Motivation to engage: piloting techniques to encourage student engagement with unusual learning activities

Problem-Based Learning @BL) requires that the educational experience be student-cented and situated in a real-world context. Further, the motivation to learn is largety driven by the student's expectation and experience of assessment procedures. It is a challenge to design assessment processes that satisS the simultaneous requirements of educational certification, quatity assurance and problem realism, realistic outcomes whilst still eniouraging creativity and deep leaning. This paper reports on a trial assessment sfiategy that seeks to address the challenge in a PBL context. Ke]'words: problem-based learning, assessment, motivation INTRODUCTION For twelve years, the University of Newcastle's Bachelor of ConsUuction Management @uilding) Degree has been deliveied using an Integrated Problem Based Learning (IPBL) approach. A primary aim of this initiative was to facilitate strdent growth as life long learners and problem solvers who are capable of meaningftl independent activrty upon graduation. The developed IPBL process integlates the dual practices of Self-Assessment and Criticat ReJtection into the assessment process, to achieve (Chen et al. 1999): r The evaluation of he quality of shrdents'leaming by the university. o The dwelopment of the students' ability to firnction at the higbest professional level upon graduation. r To foster the students' development as life-long learners. Staff, at staff forums, raised issue with the approach's labour-intensiveness, specifically with the facilitation/assessment role. Furthermore, the students do not always appreciate the process of their development as reflective practitioners. Some students are confused about the boundaries between the components of selfassessment (SA) and reflection. An initiative to address these issues yxs implemented by the authors, during 2002. This involved the production of a prescriptive marking scheme to encourage and support strdents i1 aftaining the atEibutes of SA and refleCtion. The initiative also involved engagement with such issues as on-line collaboration, the active use of draft submission as a tool to better performance, and peer assessment The following account describes lhis process, addressing these multiple issues whilst maintaining the underlying educational principles of the progremme. The chnnges to the assessment process were piloted in a course (phase) of 50 students in the second semester of their first yeitr progr4mme.