Short Term Assessment Project

This project introduces synchronous assessment to enhance learning outcomes, student engagement, and academic integrity in online education. Integrating real-time, observable assessment components into selected subjects fosters authentic student interaction and improves evaluation quality, while ensuring workloads remain sustainable.

Project Overview
Synchronous Assessment Overview
Synchronous assessment features:
Real-Time Interaction: Students and assessors are both present, either in-person or via an online platform, for the assessment.
Observation: Assessors can directly observe students' actions, behaviours, and processes during the assessment.
Dialogue: Students and assessors engage in a meaningful, active exchange of ideas, questions, and answers. This interaction can be tailored to elicit relevant information to assure individual student learning.
Security: The live and dynamic nature of the assessment conditions enhances the ability for assessors to gather a wider variety of data to support the evaluation of student learning.
Project Aims
Enhance Learning Insights: Implement synchronous assessment to gain deeper insights into student learning and ensure subject learning outcomes are met.
Foster Connections: Develop synchronous, observable assessments that facilitate meaningful interactions between online students and academics, enhancing engagement and support.
Support Student Well-being: Design synchronous, observable assessments to be low stakes to promote a positive student experience.*
Redesign Existing Assessments: Preferably, redesign current assessment elements to incorporate synchronous, observable methods.
Minimize Disruption: Limit the impact and scope of assessment changes on subject design and student experience.
Maintain Workload Balance: Ensure the assessment workload remains manageable for both students and academic staff.

*This project aim was included to mitigate risk in the initial pilot by keeping the weighting of the synchronous assessment element low. This was also done within the pilot to support diverse student needs, as there was concern that online students may find this type of assessment challenging or overwhelming.
These project aims are aligned with supporting enhanced assessment security by allowing academic staff to gather a wider variety of data on student learning, particularly data from a setting where using Generative AI is not simple, when evaluating and assuring student learning across courses. Synchronous assessment elements can be another tool in our toolkit when designing quality and robust assessment for online students.
Synchronous assessment can supplement and enhance other approaches to assessment within subjects and courses to limit academic misconduct and to support a richer student experience.Synchronous assessment elements can also be designed to draw upon reflective practice and elicit information and evidence of the learning process students undertook when creating a product or artefact. This can bolster the data available when assuring student learning based on written assessment submissions.
Metrics
The following features of online subjects were used to short-list subjects which may benefit from synchronous, observed assessment elements:
Online subjects studied immediately prior to graduation
Online subjects with large student cohorts (>100 total enrolments)
Online subjects which service multiple courses

The following subjects were included in the pilot based on flagging some of the metrics and being approved by faculty leadership.

Subjects in the 202490 (pilot) and 202530

In most of the subjects we reduced the scope of the assessment plan to pre-emptively offset any additional workload for students and academic staff.

202490 subject table

Faculty	Code	Summary of assessment adjustment for 202490	Weighting of synch element	Student #
FoA&E	EEP304	Interactive oral assessment added to replace an existing assessment. Timing: Final assessment.	30%	130
FoA&E	EMA410	10-minute constructive dialogue based on an existing learning portfolio. Timing: Final Assessment.	10%	402
BJBS	ITC571	Existing video presentation was adjusted to be a live presentation to peers. Timing: Final Assessment.	10%	50
BJBS	ITC595	Existing written task was adjusted to being a 10-minute oral assessment based on the same content and questions. Timing: Assessment 3 of 4.	5%	103
FoSH	SPH101	Existing MCQ quiz was adjusted to be a practical speech task. Timing: Assessment 1 of 3.	10%	137
Total Students				822

Across the five pilot subjects, approximately 822 students participated in a synchronous assessment element. Given the metrics used to shortlist subjects, are students are at various points in their academic journey with Charles Sturt. They range from upskilling in the hopes to secure a place in a Charles Sturt qualification (SPH101) or transitioning into the finalisation of their degree (ITC571, ITC595, EMA410, and EEP304).

Due to the careful and deliberate selection of the project metrics, the subjects identified are often included in multiple courses, which enables a strategic and efficient approach to assessment change by redesigning a minimal number of subjects to achieve satisfactory coverage of courses and students. The five pilot subjects span 32 Charles Sturt courses, which is a significant number of courses given the low subject numbers.

202530 subject table

The following subjects were included in 202530 based on flagging some of the metrics and being approved by faculty leadership.

Faculty	Code	Summary of assessment adjustment for 202530	Weighting of synch element	Student # (approx.)
FoA&E	IKC100	Existing video presentation was adjusted to be a live mock-conference presentation to peers.	10%	267
FoA&E	ISL170	Topic analysis and presentation to peers.	30%	47
BJBS	ACC127	Synchronous reflection was added to weekly assessment activity.	5%	68
BJBS	MKT110	Existing video presentation was adjusted to be a live presentation to peers.	40%	95
BJBS	ITC105	Existing video presentation was adjusted to be a live presentation to peers.	36%	52
BJBS	ITC106	Existing written task was adjusted to being a 10-minute oral assessment based on the same content and questions.	10%	87
BJBS	PSY221 PSY455	MCQ test was replaced with an oral assessment assessing the same skills and content.	20%	108 77
FoSH	ENM163	Existing video presentation was adjusted to be a live presentation to peers.	45%	74
Total Students =				875

Across the eight subjects, approximately 875 students participated in a synchronous assessment element. The eight subjects span 59 Charles Sturt courses, which is a significant number of courses given the low subject numbers.

Process and Support
Outline of process
The subject outline is updated to reflect the changes to assessment, and to include general information for students about how the synchronous assessment element with take place.
This includes reducing other assessment elements in the subject to offset the potential increase in marking time. The coverage of the Subject Learning Outcomes and constructive alignment of the assessment plan are ensured.
Relevant communications are provided to students, and any additional resources are created and deployed to students.
Students use Calendly to book one-on-one synchronous assessment appointments.
The groups functionality is used in Brightspace if markers are required to mark set students.
All synchronous sessions are via the Zoom integration in the subject Brightspace site.
This means that all recordings are captured and accessible within the subject site.
This ensures recordings are available for ROG requests, and moderation purposes.
Feedback is returned to students via Brightspace.
Students are sent communications throughout the teaching session to:
Explain the rationale for the synchronous assessment, and to highlight the benefits of this approach to their learning.
Provide information on when and how the students will be able to schedule their synchronous session.
Advise students on how to prepare for their assessment, including testing their technical set up.
Outline what students should do if they or their marker experience issues or technical challenges.
Address other custom student support needs.
DLT Support
DLT support is provided to ensure the success of the synchronous assessment element.
This support can include:
Consultation on the redesign of the assessment, including rubrics.
Identification and support to complete updates to the subject content and learning activities if required by the assessment change.
Planning the optimal approach to the technical set up of the assessment.
Advice on marking approaches that are effective and efficient for synchronous assessment.
Consultation on student communication and support resources that may be beneficial to students when undertaking a synchronous assessment element.
Academics are provided with support resources and information designed to:
Offer guidance on efficient marking practices during synchronous assessment.
Provide a broad structure to the synchronous session, including a checklist detailing the different things they need to complete and how to ensure students are comfortable during the assessment.
Further information
For further information about this project, contact
Name Rebecca Acheson
Email racheson@csu,.edu.au