Topic 7: Practical tips in assessment design

1. Poor performance on assessment may be due to a variety of factors so it's not easy to determine whether particular international students are not performing well on assessment because of their cultural background. For example, it's hard to say whether a Chinese student is not doing well because they're Chinese or because they failed to do the work or didn't get to the library in time or whatever. If there is a cultural dimension to the problem, deal with the student in a person-to-person way.
2. Some staff allow more latitude in terms of expressing themselves in English, but students must be able to convey the basic ideas and understandings in respect to subject matter. In some ways in might be better to be receiving assignments written in 'ordinary' language where the drift of the argument is still reasonably clear as opposed to perfect English which might immediately trigger concerns about plagiarism or collusion.

   Whether grammar might be treated as part of assignment marking criteria might depend on the type of assignment set. For example, assessing journal entries may not involve marking grammar, whereas assessing the analysis of a formal business document might include correct grammar as a key marking criterion. Be crystal clear about the purpose and marking criteria associated with each type of formal assessment you use.

3. Where students are expected to write English, encourage them to take steps to improve their language by getting help from academic advisors in the Division of Student Life, and/or staff in Deakin International of the Deakin University Student Association (DUSA).
4. It's important to give students concrete examples. Rather than correcting every grammar mistake and every spelling mistake, do it for a paragraph, and say, 'These are some suggestions, this is the sort of thing you should be looking for in the rest of your work'.

If you did it for everything:

• you wouldn't have enough time to complete all your marking;
• you'd demoralise students completely;

but if you just say that they need to check their grammar, they've got no idea what you mean by that comment.

1. Have a structure for an exam that depends less on written English and more on knowledge and understanding of concepts. For example, use multiple-choice, fill in the blanks and short answer questions, so the English is not going to be an impediment for a student to do well.
2. Give students opportunities to practise by having regular small in-class tests after which they can swap with their peers and mark each other's work.
3. Be aware that some international student groups can treat all knowledge as absolute truth and may wish to reproduce it word for word without attempts to properly summarise, paraphrase, re-interpret, critically engage or even give appropriate attribution to the material. They may be unreservedly trusting of master knowledge. Ground rules need to be set clearly at the beginning of the semester (for all students) on matters relating to plagiarism, collusion, copyright and the valued skills of critical thinking and writing.
4. International students might be under particular pressure to succeed in their education, and coupled with the fact that some might have particular English language problems, they may be drawn into using others' work unconsidered and un-attributed (although this pressure may to a large extent affect most students irrespective of background). Be aware of particular pressures and circumstances which might lead students to plagiarise and collude. Being accessible and approachable may be the best way of allowing students to share their problems with you and thus help avoid them pursuing inappropriate behaviour to alleviate the pressures. Time spent in developing trust and openness to problem sharing might in turn greatly reduce the time required later on in dealing with student misconduct.
5. Use clear and plain language in setting out assessment requirements avoiding any ambiguity which might be caused by using terminology that has a literal dictionary meaning which may be at odds with how it is used in the context of the assessment questions. One example of this related to international student puzzlement over the use of the term 'nature' in a question on reflecting on 'the nature of organisational change', where the dictionary definition of 'trees and hills' led to misunderstanding on the meaning of the question.

Another example, relates to avoiding split verbs and using formal literal language, e.g. in assignment instructions say 'collect your assignment' not 'pick up your assignment' as 'pick up' has different meanings and is less formal. Consider carefully the words and phrases that certain student groups might find difficult to understand, and ensure that all words' meanings can be found in a dictionary. If students are confused, that's the place they will go to in order to clarify meaning.

1. Ensure that all students understand that certain styles of communication are inappropriate for certain assessment formats. So, for example, Simple Messaging System (SMS) or text messaging language is inappropriate in writing examination answers or in contributing to online discussion in ways which might count for marks.
2. Inform students that if they are going to be away at the time they have to hand an assignment in, they may have a legitimate excuse for submitting late. However, inform students they must inform you that they going to be away in advance of the assignment submission and not after it has passed.
3. Providing feedback on assignments in the right forms is important. Don't only give explanations of what you want, give models of what you expect. Be careful though with model answers. In relation to the rote leaning styles of many students, they will often faithfully copy an error or a point from a model that isn't perfect. So if you're going to put up a model answer that isn't perfect, first of all you might want to say:

   'This is not perfect, there are problems with this one'.

It's a good idea to put up two different models because then it gives the students a sense of:

Ah, this is OK, but this is OK too. I don't have to do it exactly like this. I can do a bit like this, a bit like this, or a bit somewhere else'.

So not only explain when models aren't perfect, also use more than one model. If you only have one model, the danger is you will receive clones, and the students may not have acquired the sort of learning you expect from them. A smaller range of models can provide the best assistance.

1. On the matter of feedback be careful to ensure your own handwritten comments on assignments are legible. This is important for all students but more particularly for international students. Also, be careful in the use of abbreviations. Teachers can complain about deciphering international students' handwriting, but the reverse can also hold true. Typed overall comments and annotations on electronically processed assignments in this day and age might seem like best practice. Unfortunately, exam scripts still must be handwritten and students' written responses in these circumstances can still create major problems for markers. Moderate and appropriate use of short answer questions and forms of objective testing seem increasingly useful in this regard.
2. Be sensitive in the way you read students' intentions in approaching you on their assessment performance as the ways they might do this could vary by culture. You might find that some international students are indirect in the way they seek feedback from you. They might even appear almost apologetic about seeking feedback because they think they're imposing on you. On the other hand, Australian students might be more forthcoming, and say:

'I'm really struggling with this, where am I going wrong?'

You can be direct with those students because you know they accept a certain method of communication, whereas the international students might seek the feedback in an indirect manner which is consistent with their cultural background. Both categories though are equally in need of your assistance and will equally value your help. Avoid attributing different styles of engagement to different levels of commitment in obtaining your support and guidance.

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