Final Report 10/2010 Review of the assessment of the year abroad in the modern language degrees at Bath: Assessment for experiential and autonomous learning based on the continuity model Research Report By Dr Gabriela Meier University of Bath October 2010 Contact: University of Bath Department of Education BAY2 7AY [email protected] 1 List of content List of content..................................................................................................................2 List of tables....................................................................................................................4 List of Figures..................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................5 Executive summary and recommendations .....................................................................6 1) INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................12 2) BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................14 EU perspective..............................................................................................................14 UK perspective..............................................................................................................17 The year abroad at the University of Bath .....................................................................19 Year-abroad objectives .................................................................................................20 How to assess experiential learning ..............................................................................29 Assessment issues .......................................................................................................30 Student-led assessment................................................................................................33 Summary of the literature review...................................................................................34 3) METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................................................35 Internal data collection ..................................................................................................36 External data collection .................................................................................................36 Analysis.........................................................................................................................37 Description of the sample..............................................................................................38 4) PERCEIVED LEARNING ABROAD .......................................................................................40 Linguistic gains..............................................................................................................41 Personal development...................................................................................................44 Enjoyment.....................................................................................................................46 Cultural and intercultural learning..................................................................................47 Social integration...........................................................................................................49 Research skills..............................................................................................................50 Implications for assessment ..........................................................................................51 5) INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR LEARNING ..........................................................................51 Student views on support, feedback and reflection........................................................51 Institutional support while away.....................................................................................54 Institutional feedback.....................................................................................................55 Reflection and documentation .......................................................................................56 Organisation of year abroad..........................................................................................59 Implications for assessment ..........................................................................................60 6) CURRENT AND POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS .....................................................61 Problems associated with the current model .................................................................62 Comparability of diverse assessment practices.............................................................63 Written assignments......................................................................................................66 ECTS grades awarded by host universities ...................................................................78 Oral examinations .........................................................................................................82 Portfolio/reflection .........................................................................................................84 E-platforms....................................................................................................................87 Accreditation .................................................................................................................89 Implications for assessment ..........................................................................................91 2 7) SOCIAL INTEGRATION AS A KEY TO LEARNING ...................................................................91 Types of social ties........................................................................................................92 Implications of social capital..........................................................................................95 Overcoming barriers to social integration ......................................................................95 Social integration as a personal measure of success ....................................................97 Implications for assessment ..........................................................................................97 8) MANAGING EXPECTATIONS ..............................................................................................98 Expectations held by students.......................................................................................98 Staff views on expectation management .....................................................................100 Implications for assessment ........................................................................................101 9) EMBEDDING THE YEAR ABROAD IN THE OVERALL DEGREE ...............................................102 Self-directed learning ..................................................................................................103 Peer-supported learning..............................................................................................106 Implications for assessment ........................................................................................107 10) ASSESSMENT OF EXPERIENTIAL /AUTONOMOUS LEARNING BASED ON THE CONTINUITY MODEL 108 Assessment for experiential and autonomous learning................................................109 The continuity model ...................................................................................................111 1) Self- and peer-evaluated journal, including linguistic benchmarks...........................113 2) Academic skills training...........................................................................................114 3) Preparatory sessions ..............................................................................................115 4) Oral language evaluation and peer-debriefing.........................................................116 5) Written YA assignments..........................................................................................117 6) Student support community.....................................................................................119 7) Wiki map .................................................................................................................120 8) E-platform ...............................................................................................................121 9) Accreditation ...........................................................................................................122 10) Year abroad administration ...................................................................................123 Bringing it all together..................................................................................................124 References:.................................................................................................................126 3 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Summary of proposed instruments........................................................................11 Table 2: Byram’s savoirs and Coleman and Parker’s intercultural objectives ......................22 Table 3: Objectives as stated in the overall MLES degree aims 2006-2008 ........................24