Project Details

An 18-month project commissioned by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and Ako Aotearoa to produce guidelines for tutors who develop and use e‑assessments with vocational learners. A collaboration involving Ara Institute of Canterbury (Ara), Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), Te Tapuae o Rēhua and Unitec Institute of Technology (Unitec).

Aims:

This project’s primary aim was to develop guidelines for tutors who develop and use e‑assessments with vocational learners.

The guidelines aim to:

  • assist tutors to transition from narrow task-based assessment to using authentic, holistic assessment approaches implicit in new New Zealand qualifications’ graduate profile outcomes
  • shift to project-based or problem/inquiry-based learning, enabling graduates to meet industry needs
  • assist tutors to adopt assessment for learning approaches
  • leverage off students’ existing literacies and increase their academic and digital literacies
  • upskill learners’ problem-solving abilities for industry sectors participating in this project.

Methodology:

The project’s research methodology features:

  • participative action research to identify and solve any e-assessment challenges and refine innovative e-assessment processes
  • case studies to collate strategies for the guidelines
  • collation of naturally-occurring evidence and formative assessments through the use of note taking/tracking software
  • ePortfolios to collate multimedia evidence
  • learning support and assessments through role-plays and simulations in virtual environments and virtual reality platforms.

The vocational programmes included in the project are construction/infrastructure (carpentry, quantity surveying), manufacturing/technology (aeronautical engineering, automotive, fabrication) and services (hospitality).

Team

ara

Dr Selena Chan

Research lead

Ara Institute of Canterbury
ara

Nathan Walsh

Team Leader

Ara Institute of Canterbury
ara

Andre de Roo

Ara Institute of Canterbury
ara

Keith Power

Ara Institute of Canterbury
ara

Cheryl Stokes

Ara Institute of Canterbury
ara

Drayton Brensell

Project Advisor

Ara Institute of Canterbury
ara

Stefan van der Busse

Project Advisor

Ara Institute of Canterbury
NMIT

Aaron Lyster

Team Leader

Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology
NMIT

Stuart Campbell

Research Mentor

Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology
Te Tapuae o Rehua

Kym Hamilton

Team Leader

Te Tapuae o Rēhua
Te Tapuae o Rehua

Jessica Templeton

Te Tapuae o Rēhua
unitec

Kamuka Pati

Team Leader

Unitec Institute of Technology
unitec

Christopher Lovegrove

Unitec Institute of Technology
unitec

Lee Baglow

Unitec Institute of Technology
unitec

Alan Warburton

Unitec Institute of Technology
unitec

Leni Fifilata

Unitec Institute of Technology
unitec

Dr. Mary Panko

Research Mentor

Unitec Institute of Technology
unitec

James Oldfield

Project Advisor

Unitec Institute of Technology
unitec

JJ Purtal

Project Advisor

Unitec Institute of Technology

Status

Completed

Funding

$197,100.00 (excl GST)

$95,120.00 National Project Fund
$101,980.00 Ara Institute of Canterbury (Ara), Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), Te Tapuae o Rēhua, and Unitec Institute of Technology (Unitec)

Key Findings

The project developed a series of guidelines which can be used as a framework to support the development, implementation and evaluation of e-assessments for learning within vocational education.

 

 

 

 

The guidelines are organised on curriculum development principles:

The selection and development of curriculum through learning design

  • Align graduate profile and learning outcomes to assessments for learning
  • Explore and identify the difficult to articulate, undescribed learning outcomes required by learners to ‘become’
  • Match e-tool(s) to learning outcome(s), with emphasis on enabling the ‘hidden’ multiliteracies and modalities of learning

Deployment of learning interventions using technology

  • Ensure teaching team capability
  • Prepare the learner
  • Make learning overt
  • Leverage off learning analytics, for both teachers and learners

Implementation of the support stage as learning progresses

  • Review after each iteration
  • Scaffold learner capability to use e-feedback so that it becomes personalised to their own learning

An evaluative stage to ensure the next iteration meets learning needs.

  • Re-evaluate holistically the learning goals, the e-tool(s) and the resulting learning
  • Keep up with the play on e-tools and their capabilities to support e-feedback

Guidelines for developing and using e-assessments with vocational learners – Project report

The introduction, literature, methodology, findings and more from the project, 'Guidelines for developing and using e-assessments with vocational learners'.

  • 30 July 2019
Read more

Guidelines for developing and using e-assessments with vocational learners – Project overview

An overview of the project and guidelines for tutors who develop and use e‑assessments with vocational learners.

  • 14 October 2019
Read more