Assessment Case Study - Integrating Technology in Assessment in Kinesiology
Ashley Weleschuk, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning
July 4, 2018
Background
One of the first courses that students in the University of Calgary's Kinesiology program will take is KNES 201: Activity - Essence and Experience. The purpose of the course is to help students understand how their bodies move and how movements and coordination are used in individual and team activities. There are different lab sections in the course, each one focusing on the fundamental skills of a different sport. Dr. Larry Katz teaches a section on the theory, skills, and strategies of lacrosse. One of his major interests is integrating technology into the classroom, so he has developed and integrated several online tools to help students with self and peer assessment.
Methods
Dartfish is a video creation tool used for sports performance. One useful feature is pre-record, where the camera is set to capture video a few seconds before and after it is set to record. Larry has found this software helpful for letting students see and assess their performance. Students work on two lacrosse moves: rolls and drives. Each requires the application of a number of skills and movements. After spending a few classes practicing the moves, students get several tries to record them. Larry selects each student’s best performance and gives his assessment. Students also self-assess their work. The majority of their grade (75%) comes from how well the self-assessment matches with the instructor's assessment. The other 25% comes from their performance. The criteria for assessment are incredibly detailed and clear. There is a list of traits that need to be met in each move and students can check off whether or not they achieved it. There are also sample videos showing examples of perfect drives and rolls. Students can compare their execution to those to see what they got and what needs improvement. With such straightforward criteria, Larry finds that his evaluations match very closely with students’ self-assessments. Examples of the drills and the criteria are found here (use the username and password “guest” to access the content).
He has also developed a software called Move Improve to use for peer assessment of physical skills. Although it is primarily being used for physical education courses at the moment, Larry believes that it could be a helpful tool for any course where a technical skill with specific merits needs to be assessed. It is available for download as a mobile app. When using the tool, students work in pairs. One student performs the skill while the other takes a video on the Move Improve app. A list of specific criteria comes up and each student evaluates whether or not their partner met it fully, partially or not at all. Since it can be subjective, before this exercise is done, the whole class works together. A student does a demonstration of the skill and the class evaluates them together. They discuss what constitutes meeting each objective. Students are clear on what they are looking for in their assessment, so it can be fair and consistent across the class.
Outcomes
For both self and peer assessments, the most important factor in their success is the transparency and clarity of the evaluation criteria. Students can only successfully assess themselves and one another if they know exactly what to look for. Larry’s rubrics are really helpful for students, as they have extensive detail and break down all of the different components being assessed.
One important benefit of using these types of technology is the instant feedback that students get. They always get multiple opportunities to demonstrate their skills, so getting to see their performance means they can make improvements each time they try. He started using self-assessment early in his career. He notes how new technology has made the process easier for him, since the clips made on Dartfish are short, easy to distribute, and well-organized on the platform. The peer assessment is also easier, since the Move Improve app lays everything out. It was designed exactly for peer-to-peer assessment.
Student feedback tends to be very positive for the course. Larry gives students an additional survey along with the standard USRIs asking specifically about which course activities they would keep, modify or remove. The self and peer assessments are consistently well-received and students want them to be kept in the course. Larry is an advocate for using technology in the classroom and making students’ experiences unique and engaging. He has made all of his software openly available for colleagues to access and use. He encourages any instructor who is interested in finding how different tools can work for them to look into it or contact him to discuss the process of creating software. He has seen the impact technology can make in the classroom and hopes to see more.
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