Techniques for Assessment and Evaluation (A&E) in Higher Education (Classical Philology) and the Possibilities of their Transfer from one Field into another

Members of the intersession group

• Dr. V. Gerdjikova
• Dr. Nevena Panova
• Y. Sirakova
• Dr. G. Stepanich
• O. Gordon

Aim

To establish a set of best methods of assessment and evaluation in Classical Philology
Duration: September 2005 – June 2008

First Stage (Sept. 2005 – Sept. 2006)

• By 01.02.06: providing an inquiry sheet on assessment and evaluation. Vide infra.
• By 01.04.06: receiving answers from our colleagues
• By 01.09.06: processing the results and providing a picture of the present state of A&E in each country / University involved in the project.
• An intermediary report should be delivered during the second session of our project (Sept. 2006).

Second Stage (Sept. 2006 – Sept. 2007)

• By 01.07.07: implementation of our suggestions in different universities, as an experiment. Monthly reports expected, in case of continuous evaluation, and more seldom, in other cases. At the same time, the team will process every problem that might appear and will develop new ideas, if they occur.
• By 01.09.07: general review of the results; providing some examples of the exam subjects.
• A second intermediary report – during the closing session (2007)

Third Stage (Sept. 2007 – June 2008)

• By 30.06.08: implementation of the final results in different universities, as the second experiment. Monitorizing this process. A final report expected.
• Eventually: writing an article containing the final results.

For the inquiry sheet, we should take into account the following aspects

Types of assessment:

• continuous
• final exam: oral, written: synthesis, multiple choice, combined
• written paper: translation of a fragment (+/- commentary), morphological / syntactical / lexical / stylistic analysis of a text, (comparative) literary analysis, book reviews
  etc.;
• a combination of the ways above

Target group to benefit:

• students in Classics
• other students (History, Theology, Philosophy, Law, Arts)

Type of the course:

• lecture
• lecture and seminar
• text courses
• a combination of the types above

Other aspects, concerning students' assessment:

• students who could be dismissed from the classes (and exams) in exchange of some personal individual work
• in the case of the text courses (where the presence is compulsory): reiteration of the courses in the next year
• one problem: assessment and elective courses. Many students choose one or another elective course depending on how good marks gives the professor involved