Skip to main content

The Impact of Alternative Assessments in Assessing the Seventh Component of the Washington Accord’s Knowledge Profile

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
The Impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on Engineering Education (ICL 2019)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1134))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Engineering is an essential activity in meeting the needs of the people, enhancing the economic development as well as providing services to the society. Engineering practices safeguard people’s health, safety, the environment and manage risks throughout the entire lifecycle of a system. Such knowledge is categorised as the seventh curriculum component of the Washington Accord (WA)’s Knowledge Profile. In Malaysia, this component of knowledge profile is commonly assessed via traditional assessments such as written assignments or end-of-semester examination. Such assessments, however, do not promote the holistic outcomes as well as the students’ learning process. This paper presents the application of alternative assessments in assessing the mentioned curriculum component among the engineering students in Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Malaysia. The effectiveness and acceptance of alternative assessments by focusing on authentic and flipped assessment methods were investigated. The qualitative analysis conducted on 208 engineering students revealed positive experience towards the implementation of alternative assessments, acknowledging that these assessment approaches promote cooperative learning and reinforce their understanding of the course materials in an active manner. Similarly, the quantitative analysis supported the effectiveness of alternative assessments with improvement of 6.6 to 7.8% in all course outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Iqbal, A., Manarvi, I.A.: Teachers’ attitudes and perceptions for alternative assessment techniques: a case study of Pakistani Universities. Int. J. Teach. Case Stud. 3, 131–146 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ewell, P.T.: Assessment, Accountability, and Improvement: Revisiting the Tension. National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, pp. 1–23, November 2009

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ryan, P.: Quality assurance in higher education: a review of literature. High. Learn. Res. Commun. 5(4) (2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.18870/hlrc.v5i4.257

  4. Woyessa, Y., Tonder, S.P.V., Jaarsveldt, D.: Alternative student assessment in engineering education: lecturers’ perceptions and practices. In: 2nd International Multi-conference on Engineering and Technological Innovation, IMETI 2009, Orlando, Florida, USA (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mills, J.E., Treagust, D.F.: Engineering education, is problem-based or project-based learning the answer? Australas. J. Eng. Educ. 4, 1–16 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Boud, D.: Assessment and the promotion of academic values. Stud. High. Educ. 15, 101–111 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Mohamad Uri, N.F., Abd Aziz, M.S.: Alternative assessment: exploring the effectiveness of self-assessment practice among engineering students. Akademika 87, 141–152 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Quansah, F.: Traditional or performance assessment: what is the right way in assessing leaners? Res. Hum. Soc. Sci. 8, 21–24 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Maarek, J.M.I., Kay, B.: Assessment of performance and student feedback in the flipped classroom. In: 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington (2015). https://doi.org/10.18260/p.23602

  10. Hamisah Tapsir, S., Puteh, M.: Framing Malaysian Higher Education 4.0: Future-Proof Talents. Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, Malaysia (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  11. IEA: Graduate Attributes and Professional Competencies Version 3, 21 June 2013. http://www.ieagreements.org/assets/Uploads/Documents/Policy/Graduate-Attributes-and-ProfessionalCompetencies.pdf. Accessed 29 May 2018

  12. Liew, C.P.: A Sustainable Framework for Assessing the Engineering Accreditation Council’s Programme Outcomes (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Biggs, J.: Teaching for Quality Learning at University: What the Student Does, 2nd edn. Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, Buckingham (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Stewart, J., Shanmugam, S., Seenan, C.: Developing 21st century graduate attributes: incorporating novel teaching strategies in a physiotherapy curriculum. Eur. J. Physiother. 18(3), 194–199 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Amineh, R.J., Asl, H.D.: Review of constructivism and social constructivism. J. Soc. Sci. Lit. Lang. 1(1), 9–16 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  16. World Economic Forum: Deep Shift Technology Tipping Points and Societal Impact, Survey Report, September 2015. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC15_Technological_Tipping_Points_report_2015.pdf. Accessed 13 Sept 2018

  17. Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M.: Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expended Source-Book, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Çaliskan, H., Kasikçi, Y.: The application of traditional and alternative assessment and evaluation tools by teachers in social studies. Procedia Soc. Behav Sci. 2, 4152–4156 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chia Pao Liew .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Kiew, P.L., Liew, C.P., Puteh, M., Tan, K.G. (2020). The Impact of Alternative Assessments in Assessing the Seventh Component of the Washington Accord’s Knowledge Profile. In: Auer, M., Hortsch, H., Sethakul, P. (eds) The Impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on Engineering Education. ICL 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1134. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40274-7_67

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics