Distance education formats provide opportunities and challenges for assessing student learning. The difference in proximity to students and in rapport-building forces instructors to consider alternatives to how student success and the meeting of learning objectives are measured.
The Distance Approval Cover Sheet requires that each course syllabus include online-specific policies about academic integrity, including specific parameters for each major assignment. The Teaching and Learning Resource Page Adapting for Remote Assessments includes a broad overview of considerations when planning assessments in DL courses and strategies for promoting academic integrity in these assessments. The article Designing Assessments of Student Learning explores formative and summative assessments and their practical use.
The Office of Distance Education advocates designing courses so that threats to academic integrity are deterred through the use of frequent low-stakes assignments and authentic learning experiences that are not easily gamed or plagiarized.
Resources on This Topic:
Testing in the Time of COVID-19: A Sudden Transition to Unproctored Online Exams
Clark, T. M., Callam, C. S., Paul, N. M., Stoltzfus, M. W., & Turner, D. (2020). Testing in the Time of COVID-19: A Sudden Transition to Unproctored Online Exams. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(9), 3413–3417.
This article reviews the experiences of OSU’s chemistry department transitioning to online coursework during the initial onset of the pandemic. The authors focused on different approaches to meet challenges that arose in unproctored online testing. The authors determined a triangulation of design factors from course elements that included training and technology, information available online, and exam formats. From these elements emerged three broader categories for online testing design considerations; continuity, access, and security. For online exams, they considered it their ‘responsibility to craft an environment sensitive to student concerns of access and continuity that is also secure’ (p.3416). Explicit examples are provided that demonstrate the different adjustments needed throughout the course to balance all three categories. Some examples include adjusting the testing window, utilizing similar testing formats with both low-stakes and higher-stakes testing, and providing a larger question bank. In conclusion, ‘the lessons learned from this experience will inform future implementation of distance learning’ (p.3416).
Mapping the Landscape of Academic Integrity Education Programs: What Approaches are Effective?
Sefcik, L., Striepe, M., & Yorke, J. (2020). Mapping the landscape of academic integrity education programs: What approaches are effective? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(1), 30–43.
In this article, the researchers conducted a survey and semi-structured interviews study on academic integrity education programs in Australia and New Zealand. Through those methods, the researchers examine the strategies that effectively and efficiently educate students about academic integrity. They identify academic integrity as the ‘moral fabric of higher education’ that commits to the principles of ‘honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage’ (p.30).
Their results indicate that effective academic integrity education programs should be dealt with across multiple domains ‘to ensure that a consistent message is taught and practiced’ (p.40). Their research supports a collaborative approach between students, instructors, and higher education institutions. Student involvement in this process supports an increase in awareness and understanding of academic integrity. These skills could later translate beyond the institution and enable students to have future professional success. The results indicate that a ‘focus on values, practical skills, and the quality of outcomes’ (p.41) through embedded instructional elements was desired among the participants. The authors suggest that ‘a more holistic approach may avoid creating a culture of fear and may help students better develop their own personal academic integrity philosophy’ (p.41). In conclusion, institutions that adopt a values-led academic integrity program have demonstrated greater success with study participants.
Sotiriadou, P., Logan, D., Daly, A., & Guest, R. (2020). The role of authentic assessment to preserve academic integrity and promote skill development and employability. Studies in Higher Education, 45(11), 2132–2148.
This mixed-methods study examines students’ perspectives on the role of authentic assessment in encouraging academic integrity through interactive oral examinations. Based on scholarship, the authors synthesize authentic assessment as a key educational element when it is well-designed and ‘focuses on learners using and applying knowledge and skills in real-life situations’ (p.2134). One method for instructors to integrate authentic assessments and tasks is through scaffolding. Using scaffolding strategies helps students ‘slowly develop competencies that allow them to take on challenging tasks without feeling overwhelmed’ (p.2134). The authors posit that ‘students favor authentic assessment as a learning tool as it motivates them to engage with the task’ (p.2134). The use of authentic assessment is a possible deterrent for contract cheating, according to the authors. Contract cheating is when ‘students purchase assignments online, or in person, and submit them as their own work’ (p.2135).
From the analysis of open-ended questions, five themes regarding the features of authentic assessment design emerged: authenticity, specificity, scaffolding, engagement, and uniqueness. These findings further support the researchers’ quantitative data collection. Based on the multi-phased study, they proposed ‘six (6) characteristics as essential features for the successful design of authentic assessment’ (p.2144). These identified characteristic features include scaffolding and support, scenario-based activities, content aligned to the program, learning outcomes, accessible and equitable, and professionally focused, which would ‘enable the achievement of three (3) key objectives: student engagement, better prospects for graduate employability, and greater levels of academic integrity’ (p.2144). In conclusion, this study offers a useful framework for authentic assessment design that promotes student engagement, employability, and academic integrity.
Literature Review completed by ASC Office of Distance Education Graduate Research Assistant Terrena Conson. Suggestions for other research to include are welcomed and appreciated!