Assessment and CBL

Assessment at TU/e

In order to shape assessment at our university TU/e Vision on Education identified four leading principles for assessment which can be found on page 22:

empowering students towards self-directed learning;
involving multiple stakeholders in assessment;
assessing students on individual learning objectives and
ensuring the development of just-in-time knowledge.

CBL can be seen as one of the concrete implementations of the four guiding principles of assessment. The vision for assessment applies to all courses and projects at TUE. Together, we are taking steps to improve our entire offering based on this vision. The vision of Assessment has been concretized in the Directive for the Bachelor 2.0.

Assessment and CBL

Assessments in CBL are designed to capture students' development on competencies and ability to gain and apply knowledge in authentic contexts. Performance is not measured at one final summative moment at the end, for example through a test, but at multiple moments during the learning process. Assessment methods that fit CBL should be a balance between:

focus on individual learning and on team learning;
focus on product and on proces;
balance of (in) formative and summative assessment.

While CBL courses and projects utilize the same assessment formats as other educational models, many lecturers find assessment within CBL to be a new experience. This may be because they have not previously encountered these assessment formats and are uncertain how to implement them.

What's New for Teachers?

Below are 6 aspects of assessment that some lecturers find new. You may be able to identify with some of them.

Particularly in CBL courses, assessment takes place during the learning process, known as formative assessment. This allows us to measure students' progress and development and to make timely adjustments. At this stage it is less important to assess achievement and more important to measure progress.

This gives students more opportunities to practice and learn from each other. It also gives you, the teacher, information to adjust your teaching approach.

Assessment formats that can be used during the learning process include

Class discussions ("What do you think is...?")
Mid-term tests
Observations
Mid-term portfolio submissions
Reflection reports
Peer assessment

Tip: Intensify formative assessment in the early stages of the course to support the problem-finding process. Decrease scaffolding as the course or project progresses.

Whereas some lecturers used to rely mainly on standardised tests, CBL also includes non-standardised forms of assessment because they provide valuable insights.

Reliability is no longer based solely on the instrument itself, but on the quality and frequency of feedback and on the assessors themselves.

Educators may fear that these forms of assessment are less reliable. But the opposite is true.

The reliability of your measurement increases if you use

multiple forms of assessment;
measure at multiple times;
use multiple assessors (including external stakeholders, tutors and peers) with clear responsibilities.

These are also typical strategies for addressing student diversity. The reliability of all these assessments together is likely to be even higher than a single knowledge test at the end of your course.

It also gives you the opportunity to measure more than knowledge gain, such as the development of metacognitive and communication skills.

Assessment and CBL

Assessment at TU/e

Assessment and CBL

What's New for Teachers?

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