About this Course

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Are you a teacher in higher education wanting to get the best out of your students and assessments? Then on behalf of Risbo, Erasmus University Rotterdam, we would like to welcome you to this MOOC on Assessment in Higher Education. In this MOOC we will guide you through the different phases of preparing, creating and evaluating the assessments in your course. 
After participating in this MOOC, you will be able to:
1.	Design an assessment that is constructively aligned (content, level, methods) with the course objectives and activities
2.	Apply the quality criteria with respect to validity, reliability and transparency for construction of assessments and assessment items
3.	Analyze the assessment output and results, assess the quality of the assessment and make decisions about students’ grades accordingly 
4.	Formulate future improvements for an assessment

For the assignments, you will be working with your own teaching materials. For example you will create your own assessment plan for your course. Next to that you will become part of a learning community with teachers from all over the world.

We are offering you instructional videos, interviews, animations and checklists. In addition to these, there will be course activities, such as assessments, and discussion prompts. By participating in this MOOC, you will find answers to the following questions:

•	What is the role of assessment? 
•	How can you select the right methods of assessment for your course? 
•	What is constructive alignment? 
•	How can an assessment plan and matrix help you in the construction of assessments? 
•	Is it possible to make an absolute reliable and valid assessment? 
•	How can the formulation of good assessment questions have an impact on that? 
•	What is the role of feedback? 
•	How can rubrics help with providing feedback? 
•	What are the things to consider when performing an exam or item analysis? What aspects should you look out for? 
•	How do you draw conclusions from an exam analysis and make plans for future improvements? 
•	If good students fail on certain questions, what does this say about the question… or about your teaching?

Are you ready for enhancing your teaching skills? Then take this journey with us.

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Shareable Certificate

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Intermediate Level

Approx. 17 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

Approx. 17 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.81/5 (111 Ratings)

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(3,691 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

3 hours to complete

The role of assessment in higher education

In the first week of this course you’ll get insight in some basic but fundamental questions about assessment. Why do we assess in higher education? What are possible positive and negative effects of assessment? And in what way can we make an effort in choosing the most appropriate assessment method(s). Some leading experts on assessment are introduced to you and might enlighten your thoughts. Additionally, you will be introduced to the Utility formula, which will assist you in making purposeful assessment choices.

3 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 54 min), 3 readings

7 videos

Perspectives: Why do we assess in higher education?6mPerspectives: What influence do grades have in assessment systems?9mPerspectives: How can assessment help in engaging students?11mPerspectives: Is the quality and reliability of our assessments robust enough to make high stake decisions?9mPerspectives: Is group assessment a desirable option in higher education?9mThe usability of assessment: Using the utility formula to select a method of assessment5mThe usability of assessment: A visualisation of the utility formula2m

3 readings

Meet the experts3mMore reading on the role of assessment1hBuilding block for peer review: Assignment about the Utility Formula25m

14 minutes to complete

The Assessment Cycle

14 minutes to complete

1 video (Total 4 min), 1 reading

Week2

Week 2

4 hours to complete

The Assessment Plan

As research shows, assessment plays an important role in steering the learning process. There is, however, not one best method of assessment. So, how can you select the right methods of assessments for your course? Making an assessment plan can help you select the right testing methods and decide on the relative weight of each assessment for the final result of a course. An assessment plan also helps to ensure that the assessment addresses the intended learning outcomes. In addition, it provides a good overview of the test arrangement for a course that will be published in the course manual. This makes an assessment plan a helpful tool for examiners and an important instrument for quality assurance. With an assessment matrix, you ensure that all the selected learning objectives are covered in your assessment. This also helps to ensure that your assessment will be both valid and reliable.

4 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 55 min), 12 readings

12 videos

Introduction to the assessment plan4mAnimation on constructive alignment4mAnimation on how to write your own assessment plan6mAnimation on how to create an assessment matrix7mPerspectives: How do students prepare for an assessment?3mPerspectives: Could students be involved in your assessments?3mPerspectives: Teachers and their preferences for methods of assessment4mPerspectives: Students and their preferences for methods of assessment3mPerspectives: What kind of methods do teachers use to assess students?3mPerspectives: Best practices according to teachers and students7mPerspectives: Students on easy assessments and time consuming assessments2mPerspectives: Experiences of teachers in how they select the methods of assessment for their courses3m

12 readings

Constructive alignment overview10mOptional reading: Constructive alignment - John Biggs10mVideo: on writing learning objectives5mManual on how to write learning objectives15mOptional reading: Methods of assessment A-Z10mActivity: Match methods of assessments with their cognitive domain following Bloom’s Taxonomy10mOptional reading: In-class activities and assessment for the flipped classroom10mAssessment plan overview10mBuilding block for peer review: Connect your learning objectives to the methods of assessment for your course10mAssessment matrix overview10mBuilding block for peer review: Create your own assessment matrix10mMeet the teachers of Erasmus University Rotterdam3m

Week3

Week 3

5 hours to complete

Feedback & grading design

In module 1 you have learned about assessment FOR learning and the role assessments play in the learning process of students. In this module we will take this to the next step. You will learn why feedback is so important and how to provide feedback using rubrics. Did you know there are different types of rubrics? Depending on the function of the rubric each type has both its advantages and disadvantages. This module will help you deciding what type of rubric suits your needs. In the stage of grading, methods of setting a cut-off score are important. You will learn about different methods of setting a cut-off score and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.

5 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 25 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz

Week4

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Assessment construction

The results of student assessments often have far-reaching consequences for their educational or even professional careers. When we allow our assessments to have such impacts on people’s careers, it is of the utmost importance that we are very sure that our measurement is reliable and accurate and a valid representation of students’ actual abilities…. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. The goal for this module is to help you to apply quality criteria for the construction of assessments and assessment items. Because, if we improve the quality of our assessments, we improve the quality of our education, and we will have a huge impact on the future education and careers of our students.

4 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 51 min), 8 readings, 2 quizzes

10 videos

Introduction to assessment construction3mPerspectives: Teachers and their experiences with multiple choice and essay questions1mPerspectives: Multiple choice Q&A8mIntroduction to constructing multiple choice questions3mHow to construct the stem of a multiple choice question?3mHow to construct the answer alternatives of a multiple choice question?2mPerspectives: Open ended questions Q&A8mHow to construct open ended and essay questions?5mPerspectives: Group work Q&A6mHow to construct group work?7m

8 readings

Further reading on assessment construction10mChecklist for multiple choice questions5mFurther reading on multiple choice questions10mChecklist for open ended questions5mPreparing a correction model5mFurther reading on open ended questions10mChecklist for group work10mFurther reading on group work10m

Reviews

4.8

141 reviews

5 stars
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4 stars
13.16%
3 stars
2.19%
2 stars
0.94%
1 star
0.62%

TOP REVIEWS FROM ASSESSMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS

by JHJun 20, 2022

A well-strcutured and informative course! It is a really helpful course for all educators involved in higher ed testing.

Well done!

by DCJan 11, 2021

I really had a great time learning this course. I have learned a lot from the video lectures. I enjoyed doing the activities especially I can relate it to my current work.

by IASep 17, 2020

Thanks a lot, it was a good course and added a good value to my knowledge in my carrier field as a trainer and the progress and sequence of the material was helpful and was in good sequence.

by RRAug 7, 2020

It a very nice course . I have now got so many insights into the assessment process. Thanks to all the faculty who have designed this course.

View all reviews

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Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Assessment in Higher Education: Professional Development for Teachers