Abstract:

Flexible Learning provides learners with real opportunities for increased choice, convenience, and personalisation to suit the learner. Flexible learning also recognises that different students have different learning preferences and requirements. In summary, flexible learning provides learners with choices about where, when, and how learning occurs. This concept is sometimes understood as flexible delivery, which involves offering students different modes of study, which might include using different modes of delivery for course materials, including web-based, CDs, DVDs and so on. However, flexibility can also refer to curriculum design that offers students some element of choice, either in course content or course assessment. Students can be offered choices between different modes of assessment and different content focus.

Assessment is intricately linked to teaching and learning. It plays an important part in the learning process – both summative and formative assessments inform progress and guide learning; it is essential to the accreditation process; and, results are used in all sorts of ways to measure outcomes and success of the student, teacher, course, or institute. Academic institutions are obliged to measure and prove that the learner has met specific learning outcomes of their course. This “proof” is provided through assessment. Assessment helps individual lecturers obtain useful feedback on what, how much, and how well their students are learning. This can then be used to refocus their teaching to help students’ make their learning more efficient and effective (Angelo et al, 1993). There have been numerous papers, journals, projects and blogs illustrating the importance of assessment as a driving force for learning. The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) in Ireland state that “The assessment of students is one of the most important elements of higher education. The outcomes of assessment have a profound effect on students future careers” (HETAC, page 4, 2009). Although flexible assessment is not a necessary element of flexible learning, it is desirable.

This seminar paper aims to highlight the variety of flexible assessment procedures used in a first year undergraduate chemistry module available in the Institute of Technology Tallaght.

Keywords:

Flexible Assessment chemistry.