Traffic Light Report provides a new technique for Assurance of Learning

Abstract

The Traffic Light Report (TLR) project is an educational intervention designed for pharmacy undergraduates. This paper reports on analysis of TLR data specifically focusing on its potential as an innovative tool which combines Miller’s pyramid, technology and student voice to examine a curriculum for Assurance of Learning (AoL). In 2014, educators mapped each summative assessment to the relevant National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia (NCS) alongside levels of expected performance on Miller’s pyramid of clinical competence (Knows, Knows how, Shows how, Does). Simultaneously, students were invited to self-reflect using the same performance levels. The Miller’s scale enabled a comparison between students’ and their educators’ understanding of the performance level demanded by assessments. Analysis highlighted a disconnect between students’ and their educators’ interpretations of the same assessed curriculum. The TLR facilitates quality enhancement by providing educators and their students with a logical meeting point for discussing foundation, scaffolding and integration of assessment across a course for AoL. This has portability to other professional disciplines.