Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs
Assessment
ExL@DCU
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Understanding AssessmentIntroductionAssessment is one of the most important aspects of following a formal, accredited programme in university. When you think about ‘assessment’ you might think of some, or all, of the following words: ‘exams’, ‘assignments’, ‘essays’, ‘reports’, ‘marks’, ‘grades’, ‘pass’, ‘fail’, ‘honours’. It is possible that the word ‘learning’ might not feature amongst those that come to mind immediately. However, assessment, together with associated feedback, is probably one of the main ways in which you learn. More and more attention is now being given to assessment as a way of learning as well as a way of grading what has been learned.This unit will explore assessment in its broadest context. It will focus on helping you to understand the purpose of assessment in the context of your overall learning experience. A number of strategies will be outlined which will help you to successfully complete assignments. Ways of learning from previous work will be summarised through a discussion on feedback. Finally, since exams continue to be a source of concern for many students, some ideas and strategies for improving your confidence and your performance will be presented. Different types of assessment may be used in different discipline areas and it will be important to understand the role and purpose of assessment in your own particular discipline area. Ideally, all learning skills should be developed within the particular parameters of your discipline(s). As you engage in the university learning experience you will progressively develop knowledge of subject-specific discourse, and through participating in it come to understand its particular conventions. In the meantime, if in doubt, check with your lecturers. Learning objectives
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