Abstract

This article examines how much ‘complex knowledge’ is assessed during a university degree and the extent to which a student has the opportunity to develop this. We conceptualise complex knowledge as any type of assessment that requires students to create and evaluate knowledge, and for which they may receive formative feedback. Such activities are associated with developing higher-order cognition, a set of skills that is poorly understood in the context of modular degree structures. The study analysed the foundational documents of 1135 modules between 1999 and 2018, and looked for the proportion of complex knowledge being assessed, as well as the weight assigned to the final examination and the number of internal assessments per module. Findings show a clear increase in the frequency of assessments involving complex knowledge over time in both Science and HSSC (humanities, social sciences, commerce) subject groups. Complex knowledge was also more prevalent in second- and third-year modules. We argue that more attention needs to be devoted to the quality of assessment in terms of its potential for enabling students to develop higher-order cognition. The study opens up important conversations about the appropriate amount of higher-order learning that a university graduate should experience.

摘要

本文考察了在大学学位期间评估了多少“复杂知识”，以及学生有机会发展这些知识的程度。我们将复杂知识概念化为任何类型的评估，它要求学生创造和评估知识，并且他们可能会收到形成性反馈。这些活动与发展高阶认知有关，这是一组在模块化学位结构背景下鲜为人知的技能。该研究分析了 1999 年至 2018 年间 1135 个模块的基础文件，并寻找被评估的复杂知识的比例，以及分配给期末考试的权重和每个模块的内部评估数量。结果表明，随着时间的推移，科学和 HSSC（人文、社会科学、商业）学科组中涉及复杂知识的评估频率明显增加。复杂知识在二年级和三年级模块中也更为普遍。我们认为，需要更多地关注评估质量，因为它有可能使学生发展高阶认知。该研究开启了关于大学毕业生应该经历的适当数量的高阶学习的重要对话。我们认为，需要更多地关注评估质量，因为它有可能使学生发展高阶认知。该研究开启了关于大学毕业生应该经历的适当数量的高阶学习的重要对话。我们认为，需要更多地关注评估质量，因为它有可能使学生发展高阶认知。该研究开启了关于大学毕业生应该经历的适当数量的高阶学习的重要对话。