Assessment of professional development bachelor

Summary
This page describes the criteria Fontys ICT uses to assess the -literate or derived- HBO-I professional competences for the bachelor students.

Assessment professional development bachelor

Fontys ICT builds its curriculum in semesters. Students are assessed holistically and integrally in all semesters. Professional Development (PO) is therefore always an integrated part of the assessment that takes place in the context of the professional products of that particular semester. In order to guarantee a comparable level across all profiles and specialisations in comparable semesters (semesters 2, 3, 4 and so on up to and including 8), the guide below has been drawn up for the Project Leaders Programme Development (PLOO's), for lecturers and for assessors. In this assessment guide, we indicate the level more concretely than is indicated in the formal HBO-i descriptions.

The assessment of the four dimensions for PO is explained below.

1. Investigative problem solving

The learning line (or dimension) 'Investigative problem solving' is described in Table1.

Table 1
The four levels of assessment of professional development bachelor within the learning line (dimension) Investigative Problem Solving.
1. Propedeutic Level Problem approach Research Solving
This level touches on the following levels of Bloom's taxonomy:
• Memorise:
• Comprehend:
• Apply:

This can be translated into research-based education based on Levy (2012) as follows:
The student (reactively) explores the knowledge-base of his field of expertise in the context of questions and assignments from the instructor.
- You name the research cycle: asking questions, gathering information, processing information, and drawing conclusions.
- You name the knowledge domains of the DOT framework: available work, application context and innovation space.
- You apply the research cycle to single research questions in the field of expertise relevant to you.
- You weigh up what is important given a research question.
- You select and assess relevant sources on the basis of quality.
- You justify the application of the chosen sources in relation to the research/process to be followed in order to produce a professional product.
2. Internship level BSc Problem approach Research Solving
This level touches on the following levels of Bloom's taxonomy:
• Apply
• Analyse
• Evaluate

This can be translated into research-based education based on Levy (2012) as follows:
The student pro-actively explores the knowledge-base of their field of expertise on his own issues and lines of research. Or as Healey and Jenkins (2009) call it: “The crossroads from external dependence to independence“.
- You will formulate appropriate research questions, based on a problem analysis in the field of expertise relevant to you.
- You will formulate a research question and associated research design based on the phasing (problem analysis, analysis, design, realisation, evaluation).
- You determine which research strategies, based on the DOT framework, the information flow should follow in order to arrive at the answer to the question.
- You elaborate the chosen strategies based on the DOT framework into the necessary research methods and their sequencing.
- You work and carry out these research methods appropriate to the research question.
- You analyse and report the research results.
- You assess the chosen and elaborated methods on validity and reliability.
- You reflect on your research design and that of others.
3. Bachelor level Problem approach Research Solving
This level touches on the following levels of Bloom's taxonomy:
• Analyse
• Evaluate
• Create

This can be translated into research-based education based on Levy (2012) as follows:
The student investigates his own issues and lines of research, using the knowledge base of his field of expertise.
- You independently formulate a main question based on a problem analysis, taking into account the scope and focus.
- You formulate sub-questions independently, based on the phases (problem analysis, analysis, design, realisation, evaluation), and indicate how these lead to the appropriate professional products.
- Based on the problem analysis, you estimate the stage of product development this product has reached, for example using the TRLs (Technological Readiness Level). You explain what this means for the research.
- You recognise and select a research pattern independently when determining research strategies and research methods.
- You carry out the chosen research strategies and research methods based on the DOT framework independently.
- You carry out the research independently, leading to the required professional products.
- You justify your choices regarding the research pattern, the research strategies and the research methods.
- You explain the reliability and validity of the chosen methods in your own research or that of others, whereby the quality, relevance and transferability of the outcomes become apparent in relation to the professional context.
- You transfer research results in such a way that others understand the quality and (added) value of it and can build on it.
4. Master level Problem approach Research Solving
This level touches upon the following levels of Bloom's taxonomy:
• Analysis
• Evaluate
• Create

The Design Research Paradigm (Design Science Research) is leading.
- You identify the problem, determining the aim of solution and picking an appropriate approach taking in account a practice based focus and scope.

- Based on the analysis of complex, unstructured practice based challenges you are able to define matching main and sub question and are able to monitor the relevance of these questions throughout the process in order to redefine them.

- You place practice based challenges in an international (scientific) conceptual framework and/or applicable discourse and other forms of knowledge, such as know-how and practical knowledge.
- Being curious throughout the solving process and asking questions from various perspectives, matching these questions with fitting approach that is pragmatic but nevertheless show your critical thinking ability and the use of solid (re)sources.

- You work independently and come to evidence based solutions using a design oriented and rigor (transparent, reliable and valid) methodology,

- You are able to maintain the required rigor of your methodology even when information is unclear or limited.

- You incorporate multiple perspectives into your research phases (problem analysis, analysis, design, realisation and evaluation).
- Being able to methodically and creatively solve problems, finding alternatives and critically analysing your own and others’ line of reasoning.

- You create designs, interventions and solutions that contribute to knowledge creation and innovation within the context of the challenge as well as the domain (practice). This means that your solutions apply to a specific use case (1-to-1) but at the same time you are able to generalise (parts of) it (1-to-many).

- Your solutions show your awareness of strategy and your adaptive and creative abilities.

2. Future-oriented organisation

This dimension will be developed further.

3. Personal Leadership

This dimension will be developed further.

4. Targeted Interaction

This dimension will be developed further.