The exam is an important part of student learning as it to varying extents can affect what the students focus on, how they spend their time and in many ways also how they assess themselves. (“Backwash effect,” Biggs 2007). In relation to teaching through and for I&E there are learning objectives which are particularly challenging to examine and test. Innovation and entrepreneurship processes are inherently iterative and experimental where problems are redefined several times along the way and ideas and solutions are continually developed, tested and changed. Processes that also are to some extent characterized by unpredictability, errors and coincidences, which the students have to adapt to and learn from. This can be a challenge in an academic context especially in connection to examination and pre-defined learning objectives.
The assessment method should therefore enable the students to learn from their process. Furthermore, it is important that the teacher communicates clearly to the students what they will be assessed on in the exam and what they will not be assessed on. You might also benefit from co-creating the assessment criteria with the students in order to provide the best possible conditions for the students to participate in and learn from the I&E processes in the teaching.
Various reports and guidelines about assessment methods are available, both in general and in relation to I&E teaching. Please find a selection of these materials (links) at the bottom of this page.
Guidance
In relation to teaching through and for I&E it should be determined how the student’s project/solution proposal and their process and method reflections are weighted and assessed. Ideally the assessment method should be able to credit the novelty and originality of the students’ solutions. This can however be a challenge if the students’ solutions are ahead of their time and radically different from what the teacher knows or expects.
When assessing the quality of the student’s projects for the exam, it is therefore important to consider the following:
- Could external actors (e.g. users, customers, companies or public organizations) provide feedback on and challenge the value of student projects? Consider the extent to which the external actors are involved in the students’ projects, e.g. are they providing external feedback, testing prototypes or possibly co-creating solutions?
- Is the goal to keep a certain distance to the external actors when it comes to the exam? In this case, consider focusing on assessing the students’ reflections on the feedback they receive from various external actors on their projects.
- Or is it the teacher who provides feedback on the student projects, e.g. regarding disciplinary aspects of the student’s solutions? Consider how this disciplinary feedback differs from other sources and how it is taken into account at the exam.
- How do you ensure fair assessment of the individual contributions from the students in relation to group work? Should it be taken into account during the course?
Overview of assessment methods for inspiration
Please find inspiration for choosing assessment methods for your course in the following four tables with examples of assessment methods. The tables are divided into types of assessment methods and to which extend the assessment methods are suitable for testing specific I&E-oriented learning objectives. In addition there is a little description of each of the assessment methods (via link).
——————- The overview is in development, expected completion March, 2018 ——————-
References
Biggs J og C. Tang (2007): Teaching for Quality Learning at University. Open University Press.
Hattie, J. (2009): Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. New York: Routledge
Download materials
- Report published in collaboration between the 2016-initative about I&E at the University of Copenhagen, the Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship and the I&E- Pedagogics Network (UNIEN): Assessment and evaluation of teaching innovation and entrepreneurship at the Danish universities (in Danish)
- Tool for Development of Examination Formats (VUE) from The University of Southern Denmark, where you can also find an overview of general examination formats suitable for assessing different types of learning objectives. (in Danish)