Evaluación continua y ayuda al aprendizaje. Análisis de una experiencia de innovación en educación superior con apoyo de las TIC

In this article we present and discuss an integrated system of continuous assessment (ISCA) in higher education, designed to collect multiple evidences of students' knowledge and abilities , and to facilitate monitoring and support of their learning processes. Inspired by a socio-constructivist approach, which assumes a close relation between teaching, learning and assessment , this system combines different types of activities, organized around blocks of broad themes, and aimed at acquiring information on content comprehension as well as its application and functional use in authentic contexts. The educational innovation experience which constitutes the framework in which this system was developed and applied took place during the 2005-2006 school year. It was carried out in three class groups of " Educational Psychology " , a mandatory course for the Bachelor's degree in Psychology, based on ECTS (European Credit Transfer System), using a teaching methodology focused on the student, and the support of information and communication technology (ICT). The experience was planned and developed by the consolidated group for teaching innovation in educational psychology (GIDPE) at the University of Barcelona. Results uphold a positive assessment of students' academic achievement, as well as their satisfaction with participation in the experience. Two conclusions are worthy of mention. The first is that the ISCA proved to be an effective instrument, useful for acquiring evidence of the learning processes and for administering and managing different educational helps to students in these processes. The second is that the strength and usefulness of the ISCA consists in the integration of options and criteria as a whole rather than in applying any one criterion or option separately.