Abstract:

The integration of the Spanish Universities in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) implied profound changes to the higher education system, including schedules, teaching and learning methodologies, and assessment processes. The new EHEA-adapted Bachelor Degrees (including the Chemistry BSc) started in the academic year 2009/10 at the University of Barcelona (UB). Concerning the assessment process stablished in this new Chemistry BSc, the main change is that the students can choose continuous or single assessment as alternatives for evaluation. If the continuous assessment is selected, students take a final exam (with a maximum contribution of 60% in the final mark) and a mid-term exam, together with the performance of other activities which can include short exams, in-class or on-line tests, exercises to be handle by the students, group discussions or oral presentations, among others. At present, most of the courses are assessed by default using this continuous assessment method.

In this communication we present the students’ opinion about the continuous assessment, obtained from a survey addressed to Chemistry BSc students (around 1100 students). These results are part of a broader study that also includes a survey to the teachers, whose aim is the revision and improvement of the continuous assessment methodology.

Some of the items analyzed in this communication are the main reasons why students choose to perform continuous assessment of the subjects, which of the activities carried out in class are considered more helpful in the learning process, or the influence of these “other activities” they should do in class or at home in the study up-to-date of the other courses they are enrolled.

Keywords:

Continuous assessment, chemistry students.