Assessment and evaluation of students in problem-based learning

Educators around the globe and within different disciplines understand the importance of providing students with soft skills and transferrable competencies needed in the world of work. Moreover, they are generally eager to implement different pedagogical methods, such as problem-based learning (PBL) to deliver these competencies to students. One of the major challenges in implementing PBL relates to assessing and evaluating students and their competence development. We have noticed that many teachers, us included, find it initially difficult to transform from old habits of grading content knowledge with exams to assessing students’ soft skills and wider set of competencies. The main challenges of assessment and evaluation of students in PBL relate to differentiating individual performance and contribution in the teamwork setting, narrowing and focusing the list of what to assess, and summing the assessments into a final evaluation (Albanese & Hinman, 2019).

In this article, we present suitable assessment and evaluation methods for PBL. We cannot emphasise the importance of assessment enough. As students tend to learn what they are assessed and graded for, the assessment plays a key role in competence development. We acknowledge that it is also important to assess and evaluate the curriculum, PBL course, and the facilitators, as there is always room for improvement (Albanese & Hinman, 2019). However, this article focuses solely on the assessment and evaluation of students.

Assessment vs. evaluation

According to Albanese & Hinman (2019) assessment can be divided into two domains: formative assessment (referred to hereafter as “assessment”) and summative assessment (referred to hereafter as “evaluation”).

Assessment happens throughout the course or semester through various instruments. It aims to inform about the learning process and can be considered a tool for learning (Albanese & Hinman, 2019). Students gain an understanding of their learning progress and identify areas of improvement (Albanese & Hinman, 2019). Regular feedback based on the assessments guides students to improve their achievements and has been found to increase motivation towards learning (Albanese & Hinman, 2019).

Evaluation, in turn, takes place at the end of the course or semester. It focuses on the student’s learning progress and achievements, i.e. assessment of learning to provide the final grade (Albanese & Hinman, 2019).

Assessment throughout the course

The object of assessment in PBL can be roughly divided into two: the learning (or teamwork) process and the learning (or teamwork) products (Albanese & Hinman, 2019). The process assessment focuses on factors such as contribution to the work, learner’s activity, communication and interaction within the team and the class, following deadlines, and so on, i.e. under scrutiny is the process of learning. The assessment of learning products, in turn, scrutinises the physical learning outcomes, such as essays, reports, learning diaries, presentations, tests, and exams, and in modern educational approaches, such as project/problem-based learning, various drafts and prototypes made by students. (Albanese & Hinman, 2019). In a teamwork setting it may be challenging to identify different team members’ contributions to the final product.

The biggest challenge in PBL is probably not what to assess but rather how to assess. Thus, we composed a “starting” package for teachers on assessment methods and tools (Table 1). We want to emphasise that this is not a complete list of assessment methods but just a glimpse of the possibilities, only your imagination sets the limits. It is recommended to use various, and at least more than one, assessment methods in a given course.

Table 1. Examples of various assessment methods that can be used in problem-based learning. Sources: Albanese & Hinman (2019) and authors’ own experiences.

Method	Description	Benefits (+) and shortcomings (-)
Peer-review/Peer-assessment	Students can assess/grade other students’ learning products, such as essays, if provided with sufficient guidelines and tools for this. Peer students can assess and provide feedback on other students’ learning processes, such as contributions to teamwork and cooperation.	+ Assessing other students’ work acts as a learning process for the assessor. + Peer-assessment is more likely to provide accurate information compared to self-assessment. – Not all students are capable of providing constructive feedback or assessment. – Multiple (student) assessors lead to multiple views and do not offer a uniform or equitable assessment of all students.
Self-assessment	Students self-assess their learning outcomes and the learning process, utilising the tools provided by the teacher. Self-assessment can be narrative (open-ended questions to the students), quantitative (closed-ended questions for students), or a combination of both.	+ Self-assessment helps students to identify their knowledge and skills gaps and may motivate them to close these gaps. + Self-assessment promotes self-directed learning and self-reflection skills. – Self-assessment may not provide accurate information. Talented students tend to underestimate their performance, while “weaker” students tend to overestimate theirs. To mitigate this effect, the teacher should provide guidelines for self-assessment, and self-assessment can also be practised.
Peer/team feedback	Student team members provide feedback on their fellow team members, especially their contributions to the team learning product. The feedback provision can be quantitative or qualitative and can be openly shared through, e.g. facilitated team discussions or only shared with the teacher through, e.g., a questionnaire.	+ Peer feedback helps the teacher to identify individual contributions in teamwork and provide individualised grades. + Peer feedback may pressure students to contribute to the team processes. – Peer feedback may cause conflicts within the team.
Facilitator-assessment	The teacher and/or other course facilitator assess students’ learning products and/or the learning process. Pre-developed standard form for assessment eases the task and helps to uniform the assessment and focus on assessing the achievement of the pre-determined learning outcomes.	+ Teacher can, based on the learning objectives, equitably assess all the students. – Teacher may not be in the best position to identify and assess individual performances and contributions within the student teams.
Tests, quizzes, and exams	Can be based either on open-ended, even essay types of questions or, e.g. multiple-choice questions. With default rights, answers can be uniformly and equally graded.	+ Time and resource-efficient method for assessment of content knowledge. + If combined with a feedback system, it will provide students with an understanding of their learning progress and learning gaps. – Not a feasible method for assessing soft skills.

Final evaluation

The evaluation measures student performance and the achievement of the learning outcomes: it can be either a grade or just a pass or fail. The final evaluation has real consequences for students, i.e., the need to redo the course, the impact on the final graduation marks, the effect on the possibility to enrol in other courses or post-graduate studies, and so on. Thus, it’s crucial to pay attention to the reliability and validity of the evaluation (Albanese & Hinman, 2019).

In PBL, it’s recommended to compose the evaluation out of various components, including the previous assessments. What needs to be considered in this type of evaluation is the weighting of the different assessments and their objectives (Albanese & Hinman, 2019). It may not be purposeful, e.g. to provide early-course assessments with the same weight as late-course assessments, as this does not give enough emphasis to the competence development.

Rubric (Table 2) is a practical framework that can be used in evaluation. It usually contains evaluation criteria, scores and their description, and weight for the learning assignments or components. Using rubrics can reduce the time used for grading and it’s a good tool for providing feedback and justifying the grade to a given student

Table 2. An example of a rubric framework for a reflective journal.

Criteria	Excellent (4)	Good (3)	Satisfactory (2)	Needs improvement (1)	Score:
Depth of reflection	Demonstrates profound insight, analysing experiences in detail and exploring personal growth deeply. Shows evidence of critical thinking and self-awareness.	Reflection is thoughtful, with a clear analysis of experiences and some evidence of personal growth.	Reflection is somewhat superficial but includes some analysis of experiences.	Reflection is basic and lacks depth; mainly summarises events without much personal insight.
Connection to course material	Strong, clear, and relevant connection to course material, theories, or concepts. Integrates readings or lessons thoughtfully.	Adequate connection to course material, with some integration of concepts or theories.	Limited connection to course material; brief mention of theories or concepts with minimal application.	No meaningful connection to course material or theories.
Clarity and organization	Writing is clear, well-organized, and easy to follow. Ideas are logically structured, with smooth transitions.	Writing is generally clear, with some organisational issues. Ideas are mostly easy to follow.	Writing is somewhat unclear or disorganised, making it difficult to follow some points.	Writing is unclear, disorganised, and difficult to follow.
Personal growth & development	Demonstrates significant personal growth and insight. Reflects on how experiences have changed or influenced personal values, attitudes, or beliefs.	Demonstrates some personal growth and insight, but not fully explored. Mentions how experiences may have influenced values or attitudes.	Limited personal growth is discussed; does not provide enough reflection on how experiences have impacted personal development.	Little or no personal growth or development discussed.
Critical thinking & analysis	Demonstrates excellent critical thinking by evaluating and questioning experiences, considering multiple perspectives.	Demonstrates good critical thinking, though may not fully evaluate experiences or perspectives.	Some critical thinking present, but analysis lacks depth or is limited to basic observations.	Lacks critical thinking, with little to no analysis or questioning of experiences.

It all starts with curricula / it all comes down to curricula

There are various tools and methods to utilise in assessing students on PBL, and by trial and error, one can find the most suitable for oneself or for a given course. However, it’s vital to acknowledge that the whole assessment and evaluation process starts from the curriculum, which defines the specific learning outcomes. If the curriculum includes only skills and assessments related to content knowledge, the teacher has no incentive to implement PBL in the first place or to shift the assessment to include soft skills. The curriculum also directly impacts students’ behaviour. If the grading of courses and/or final graduation marks are based only on memorising content knowledge, don’t expect students to put effort into developing soft skills.

Thus, the proper assessment and evaluation can’t be left the sole responsibility of the teachers, but the management staff play a crucial role in curricula development and providing teachers with the needed flexibility to adjust the assessment and evaluation methods for specific courses.