Webinar Week | Diogo Casa Nova (Uab)

1. Student-centered and flexible
assessment strategies(?)
Assessment Design and the
future of assessment for UAb
-------------------
Diogo Casa Nova
Vice-rector for Quality and
Innovation

2. Brief context
• The Portuguese Open University
(historical background; widening
participation; analogic university)
• From analogic to digital: The Virtual
Pedagogical Model (Pereira et al.,
2007).
• Digital inclusion
• Student Centred
• Flexibility of choice
• Interaction
• Still a mixed approach (19 Exams
Centres + 3 delegations and consulates)

3. Key elements
of the
pedagogical
model
Guided activities
for every module
Interaction
(tutors, module
leaders and peers)
Dependent of
final f2f exams
PUC agrees
expectations in
each module
Reflection on
professional
experience
Enrollment per
module

4. • Students have 30 modules per programme
(90 elements of assessment).
• Assessment points signpost to students what
they need to learn and how they are doing in
each module.
• Assessment points allow us to monitor
students´ learning and ensure that dropout
risks are anticipated.
• It creates a robust assessment ecosystem
which was seen as important due to the lack
of credibility given to distance education in
the country in 2008
Assessment model
Assessment overload?

5. • Consistency
• System well
regarded
• Staff adapted and
trained
• Degree of choice
• Volume of data
• Often lack relevance and
authentic assessment
• Often lack innovation and
creativity
• Model does not fully align
with the pedagogical
model and with the
flexibility of space and time
Negative
Positive

6. Impact of
Covid

7. Decree-Law
No. 133/2019
Identifies what is a DL programme (75% plus
ECTS online) and education predominantly
delivered with physical separation between the
participants in the educational process, namely
teachers and students, where:
(i) interaction and participation are
technologically mediated and supported by
online academic and technological support
teams;
ii) The curricular design is oriented to allow
access without limits of time and place to the
contents, processes and contexts of teaching
and learning;
iii) The pedagogical model is specially designed
for teaching and learning in virtual
environments.

8. Decree-Law
No. 133/2019
about
assessment
Promoting the digital inclusion of
students and the fairness, reliability
and accessibility of assessment
methodologies and processes
Higher education institutions should
define formative and summative
assessment methodologies that
integrate face-to-face assessment or
through technological platforms,
ensuring the reliability of the
assessment developed.
Where face-to-face assessments are
to be carried out, it must be ensured
that examinations take place in
suitable locations that are
geographically decentralised

9. https://er.educause.edu/-
/media/files/articles/2022/6/er2225w.pdf?la=en&hash=5CDDC654009BB896FC1B15AE1B6753FF0C05C128

10. The future of
assessments
for the UAb
• Moving to 100% digital
• Encouraging continuous assessment (and
low stake)
• Promoting alternative and more authentic
assessments instead of final exams
• Reinforcing the use of data (predictive
analytics)
• Embedding assessment into learning (and
learning activities)
• Using AI to support learning
• Better training available
• End of the examination route?

11. (towards) Student-
centered and flexible
assessment strategies
• Design assessments relevant for
our students
• Focus reflection in and on
practice
• Highlight value of dialogic
feedback
• Encourage better use of peer-
instruction

12. Final
considerations
Covid, Decree-law and Technology advances led to
changes
Analytics (data visualization and predictive analytics), AI
(Machine Learning; HYBOTS; auto grading and feedback)
A long path to go to make learning and assessment truly
student-centred (NETFLIX and Microcredetials)
But for now…reinforcing continuous assessments