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Continuous assessment and support for
learning: an experience in educational
innovation with ICT support
in higher education
César Coll, María J. Rochera,
Rosa M. Mayordomo, Mila Naranjo
Dept. of Developmental & Educational Psychology,
University of Barcelona
Spain
Dr. César Coll. Dpto. de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall
d'Hebron, 171. 08035 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: ccoll@ub.edu
© Education & Psychology I+D+i and Editorial EOS (Spain)
César Coll et al.
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Abstract
In this article we present and discuss an integrated system of continuous assessment (ISCA)
in higher education, designed to collect multiple evidences of students’ knowledge and abili-
ties, and to facilitate monitoring and support of their learning processes. Inspired by a socio-
constructivist approach, which assumes a close relation between teaching, learning and as-
sessment, this system combines different types of activities, organized around blocks of broad
themes, and aimed at acquiring information on content comprehension as well as its applica-
tion and functional use in authentic contexts.
The educational innovation experience which constitutes the framework in which this system
was developed and applied took place during the 2005-2006 school year. It was carried out in
three class groups of “Educational Psychology”, a mandatory course for the Bachelor’s de-
gree in Psychology, based on ECTS (European Credit Transfer System), using a teaching
methodology focused on the student, and the support of information and communication
technology (ICT). The experience was planned and developed by the consolidated group for
teaching innovation in educational psychology (GIDPE) at the University of Barcelona. Re-
sults uphold a positive assessment of students’ academic achievement, as well as their satis-
faction with participation in the experience.
Two conclusions are worthy of mention. The first is that the ISCA proved to be an effective
instrument, useful for acquiring evidence of the learning processes and for administering and
managing different educational helps to students in these processes. The second is that the
strength and usefulness of the ISCA consists in the integration of options and criteria as a
whole rather than in applying any one criterion or option separately.
Key words: continuous assessment, educational support, higher education, educational inno-
vation, authentic assessment, information and communication technologies.
Received: 07-23-07 Initial acceptance: 09-25-07 Final acceptance: 10-04-07
Continuous assessment and support for learning: an experience in educational innovation with ICT support
in higher education
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Introduction
Higher education has evolved in recent years toward incorporation of new, alternative
evaluation systems (as compared to traditional ones), systems with names such as “authentic
assessment”, “performance assessment” or “alternative assessment” (Ahumada, 2005; Biggs,
2005; Birembaum et al., 2006; Diaz Barriga, 2006). These systems share a new way of under-
standing the assessment process to the extent that they are focused on learning situations from
real life and on significant, relevant, complex problems which require demonstrating the use of
an entire set of knowledge, skills and attitudes much broader than can be displayed through
oral or written exams with brief or extended responses.
On the other hand, the need to identify generic or cross competencies as well as profes-
sion-specific competencies has been one of the challenges and objectives put forward in the
framework of the European convergence process. Competency here is understood to mean an
adequately-learned ability to perform a task, function or role relating to a particular work con-
text – in this case in the area of Educational Psychology – which integrates knowledge, skills
and attitudes (Roe, 2003; de la Fuente et al., 2005; VV.AA., 2005). Identification of the role
and tasks which an educational psychologist performs, comprehension of educational psychol-
ogy texts, application of psychoeducational knowledge to educational situations and cases,
cooperative work, and regulation of individual and group work and learning are some of the
competencies which students of Educational Psychology should learn.
The process of European convergence has also prompted implementation of teaching
methodologies centered on students’s autonomous work. Toward this end, it is considered
necessary for students to have competencies for regulating individual and group work, for es-
tablishing learning goals, planning courses of action, selecting suitable strategies and re-
sources, persisting in the resolution, review and reorientation of tasks in order to meet prede-
termined objectives. As numerous studies have shown (Torrano & González, 2004), self-
regulation is a complex process where diverse factors intervene, including cognitive and meta-
cognitive, affective, motivational and volitional (Pintrich, 2000); the same can be said of the
other competencies mentioned. In this context, continuous evaluation systems offer teachers
the chance to follow the students’ learning process with precision and to gather multiple evi-
dences of results attained and the degree to which they have developed competencies (Delgado
et al., 2005). From our perspective, the central question consists of designing and incorporat-
César Coll et al.
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ing evaluation systems into university teaching which not only facilitate gathering this evi-
dence, but which teachers can also use to adequately support students in acquiring and using
autonomous regulation competencies of their individual and group learning processes
(Boekaerts, 1999; Allal & Wegmuller, 2004). In summary, the teacher’s follow-up, tutoring
and support for students’ work is of great importance and doubtlessly constitutes one of the
fundamental elements for success in teaching and learning processes.
The need to use evaluation for pedagogical ends – without necessarily overlooking or
undervaluing the importance of final credentials – has been highlighted by numerous authors
(see, for example, Schunk & Zimmerman, 1998; Coll & Onrubia, 1999; William, 2000; Broad-
foot & Black, 2004; McDonald, 2006). This perspective emphasizes not only “assessment of
learning”, but also, and especially, “assessment for learning” (Birembaum et al., 2006), accen-
tuating the developmental function of assessment (Nunziati, 1990; Allal, 1991) and the impor-
tance of providing students with information about their own learning process, as well as pos-
sible ways for improving it.
In this context there are several studies which have focused on applying ICT to manag-
ing and driving learning assessment of students in higher education (for example, Lara, 2001,
2003; Rodríguez, 2002). A good share of these studies is oriented toward use of ICT as an in-
strument for assessing learning. In the study presented here, however, ICT is used more as a
support to a continuous assessment system with developmental purposes, as a support to stu-
dents’ reflection and regulation about their learning process, and with formative purposes, as a
support to the teacher’s tutorial work over students’ learning.
Starting from a perspective that relates assessment to educational help in promoting
learning, the present study has three objectives: (i) to introduce and discuss fundamental crite-
ria and options which uphold an integrated system of continuous evaluation (ISCE) in higher
education; (ii) to illustrate this system through describing an experience in teaching innovation
supported by a case analysis methodology and by use of ICT incorporated into continuous as-
sessment; and (iii) to introduce and discuss some particularly important results of this experi-
ence from the point of view of continuous assessment.
Continuous assessment and support for learning: an experience in educational innovation with ICT support
in higher education
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Designing a continuous assessment system integrated into learning activities: options and
criteria
The experience of incorporating an integrated system of continuous assessment into a
given university teaching practice forms part of a broader teaching innovation project1 devel-
oped by the Teaching Innovation Group in Educational Psychology at the University of Barce-
lona2. The experience was carried out over the 2005-2006 school year in three experimental
groups with a total of 186 students in the “Educational Psychology” course, a required core
subject from the 5th semester of the Bachelor’s program in Psychology at the University of
Barcelona. This subject has been designed in ECTS credits (European Credit Transfer Sys-
tem), using a case analysis and problem-solving methodology and with the support of techno-
logical tools offered by the Moodle3 virtual platform. Use of this platform has enabled a
blended context of teaching and learning which combines face-to-face and distance, as well as
the use of some available resources so that students might reflect on their work and their learn-
ing and that the teacher may guide and oversee this process.
The assessment system is based on a theoretical perspective linked to socio-cultural
constructivism (Coll, Martín & Onrubia, 2001), according to which assessment, educational
help and learning are closely related. From this perspective, assessment is considered to be a
fundamental instrument by which the teacher can regulate his or her teaching activity along the
way and by which the student can regulate his or her own learning process (Mauri & Rochera,
1997). As explained below, in order to fulfill this role, assessment activities are to be inserted
into teaching and learning activities, organized and sequenced around broad thematic areas,
and teachers encouraged to provide follow-up, support and tutoring to students during the de-
velopment of assessment activities.
1 “L’ensenyament de la psicologia de l’educació des de la perspectiva de la convergència europea: una proposta
basada en el treball de l’alumne i en l’ús de les noves tecnologies de la informació la comunicació” [Teaching
Educational Psychology from the perspective of European convergence: a proposal based on students’ work and
the use of ICT] (Reference 2003 MQD 00149. Director: C. Coll. Convocatòria d’ajuts per al finançament de
projectes per a la millora de la qualitat docent de les universitats catalanes corresponent a l’any 2003).
2 http://www.ub.edu/grintie/
3 The Moodle platform (http://moodle.org) is distributed under an open code license (GNU Public License) and
due to its flexibility can generate diverse settings for teaching and learning.
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Integration of assessment activities in the students’ learning activities
We understand assessment as an element inherent in the process of teaching and learn-
ing and as an instrument at the disposal of this process. The two reasons which justify this
statement are: (1) the fact that situations and activities used for identifying and assessing what
students have learned constitute the nexus between the teaching process laid out by the teacher
and the knowledge construction processes performed by students (Coll, Martín & Onrubia,
2001); and (2) the fact that assessment activities must be coherent with the other elements
which make up the teaching and learning process, especially with objectives and with activities
presented throughout this process (Wiliam, 2000; Hargreaves, Earl & Schmidt, 2002; Dochy,
2004; Norton, 2004). From this perspective, if we seek to assess not only the conceptual
knowledge of students, but also their skills in real contexts (Shepard, 2000), it is necessary to
integrate assessment in the very learning process that students are carrying out while they per-
form teaching and learning activities.
According to these criteria, in this particular innovation experience, teaching and learn-
ing activities are at the same time assessment activities. Activities are not designed according
to single topic units, but rather into a thematic block which connects one or more topics. Each
thematic block proposes a set of continuous assessment activities which require the students to
produce different products in a complex case analysis or problem-solving situation. Further-
more, students fill out individual and group self-evaluation reports about their own working
and learning process at the end of each thematic block. At the same time, continuous assess-
ment activities are planned in such a way as to facilitate the teacher’s follow-up of the stu-
dents’ work process, by producing written reports to be returned to students and by performing
follow-up tutoring based on assessment results from each thematic block. All these aspects are
presented in greater detail in the sections which follow.
In this way the continuous evaluation system seeks to fulfill its pedagogical claims: on
one hand, helping teachers to make decisions which improves their teaching practice, as it re-
lates to the student learning, and to make adjustments to their educational assistance as a func-
tion of the progress, difficulties or relapses which students experience (formative assessment);
on the other hand, helping students make decisions based on improving their learning activity
(developmental assessment).
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in higher education
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Organization and sequencing of assessment activities around thematic blocks
In order to encourage students to approach knowledge from a more functional, global
sense, it seemed right to separate the work from this academic course into broad content units.
Thematic blocks are content groupings or nuclei which are meaningful in themselves, and
learning them can contribute decisively to developing the competencies of Educational Psy-
chology. Within the framework of each thematic block, there are teaching and learning activi-
ties aimed at understanding the knowledge and applying it in simulated real contexts. These
activities, as indicated above, are at the same time assessment activities which allow teachers
to collect information on the extent to which students reach an understanding of the content
and on their ability to use what they have learned.
Four thematic blocks were established, these are addressed through the presentation
and resolution of a case or problem typical to the demands and tasks of school psychology:
fulfilling the functions and tasks of a school guidance counselor at a Secondary Education
school (thematic block 1); preparing a talk addressed to parents on the relationship between
intelligence, learning strategies and school performance, within the framework of a “Parenting
School” (thematic block 2); preparation of an interview with a child’s teacher, where the child
is showing lack of interest and motivation for learning (thematic block 3); and finally, helping
teachers in the process of attention to diversity in the classroom (thematic block 4).
Assessment activities follow a single sequence, with minor variations, for the four the-
matic blocks. As is seen in Table 1, the sequence includes different evaluation activities aimed
at gathering information not only about student’s comprehension of the content, but also and
especially about their “performance” ability. In sum, the sequence is organized such that stu-
dents can demonstrate an increasingly expert approach and resolution of the cases or problems
presented as they progress in their comprehension and assimilation of the content covered in
the thematic block. Additionally, this organization allows the teacher to offer, within the
framework of this sequence, a set of diverse aids – direct and indirect, in person or through
ICT – which are aimed at improving the students’ learning process.
César Coll et al.
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Table 1. Sequence of evaluation activities and diversity of educational helps
Integrated, continuous evaluation system in higher education (ICESHE)
Type and sequence of evaluation ac-
tivities (in each thematic block) Type and sequence of educational helps
(in each thematic block)
Initial evaluation activities
• Initial responses
-individual and/or group-
to case analyses
Process evaluation activities
• Glossaries
• Conceptual maps
Final evaluation activities
• Final responses and their comparison
with initial responses
• Individual and group completion of
self-evaluation questionnaires for
each thematic block
Helps aimed at raising students’ awareness of the initial definition of
the situation. Creation of a common definition shared between teach-
ers and students.
• Students get a first representation of the case or problem and be-
come aware of the need for a deeper understanding than their cur-
rent knowledge.
• The teacher collects information about students’ prior knowledge
and their initial representation of the case or problem, thus provid-
ing him or her with a baseline and an anchor point for teaching.
Helps aimed at the control, evaluation and improvement of learning
• Follow-up and tutoring the work process in face-to-face situations
or through communication tools provided through the Moodle
platform.
• Preparation of written reports on the results of the evaluation for
each thematic block, including information about the correction
criteria and the degree of goal attainment, with guidance for im-
proving learning.
• Tutoring sessions with feedback of results, in face-to-face and
online situations
Carrying out these activities implies placing the student in simulated real contexts
which allow him or her to relate theory to practice and use the acquired knowledge in a con-
textualized fashion, while at the same time encouraging attainment of certain competencies
required by the professional practice of an educational psychologist. However, the potential of
such situations of case analysis or problem solving to enable development of professional
competencies will only be effective to the extent that students are provided with the educa-
tional assistance necessary for them to successfully address or resolve the case or problem in
question. This assistance can be facilitated through use of ICT (Mauri, Colomina & Rochera,
2006).
In this sense, several conditions must be met in order to address the cases or problem
situations which are the backbone of the thematic blocks. These include: the learning of sig-
nificant, core knowledge; performing individual and group tasks linked to solving the case or
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in higher education
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problem; collection of information on the students’ learning process and feeding back to them
an assessment; as well as follow-up and help from the teacher at different stages in the process.
Teacher support, follow-up and tutoring during the completion of assessment activities
Taken as a whole, the sequence of assessment activities which we have just mentioned
provides students with opportunities for acting autonomously in real, complex situations and
problems (even though in a simulated context), planning courses of action, deciding what
knowledge must be used and how they should use it in resolving the case or problem, compar-
ing the initial, tentative resolution with the final resolution, reflecting on the course of action
followed and thereby reorienting the learning process itself. In our experience, however, stu-
dents are unlikely to learn to make optimal decisions if they do not receive necessary support
and help at specific moments in the process, especially in initial stages, and if this support and
help does not evolve, gradually being reduced and withdrawn as students’ ability to work and
learn autonomously increases. In this context, assessment activities become privileged occa-
sions for teachers to provide ongoing support to the students’ work and learning process as
needed.
In order to obtain evidence of the learning process which students are following, teach-
ers use different instruments and resources enabling them to provide follow-up and support to
individual and group work while assessment activities are under way, whether directly or indi-
rectly, in-person or online. On one hand, the teacher plans and carries out a series of in-person
sessions, some mandatory and some optional, for each thematic block; these facilitate observa-
tion of students’ production process. Over the course of these sessions, small groups of four to
six student members address resolution of the case, construction of a glossary, and elaboration
of a conceptual map. This way, they plan resolution of tasks, they share and exchange mean-
ings, they identify difficulties and propose solutions. At the same time, the teacher can follow
their process in some detail and offer different types of support – further explaining the in-
structions, providing additional information, resolving doubts, etc. — all aimed at encouraging
conscious, reflective and self-regulating activity in students.
The didatic guide for each block, the mandatory readings, reading guidelines and sup-
port materials (topic outlines, further readings, tutorials for constructing conceptual maps,
etc.), were among the indirect aids offered to students in each thematic block; all of these were
César Coll et al.
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permanently available in the virtual classroom for the course, constructed on the Moodle plat-
form. The virtual classroom (see Figure 1) also offers a set of online spaces and technological
resources that can be used by students to plan and regulate their own learning process (notetak-
ing, automatic activity records, guidelines for reflection, detailed planning calendars for the
work sessions, etc.). It also allows the teacher to carry out continuous assessment supported
by multiple evidences (both group and individual activities and tasks, online activity registers,
contributions to the general subject forum, to the small-group forums and to the collaborating
editor, etc) and to provide constant assistance, follow up and guidance to the learning process
as deemed appropriate from the evidence gathered (on line tutorials; returned assignments,
corrected and assessed; follow up and intervention in small group forums; the general forum,
or the collaborating editor, etc.).
Figure 1. Main screen of the Educational Psychology virtual classroom
These technological resources and virtual spaces facilitate observation of joint knowl-
edge construction processes among the students, processes which otherwise might remain in-
accessible to the teacher. Obviously, monitoring this work and communication spaces means
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in higher education
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additional work and a considerable time investment for teachers and for students, as is seen in
the Results section. However, this is compensated for by significant improvement in gathering
evidence of students’ progress and difficulties in the learning process, and the “expansion” of
channels for tutoring and support which is very difficult to attain in teaching and learning ac-
tivities done exclusively in person (Onrubia, 2005).
One especially interesting and useful resource for promoting learning through assess-
ment is, at the end of each thematic block, the preparation and submission of a report on re-
sults of learning. This report is organized into the following sections: (i) assessment criteria
which take into account how well assignments were completed (corresponding to an assess-
ment scale of A, B, C, D); (ii) detailed assessment of work in relation to the criteria; (iii)
evaluation of the responses to questionnaire items of the group self-assessment; (iv) evaluation
of the responses to questionnaire items of the individual self-assessment and guidelines for
revising and improving the activity; and (v) a proposal of in-person and online tutorial situa-
tions for discussing the report.
Table 2 summarizes the set of relative criteria within the global assessment system
which was designed. In the first column are basic criteria of the assessment system and in the
second are the options, resources and instruments which give shape to each of them.
Table 2. Options, criteria and resources in the integrated, continuous evaluation system
Basic options of the evalua-
tion system Criteria and resources of the evaluation system
Continuous evaluation sup-
ported by multiple evidence
-Embedding evaluation activities in students’ learning activities
-Evaluation with formative and developmental purposes. Actions aimed at
improving teaching assistance and regulation of learning.
Sequencing evaluation activi-
ties in each thematic block and
through the thematic blocks
themselves
-Theoretical-practical integration: the thematic blocks.
-Organization of evaluation activities around broad thematic blocks which are
approached through analysis and resolution of cases or problems.
-The combination of activities aimed at understanding the content and its ap-
plication in simulated contexts.
-The combination of individual and group activities.
-Students’ elaboration of different products in each thematic block:
-initial case resolution (initial diagnostic evaluation),
-glossary of concepts and conceptual map (formative evaluation during the
process)
-final case resolution and reflection on the elaboration process (final
evaluation).
-Gradual increase in autonomy in elaboration of products in successive the-
matic blocks.
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-Use of ICT as a resource for collaboration among students: collaborative work
spaces.
The teacher’s support, follow-
up, and tutoring during realiza-
tion of evaluation activities
-Observation and tutoring during performance of evaluation activities, in both
mandatory and optional face-to-face sessions
-Follow-up and evaluation of the individual and group self-evaluation ques-
tionnaires completed at the end of each thematic block
-The support of ICT as a resource for continuous evaluation. Use of different
visual spaces in the Moodle virtual classroom (general forum, small group
forums, collaborative editor, automatic records, messaging and online tutoring,
etc.) in order to facilitate students’ work and its ongoing supervision and sup-
port.
-The teacher’s preparation of written reports addressed to students at the end of
each thematic block: criteria for correction and evaluation of the assigned
products, evaluation of answers to the individual and group self-evaluation
questionnaires, proposed guidelines for revising and improving one’s learning.
-Follow-on tutoring sessions performed in person or on line in order to feed
back the results of the evaluation.
Results
Results from the experience show improvement in students´ final performance (N=
186) for the course both in terms of the number of students who passed their final exams at
first attempt as well as in the mean and distribution of grades. Table 3 shows that 90.81% of
students pass the subject and 75.8% do so with a grade of A or B4.
Table 3. Performance of students in the experimental groups (Grade received)
A 23 12.36%
B 118 63.44%
C 28 15.05%
Fail 2 1.07%
Drop out or No show at final exam 15 8.06%
Total 186 100%
In order for students to evaluate their participation in the experience, a 28-item ques-
tionnaire was prepared (23 items on a scale of 1 to 5, and 5 short-answer items). The follow-
4 In prior schoolyears when an assessment system was used with an equivalent final exam, the percentage of
students passing at first attempt usually fell between 60% and 70%. Since it is impossible to obtain exactly
equivalent data for the different groups, it is unadvisable to calculate the statistical significance of the difierences
between these percentages and those presented in Table 3.
Continuous assessment and support for learning: an experience in educational innovation with ICT support
in higher education
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, N. 13 Vol 5 (3), 2007. ISSN: 1696-2095. pp: 783-804 - 795 -
ing aspects were addressed: the type of activities and tasks used in this methodology; the
thematic block structure; the different types of aid offered for orienting and facilitating learn-
ing; the methodology of case analysis and resolution; the types of cases presented; the use of
different resources from the Moodle platform; how these resources contributed to different
learning processes; cooperative work in small groups; the continuous assessment system; ac-
tivities for reviewing the planning of one’s individual work; the amount of time required; and
a global evaluation of the approach and realization of the course. This questionnaire was an-
swered individually and anonymously by a total of 115 students at the end of the year. Even
though an exhaustive analysis of all questionnaire items was carried out, here we present only
those related directly to the topic of continuous assessment as an instrument for optimizing
pedagogical assistance. Let us recall, in this respect, that students’ opinion of their degree of
satisfaction with learning processes in which they participate is normally considered one of
the fundamental dimensions to consider for improving quality of education (González, 2006).
First, we present students’ evaluation of some aspects of the experience. Figure 2
shows graphically the response to the following question: “Taking into account all the aspects
considered throughout the questionnaire, your global assessment of the approach and reali-
zation of this course is: not satisfactory, minimally satisfactory; neutral; quite satisfactory;
very satisfactory”. More than half the participants (59%) rate the approach and realization of
the course as “quite satisfactory”. The fact that only 1% of students make a global assessment
of “not satisfactory” is especially interesting.
Quite satisfactory
59%
Satisfactory
7%
Unsatisfactory
1%
Very satisfactory
33%
Figure 2. Global assessment of the course approach and realization.
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As Figure 3 shows, the usefulness of the continuous evaluation system is generally
rated very positively. The question in this case is: “Rate the degree to which you consider
that the continuous evaluation system in this course has helped you: to work more continu-
ously and systematically; to read systematically and in depth; to heighten your interest and
motivation; to better regulate your learning process; to improve communication with the
teacher; to improve the meaningfulness of your learning” (assessment scale: very little, a lit-
tle, some, quite a bit, very much). Out of all these, “to read systematically and in depth” (very
little 0%; a little 0%; some 1.74%; quite a bit 31.30%; very much 66.96%) and “to work more
continuously and systematically” (very little 0%; a little 0%; some 0.87%; quite a bit 27.83%;
very much, 71.30%) are those most often mentioned. “to increase participation in class”
(very little 2.61%; a little 10.43%; some 33.04%; quite a bit 34.78%; very much 19.13%) and
“to heighten your interest and motivation” (very little 1.74%; a little 7.83%; some 24.35%;
quite a bit 44.35%; very much, 21,74%) are those least supported when assessing the useful-
ness of the evaluation system.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Working more
continuously and
systematically
Reading more
systematically and
in depth
Increasing your
interest and
motivation
Increasing your
class participation
Better regulat ion of
your learning
process
Better
communication
with the teacher
Making learning
more meaningful
Very much
Quite a bit
Somewhat
A little
Very little
Figure 3. Assessment of the continuous evaluation system
One of the key aspects for recognizing how teachers exercise their educational influ-
ence throughout the process is to look at the different kinds of help they offer to students and
how these are valued by the latter (see Figure 4). The question asked of students was: “Differ-
ent types of help and support were made available during the course in order to accompany, to
guide and to facilitate learning. Rate the degree to which you consider that each of these ac-
Continuous assessment and support for learning: an experience in educational innovation with ICT support
in higher education
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tually benefited your learning: didactic guide; mandatory readings; reading guidelines; sup-
port material; group discussion sessions with the teacher; Moodle platform; face-to-face
communication with the teacher; final reports” (assessment scale: very little, a little, some,
quite a bit, very much). In this area, the first interesting result is that almost all helps were
rated very positively, although the most highly rated are “mandatory readings” (very little 0%;
a little 0%; some 1.74%; quite a bit 42.61%; very much 52.17%), the “group discussion ses-
sions with the teacher” (very little 0%; a little 2.61%; some 8.70%; quite a bit 47.83%; very
much 40.87%) and the “support materials” (a little 0.87%; a little 0%; some 15.65%; quite a
bit 60.87%; very much 22.61%). Lower ratings were given to the “Moodle platform” overall
(very little 14.78%; a little 20.87%; some 32.17%; quite a bit 23.48%; very much 6.96%), the
“reading guidelines” (very little 6.09%; a little 14.78%; some 32.17%; quite a bit 39.13%; very
much 7.83%) and the “didactic guide” (very little 3.48%; a little 9.57%; some 29.57%; quite a
bit 39.13%; very much 17.39%).
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Didactic guide
Required reading
Reading guidelines
Support material
Discussions with the
teacher
Moodle Platform
Face-to-face
communication with
the teacher
Final reports
na
Very much
Quite a bit
Somewhat
A little
Very little
Figure 4. How much the different types of helps contributed to learning
Finally, we cannot overlook the “cost” involved in participating in this experience.
Thus Figure 5 shows graphically the response to this question: “Taking the whole semester
into account, estimate the weekly hours that, on average, you have dedicated to working on
this subject in small groups (not counting mandatory hours of class attendance)”. As for the
number of weekly hours required for class study and work, most students tell us that they
César Coll et al.
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spend – in addition to classroom hours – about 10 hours, half on individual work and the
other half on group work. In percentages, 52.7% say they spent between 6 and 10 hours on
average per week, 30.43% between 11 and 15 hours, and 5.22% between 16 and 20 hours.
One noteworthy data point is that most students (63%) affirm that they could only adequately
keep up with 2 simultaneous subjects with the same amount of work and dedication that they
have devoted to this one; 15% consider that they could keep up with three, and 6% with four.
Taking the above data as a reference, and adding on mandatory classroom hours, the total
hours which students dedicate to course work would be on average about 200 hours. The ini-
tial design predicted a total of 185 hours, such that the design should be slightly reduced in
order for students’ reported hours of work to coincide with course design predictions.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percentage of students
0-5h 6-10h 11-15h 16-30h
Figure 5. Estimate of hours spent weekly on individual and small-group work
For their part, teachers report that this type of class design and development involves a
considerable increase in the volume of work for teaching; they point to the increase in de-
mands coming from implementation of the continuous evaluation system and the follow-up
and support for students’ individual and group work (supervision of student contributions,
with an average frequency of three or four times per week, follow-up and tutoring in the
process of completing assignments and of work turned in in the virtual classroom and in per-
son, etc.).
Conclusions
Results from this experience show that continuous evaluation activities can be useful
instruments for collecting multiple, diverse evidence of students’ learning and for providing
Continuous assessment and support for learning: an experience in educational innovation with ICT support
in higher education
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, N. 13 Vol 5 (3), 2007. ISSN: 1696-2095. pp: 783-804 - 799 -
well-suited educational helps which encourage attainment of learning.
The potential usefulness of continuous evaluation activities, in our experience, lies in
the set of options, criteria and resources which support the system in its totality, more than in
the use of any one of these elements considered in isolation. Integrating evaluation activities
within the framework of learning activities, organizing them around broad thematic blocks,
combining activities for assessing knowledge comprehension with others involving its appli-
cation in real-life situations—complex and relevant—and increasing possibilities for offering
follow-up and continuous support for students’ learning process and its results, are all actions
which generate an optimal context for improved learning.
For the continuous evaluation system to really take its place as an instrument that
promotes learning depends on fulfilling a series of conditions, both educational and institu-
tional. On one hand, use of student knowledge, skills and attitudes should be encouraged
through the design of situations that simulate real, complex problems. These situations
should promote a process of reflection that extends from the retrieval of prior knowledge, as
prompted by the initial formulation of the case, through to its final formulation, after having
gone through successive revisions. A continuous evaluation system with these characteristics
requires high levels of student involvement and effort that are only reached, and especially
maintained, when they manage to attribute meaning to what they are learning and to the situa-
tions in which they are learning it (Coll, 2004). In the case of the present experience, results
indicate that students found meaning in involving themselves in case resolution which simu-
lates common situations faced by the school psychologist in his or her professional practice.
Along these lines, results show that students gave lesser value and meaning to certain
instruments specifically designed for encouraging and regulating learning, such as the indi-
vidual and group self-evaluation questionnaires. One of the factors which helps explain the
low value attributed to these questionnaires is that the dominant evaluation culture in higher
education encourages students to be more involved in activities which “count” more highly
for their final class grade, such as resolution of the case-problem and the elaboration of the
glossaries and conceptual maps, as opposed to answering some self-evaluation questionnaires
whose relevance for the final grade was perceived to be considerably less or even null.
Regarding the low global value which students assign to the Moodle platform, it is
César Coll et al.
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best to consider this in the light of other more specific results obtained from the same ques-
tionnaire. These results point out a higher value for ICT as a resource for continuous access
to activities and materials for a problem situation, and lower value as a resource for commu-
nication with the teacher and classmates. These results may be interpreted more properly if it
is understood that the Moodle platform was used in the experience as support to in-person
teaching in the framework of a hybrid teaching-learning context. In our opinion, the peda-
gogical and didactic value of certain uses of ICT, such as communication or collaborative
learning uses, may increase significantly if effective conditions are created, different than
those commonly existing in face-to-face situations.
On the other hand, in order for the continuous evaluation system to fulfill its function
as a support for improved learning, it is not enough to create optimal conditions for promoting
students’ involvement in carrying out evaluation activities. In addition, in the work that stu-
dents are performing individually or in groups, in person or using ICT, the teacher’s tutoring,
follow-up, and support emerge as the fundamental elements for continuous evaluation to be
successful.
Finally, based on of the increased volume of work involved in implementting an
evaluation system such as what we have presented here, one must insist on the need to im-
prove conditions under which university teaching takes place, including how teaching hours
are defined and counted, recognition for teaching as compared to other duties of university
faculty members, and the number of students per class group. These and other institutional
conditions are essential in order to ensure the introduction, effectiveness and sustainability of
continuous evaluation in higher education and, by doing so, to make progress in improving
the quality of university teaching.
Continuous assessment and support for learning: an experience in educational innovation with ICT support
in higher education
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, N. 13 Vol 5 (3), 2007. ISSN: 1696-2095. pp: 783-804 - 801 -
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