To align with authentic assessment, students are asked to act as financial analysts and conduct analysis by applying the course materials to real-world situations. To work with the complexity of real-world data and information, students are required to include their critical judgment on processing the information to provide investment recommendations. Their argument should be supported by the theory in the textbook or aligned to the industrial practice.
A group of 4 or 5 students will be formed in week 3. After the team formation, they will be provided with the individual assignment task. Students in the same group must choose a company from a different market sector for analysis in the individual assignment. The analysis covers qualitative discussion on its corporate governance and quantitively fundamental analysis to estimate its stock value.
In the team project, students in the same group will pool together the company they have chosen to complete the individual assignment to construct a stock portfolio. They are asked to perform a portfolio analysis by applying the textbook theories and researching the industry practice to enrich their report.
The teamwork is followed by 10 mins live Q&A session. Students are asked to present in the last teaching week instead of attending tutorials. In the live session, students will be asked questions about their submitted report, which has already been assessed. All students are required to answer at least one question. The question covers a range of aspects:
- Assessor seeks further clarification on a discussion/analysis
- Students have an opportunity to communicate the core theme and any creativity they bring to the report
- Students discuss their collaboration as a team.
At last, a peer assessment evaluation is used to adjust students’ team project marks based on their contribution and communication.
Details
- CLASS SIZE
- 500+
- CLASS LEVEL
- Post-graduate
- ASSESSMENT SECURITY
- High security
- TIME REQUIREMENTS
- High time
- CONDITIONS
- Work-related, Group, Peer-assessed
- FEATURES
- Authentic
Advantages
This authentic assessment helps students to learn how to apply the course content (textbook-based) to real-world situations. The assessment also acts as an introduction to encourage students to do higher-order thinking, which is a skill they could apply to other courses.
Students are exposed to teamwork and learn to collaborate effectively, which is an important graduate attribute and skill to prepare them for the workforce.
The Q&A presentation session provides an opportunity for the assessor to provide feedback, seek clarification on the submitted work. It also provides students opportunities to elaborate their approach to helping the assessor to re-evaluate their work if they have included something very creative.
Challenges
Some students find it challenging to do the real-world implementation. So the course coordinator needs to make sure to provide relevant materials and training/help sessions to guide the student to complete the assessment.
The quality of the work from individual group members can be vastly different. Course coordinators are recommended to take the opportunity in the Q&A presentation session to evaluate individuals’ contribute to the group work and make moderation as appropriate.
To ensure the presentation is marked objectively, it is recommended there are two staff members involved in the presentation to ensure the marking quality and fairness, and it is always helpful to have one assessor help to facilitate the session.
Tips for implementation
Provide adequate opportunities for students to attend help sessions and get guidance on completing the assessment.
Learning outcomes
Encourage critical thinking and academic integrity of the assessment; incorporating real-world practice also aims to boost student awareness of the industry professional practice.
How it supports academic integrity
Video observation. Students are asked to choose a company listed on the stock exchange market using a Capital IQ database (UQ Subscribed) to complete the individual assignment and team project. The academic integrity can be improved with these assessments based on (1) Students have a lower chance to use the same set of data, which reduces the likelihood of collusion, and provide identical submissions. (2) Students are required to include their own critical interpretations of the market information. (3) The authentic assessment design minimizes the opportunity for students to search for solutions online. (3) The Q&A session is a live (identity verified) session to further assess students’ ability to discuss their project.
Authentic learning characteristics
Skill replication
Dr Jennifer Sun
z.sun@business.uq.edu.au
Jennifer is a lecturer in Finance at UQ Business school. Her research interests include mutual funds and empirical asset pricing.
She is keen to develop research in Finance in higher education that embedded work Integrated Learning (WIL) into teaching. Find out more