Blended Learning

Assessment
Good practice in assessment would tell us that ideally assessment tasks should be designed such that they
are actually integral to the process of learning rather than only being about outcomes and grading. Blended
learning offers a range of ways in which learning activities can be incorporated into the course assessment
program.
Blended Learning technologies also support the management of the
assessment process (submission, grading, and feedback). For more
information see the “Management and Administration” section in this
guide.
Section 2.2
Designing and developing
Why blend assessment?
‣ ¾ To monitor student progress frequently and more easily (e.g., online quizzes, individual or group
contributions to a discussion forum or wiki).
‣ ¾ To motivate students to engage in learning in an ongoing manner (cf. cramming for an end of semester
exam) by using online activities scheduled as part of the course curriculum.
‣ ¾ To make managing and administering assessment more time efficient and accurate. For example, by
using online assignment submission students’ work will be automatically date and time stamped, and
can be downloaded in a batch for marking.
‣ ¾ To enable the design of a more authentic assessment task, or utilise student activity/collaboration
during the course for assessment purposes – see the section on “Student Activity and Collaboration” in
this guide.
Considerations
When taking a blended learning approach to assessment, consider the following:
‣ ¾ Can you provide opportunities for self-assessment, particularly of knowledge?
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Or can you provide ‘low stakes’ assessment (e.g., a quiz) to guide the learner and provide feedback?
‣ ¾ How will you provide feedback on progress and what is the nature and timing of feedback?
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Are there opportunities for both informal and formal feedback?
‣ ¾ How consistent are the types of assessment with the types of learning activities?
‣ ¾ Do the assessment tasks align with the course aims and intended learning objectives?
‣ ¾ What are the workload implications for staff and students?
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Are there skills that need to be developed in order to use the technology?
Will implementing a blended learning strategy create more workload or can it be made more
efficient?
‣ ¾ How will you communicate the purpose and relevance of tasks to students?
‣ ¾ The timing of assessment tasks in your course is important.
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Are they reasonably spread across the semester?
Section 2.2 Designing and Developing
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