part of the assessment and feedback series with Anne Quinney, theme leader for assessment and feedback, and thanks to our visiting Professor, Prof Dai Hounsell, FLIE, Bournemouth University
Transforming how university exams are designed, managed and completed is far from straightforward. Without careful preparation and piloting, there are challenges in relation to fairness (a reasonable test of what students are expected to have learnt), fitness-for-purpose (the task reflects the intended learning outcomes and enables learners to meet the appropriate academic standard), equity of treatment (to avoid some students being disadvantaged), and robustness (i.e. confidence that technologies will work reliably and that there are effective back-up procedures in case of problems).
It therefore makes good sense to ‘make haste slowly’, drawing a distinction between what is feasible in the short term – this spring and summer – and what may be possible in the longer term as part of a more thoroughgoing shift in exam practices. As you plan for a short term response to traditional exams please be aware of the principles set out in the BU policy document Principles of Assessment Design (6c).
“BU promotes alternatives to traditional handwritten exams, by expecting a wider range of time-limited assessment tasks and retaining traditional hand-written exams only where there is a PSRB requirement or other context-driven requirement.” (para 4.5)
In this material we focus on short-term options — what can be feasibly accomplished over the coming weeks and possibly months, when measures to combat the coronavirus have made some of our usual assessment practices impractical.
Creating different spaces
Some Guiding Principles
Consider whether an exam is a requirement of the professional, statutory or regulatory body for your programme. Could you set another form of assessment?
Wherever practicable, work with existing technology that is already familiar to staff and to students – for example those available in Brightspace or supported by the university. The Learning Technology team have produced guidance (see the Brightspace Staff Resources area ) and there are suggestions in the TEL Toolkit. https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/our-people/centre-fusion-learning-innovation-excellence/tel-toolkit
Give careful thought to designing exam tasks that set a fair challenge to students, and couldn’t easily be sidestepped by simply looking up the answer on the internet, for example by including a requirement to comment on how this knowledge has been applied/can be applied by the learner to a real-life or hypothetical situation.
Plan around a timetable that includes the following:
letting students know what form the exam will take, how they can prepare for it, when it will take place, and how they will submit their exam answer or response. A new Assignment Brief will need to be provided
wherever appropriate, posting up sample questions or practice materials, to prepare for the possible exam content and to check that students have access to suitable IT equipment off-campus
fixing a ‘release date and time’, when the exam question/problem/test materials are to be communicated to students
deciding on a submission date and time which is realistic and feasible (e.g. which gives students time to put together their considered response to the question set, and to submit it electronically in a secure way through the submission box set up in Brightspace
planning how to advise and support students with questions about any aspect of the exams (e.g. via FAQs or a Q&A discussion board)
As you plan alternatives to traditional on-campus exams in the current situation and begin to think ahead to the next academic year please be aware of the principles set out in the BU policy document Principles of Assessment Design (6c).The policy applies to Levels 4 and 7 currently and will also include Level 5 in the academic year 2020-21, and Level 6 in the academic year 2021-2.
“BU promotes alternatives to traditional handwritten exams, by expecting a wider range of time-limited assessment tasks and retaining traditional hand-written exams only where there is a PSRB requirement or other context-driven requirement.” (para 4.5)
Join members of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education daily at 3pm! Our wonderful conference go cancelled, and we wanted to share some of the sessions
Here is the schedule up to Easter , all links available via the ALDinHE website
ALDinHE is committed to representing and supporting all those working in the field of Learning Development in the UK.
We aim to cultivate a community of practice, promote discussion and ideas exchange, and further the professional development of our members by offering training opportunities and quality assurance.
We have two aims:
To represent professionals employed in the field of Learning Development in Higher Education, primarily in the UK and Ireland, and those with an active interest in the field;
To promote discussion about effective models for Learning Development (LD), cultivate a community of practice and act as a support network for the general professional development of staff involved with LD.
And we are guided by five values:
Working alongside students to make sense of and get the most out of HE learning
Making HE inclusive through emancipatory practice, partnership working and collaboration
Adopting and sharing effective Learning Development practice with (and external to) our own institutions
Critical self-reflection, on-going learning and a commitment to professional development
Commitment to a scholarly approach and research related to Learning Development.
The JISC
work on the digital student experience shows that students remain unconvinced
that we are delivering the digital skills that employers are demanding. 74% of
teaching staff never teach in a live online environment; and most (33%) learn
from their colleagues, not in a structured and systematic way. Having to
rapidly move to synchronous and asynchronous modes of online learning almost
overnight is putting pressure on teams of academics and Learning Technologists
alike; students are stressed and anxious, and mental health is finally being
foregrounded – against a backdrop of 18% of teaching staff agreeing that they
are informed about their responsibilities to help students behave safely online.
I have been reflecting on the WONKHE piece, ‘the
clock is ticking on a decision about September entry’ by Alex Usher,
challenging us educators to think about the ‘what-ifs’. Moving quickly to
online as a response to crisis has seen teams across the sector move to online
learning, and, getting content ‘out there’ has been the priority. Professional
Bodies are having to rethink their
regulations, Universities are matching the flexibility and making every effort to
ensure that our third year students graduate – and for health workers,
graduating quickly is essential as the needs of the NHS escalate.
The ‘clock is ticking’ article notes:
“everyone is doing their level best to make
the current situation work, but it’s all basically DIY right now, and it’s so
far from good enough that there is now an entire sub-genre of humour devoted to
it.”
Is there any good news out there we may well ask!
The awesome Educause New
Media Horizons report was launched just as we ran into our strike period, rapidly
followed by Corona Virus. And yes is the answer…
Open Educational Resources a variety of materials designed for teaching and learning that are both openly available for use by teachers and students and that are devoid of purchasing, licensing, and/ or royalty fees. The global community are actively developing and curating resources, pressuring Governments and institutions to share their resources. The University of Minnesota has developed and curated the Open Textbook Library, which includes nearly 700 peer-reviewed titles. To stay informed and up-to-date, sign up to the Association for Learning Technology OER Special interest Group. Embedding curated, quality assured resources in your reading lists, your curricula or even the powerpoints we share with our students makes a huge difference, and offers alternative, inclusive ways of accessing content.
We have developed an online toolkit to support staff in updating their assessment and feedback practices with the support of Professor Dai Hounsell
This was part of a far-reaching response to the HEA publication by
Ball et al (2012 p7) that
“assessment
practices in most universities have not kept pace with the vast changes in the
context, aims and structure of higher education. They can no longer do justice
to the outcomes we expect from a university education in relation to
wide-ranging knowledge, skills and employability ” and the HEA recommendation
of “a radical rethink of assessment practices and regulations” with a “holistic
and proactive approach” (Ball et al 2012 p8).
The material in the Toolkit is evidence-based, builds on
best practice in the Higher Education sector, and forms part of a wide-reaching
project to radically transform staff and student experiences of assessment. The
Toolkit continues to grow as new resources are developed or identified, and
FLIE Blog posts alert staff to new materials or key ideas to support the
development of assignments for the next academic year.
Other dimensions of the project included the redesign of the
university-wide Generic Assessment Criteria with feedback and feedforward
statements for each grade-band and level from Level 3 (used in partner
colleges), and Levels 4 to 7; a radical re-writing of formal assessment
policies; a series of workshops and Masterclasses; a conference on assessment
& feedback; individual, team and programme consultations; and input into
the PGCert/PGDip/MA Academic Practice. In addition to the online materials, pocket
guides for staff on assessment & feedback and on promoting assessment literacy accompanied the Toolkit. In
order to facilitate this complex, multi-layered and inevitably disruptive
change we drew on the leadership strategies presented in our journal paper on
extending academic roles and identities (Quinney et al 2017) and worked in
close collaboration with a stakeholder group, in particular with the Students
Union at BU.
We were fortunate to work closely with Visiting Professor
Dai Hounsell, internationally known for his work on assessment and feedback in
higher education. Dai has developed resources for the Toolkit, shared other
resources he has developed (for example the Wise Assessment series of
‘Briefings’ in conjunction with the University of Hong Kong which you can find
in the Toolkit) and is able to alert us to projects and publications on
assessment and feedback as a result of his global networks.
The team shared aspects of the ongoing work at the ALDinHE
conferences in 2018 and 2019
in the form of interactive workshops and would welcome any
comments, feedback and additional open access resources to continue to build
this valuable resource.
Quinney A, Thompson S, Luce A and Holley D. 2019. From
assessment of learning to assessment for learning; Leading assessment policy
change supported by an Assessment & Feedback Toolkit. ALDinHE Conference,
Exeter University.
Anne Quinney, Principal Lecturer and University Lead for
Assessment & Feedback, FLIE
