Roundtable: Assessing student learning: Using interdisciplinary synergies to develop good teaching and assessment practice

Sydney Masonic Centre

Tuesday September 4, 2007

Title: Assessment of Honours Research Programs: Towards an Integrated Unified Approach?

---

Author: Greg Hannan

School of Psychology, University of Tasmania

Honours programs in universities are offered in a diverse range of disciplines through an equally diverse range of AOUs. These programs predominantly focus on research training but some have professional training components depending on the discipline. Since Honours grades have a significant bearing on university awards and post-graduate scholarships, the assessment of these programs is of particular importance.

During Semester 2; 2007, an audit of assessment approaches for the research components of Honours programs in 13 disciplines within the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology (UTAS) was undertaken as part of a Teaching Fellowship Program. Of particular interest in the investigation was the use of formative assessment through assessment tasks such as written proposals, oral presentations of proposals and results, and the extent to which these contributed to the overall grade for the research project. Another key area of interest was the extent of use of clearly articulated criteria and performance standards in the assessment of these components, particularly the written thesis.

A number of key themes emerged from these data that suggest inconsistencies in the use of formative and summative assessment strategies, and an inconsistent use of criteria to arrive at grades. These issues are discussed from both institutional and pedagogical perspectives.

Keywords: assessment criteria, formative assessment, Honours programs, quality assurance.