Don’t offer an extension nor ask if they require one. It is up to the student to decide this. There may have been an emergency where an extension will be retrospectively granted i.e. a car accident on the Saturday. This information is in the Orientation section for them.
Remind them:
- that they should submit anyway to get feedback for the resubmission
- that no submission is counted as 1 submission and they have 2 left
After grading
Please make sure that you read the feedback given to the students for their assessments, they will come back to you with questions, so you need to know what they have been asked to change, redo etc.
Please also see Module 3 The Yoobee Online Assessor for more information.
Tutors working with an Assessor
The assessor is the person who marks/grades the student's assessments. They have access to Yoobee Online and will be marking on the platform.
It’s important for a tutor to maintain communication with the assessor throughout the assessment section of the course/programme so the assessor can plan their time.
Process for assessment for tutors
At the start of assessment prep section of a course, the Monday post will indicate to the students that they should be starting their assessment. This is the time which is the latest they could possibly, comfortably complete the assessment. In reality students can start on the assessment from day 1, or 2 days before the due date. To facilitate their understanding, indicate the time the assessment takes.
This is the indication that tutors should to start preparing for the marking as well.
Assessment Tracking Spreadsheet
The template for this spreadsheet is found in the Online Campus – Staff Only Teams, in the Intakes folder in the respective programme folder. Please read the NOTES tab first to ensure consistency in the assessment process.
- Confirm with the assessor their availability and make a note in the Assessment Tracking spreadsheet who the assessor will be and the due date of the assessments to be marked (maximum 15 working days post submission).
- After the assessment submission date, review the submissions and update the Assessment Tracking spreadsheet. This gives an indication of how many assessments that assessor will mark and how many students that the tutors will need to follow up with for submission.
- Communicate to the assessor that the assessments are ready to be marked: how many are there and how many there might be in the future. Link the assessor back to the Assessment Tracking spreadsheet for them to update as they mark
- Make a note of any extensions that have been given by you.
- The assessor will mark in Yoobee Online and update the Assessment Tracking spreadsheet as they go. See Section: 3.1.2
Resubmission of assessments
- Resubmissions will have a due date on the Assessment Tracking document. The assessor will also update SELMA.
- In the marking period, tutors should regularly check the Assessment Tracking spreadsheet for any updates.
- If the student has passed, tutors should check this is recorded correctly (by the Assessor) in SELMA.
- If the student has a resubmission, the tutor needs to confirm they understand the feedback given to the student, should the student come back to you with any questions. Make a note of the resubmission due date to follow up with the student.
- At this current moment Yoobee Online does not notify students that they have feedback waiting and/or a resubmission. A tutor maybe faced with a "I didn't know I had a resub." email from the student.
Overview of Process
(also see: 4.1 Academic processes information)
Assessment due dates
The due dates are in the Programme Guide given to each intake. (see: Section 6.1.4)
It is suggested that the due dates are on Sunday at 11.59pm. This means that students can work in the weekend on their assessments. However, the students need to be aware that during the weekend no Yoobee Online team is available to answer questions or solve problems.
Resubmissions
For each summative assessment all Yoobee students have the opportunity for TWO resubmissions.
For resubmissions: After marking, students are given feedback to help them adjust and finish their assessments for the next submission. They are also provided with a new due date for this resubmission.
Students may need clarification on this feedback, therefore a tutor may set up a one-on-one meeting to discuss this feedback with the student.
Our aim is to support our students to do their absolute best so that they can achieve their goals.
Important information:
- If a student has not finished their assessment on time and there are not extenuating circumstances for an extension, we advise them to submit what they have done so far and apply the feedback to their next attempt (carry on working on the assessment but do not submit it until they receive the tutor feedback).
- It is important to be aware that if they do not submit any material within the deadline, this ‘No submission’ is considered as their first submission.
- If they then submit their assessment late (after the first deadline), this late submission is therefore considered as their second submission.
- This means that if they fail this late submission, they only have one resubmission left.
- Due to this process, we encourage the student to read the Special Consideration guide carefully and decide on application or not. We also encourage students to submit whatever they have done on the due date so they don’t fall into the above scenario. (Please also see: Subtopic: 4.1.1 for more information on this and the Special Consideration student application form. )
