Browsing by Author "Jochems, W."

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Assessors' approaches to portfolio assessment in Assessment of Prior Learning procedures
Jochems, W. ; Joosten-ten Brinke, Desirée ; Sluijsmans, Dominique
2009, Article / Letter to editor (Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 35, iss. 1, (2009), pp. 55-70)In an effort to gain better understanding of the assessment of prior informal and non-formal learning, this article explores assessors’ approaches to portfolio assessment. Through this portfolio assessment, candidates had requested exemptions from specific courses within an educational programme or admission to the programme based on their prior learning. The assessors judged the portfolios according to set rating criteria, and subsequently discussed their approaches. Their decision-making processes, perception of portfolio use in the Assessment of Prior Learning (APL), deciding factors in portfolio assessment and use of the rating criteria were key elements in this discussion. The results show that they do use the rating criteria as an indicator in decision-making, but have mixed perceptions regarding the fairness of APL portfolio assessment. They perceive the portfolio evidence in combination with sound argumentation as the deciding elements in portfolio assessment.
Effects of a competency-oriented learning environment and teacher training on reflection skills of nursing students
Sluijsmans, Dominique ; Jochems, W. ; Smits, M.
2009, Article / Letter to editor (Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 34, iss. 5, (2009), pp. 491-498)This study investigates the effects of a competency-oriented course and the effects of feedback training on students’ reflection skills. Thirty-one nursing students enrolled in a conventional course with lectures and assignments following a traditional test. Subsequently, they enrolled in a competency-oriented course, which included more performance-oriented tasks based on competencies and a performance-based assessment. In both courses, half of the students received feedback on their assignments from tutors who were trained in feedback skills (experimental group), while the other half of the students received feedback from non-trained tutors (control group). After each course, all students wrote a reflection report. Results show that students’ reflection reports after the competency-oriented course were of a higher quality than the reports after the conventional course. Contrary to our expectations, the quality of the reflection reports of the control group (students supervised by non-trained tutors) was significantly higher than the quality of reflection reports of the experimental group (students supervised by trained tutors). This study shows that a competency-oriented design of courses enhances students’ reflection skills, but that the training in feedback skills needs to be reconsidered.
Quality of assessment of prior learning in university programmes : Perceptions of candidates, tutors and assessors
Joosten-ten Brinke, Desirée ; Jochems, W. ; Sluijsmans, Dominique
2009, Article / Letter to editor (Studies in Continuing Education, vol. 31, iss. 1, (2009), pp. 61-76)Formal diplomas and certificates have been accepted as proof that students may receive exemption for parts of their educational programme. Nowadays, though, it is socially desirable that informal and non-formal learning experiences are also recognised. Assessment of prior learning (APL) addresses this issue. In APL, the candidates knowledge, skills or competences required in informal and non-formal learning are measured against a standard to determine whether they match the learning objectives. Although APL is frequently used in workplaces and vocational education, it is practised less in universities, and research is lacking in this context. This study aims to evaluate the first APL procedure in an academic computer science programme, and an adjusted APL procedure in an educational science masters programme. This is done from the perspective of the APL candidates, tutors and assessors, using the theoretical framework by Baartman et al. (2006). The computer science participants comprised 23 candidates from a police software company, four tutors and four assessors. From educational science, nine candidates, two tutors and two assessors participated. The results show that the APL procedure in educational science is viewed significantly more positively than that in computer science; further, the computer science assessors differ considerably from the other participants in their perceptions relating to the quality criterion ‘cognitive complexity’. Explanations for the difference between the two programmes are discussed in this article and assessor and tutor training highly recommended.

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