Reflections on transforming assessment and feedback: complexity and collaboration
- 1. Reflections on transforming assessment and feedback: complexity and collaboration. Debbie Holley, Professor of Learning Innovation and Anne Quinney, University Lead for Pedagogical Innovations in Assessment and Feedback Bournemouth University Keynote: Medway 'Creative and Inclusive Assessment and Feedback' Festival September 10th 2020
- 2. Anne Quinney • Senior Fellow of the HEA (Advance HE) • Leads the institutional Assessment and Feedback policies and practice for Learning and Teaching • Recently Programme Leader and unit leader for the PGCert/PGDip and MA Education Practice • Interests, in addition to assessment & feedback, include narrative and visual research methods Debbie Holley • National Teaching Fellow • Interested in digital assessment and feedback • Led the university Centre for promoting excellence in learning and teaching • Led the validation of our MA Education Practice, which included a specialist unit on Assessment and Feeback Please be aware …. Cough, voice loss and background noise warning. Anne is asthmatic and has builders in doing major renovations!
- 3. Audience participation invitation What are the hot topics or sticky problems in assessment and feedback at your institution? Please respond in the chat facility. We will collate the anonymised responses, write a blog post and share it back to be disseminated to conference participants
- 4. Assessment and feedback drivers National drivers for Assessment & Feedback • National Student Survey (NSS) • The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) • The ongoing ‘tilt to online’ as a response to Covid-19 (see Nordmann et al 2020)
- 5. The challenge….. 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. (Ball et al 2012 p7)
- 6. Is a radical rethink overdue? Is a radical rethink overdue? • The HEA recommended "a radical rethink of assessment practices and regulations" and a "holistic and proactive approach (Ball et al 2012 p8) • "the greatest potential to improve student learning is a shift in the balance of summative and formative assessment (Ball et all, 2012 p9)
- 7. The Bournemouth University response A year of Assessment and Feedback in 2017/2018 was launched which included events, resources, and policy re-design: Fundamental review and revision of the Principles of Assessment Design policy Worked in partnership with our Students Union, Academic Quality colleagues and Faculties Hosted an Assessment & Feedback Conference Dai Hounsell, an internationally renowned expert, joined us as a Visiting Professor Led workshops, and Masterclasses for credit and CPD An assessment & feedback pocket guide produced for all staff Curriculum design workshops were promoted to inform the programme review and revalidation cycle
- 8. Key principles: • Adopt assessment for learning (Sambell et al 2012) as the key principle for policy and practice • Promote of a broader menu of innovative assessment tasks • Reduce the volume and number of assessment tasks • Recognise the role that Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) can play
- 9. Academic dilemma 1: Choosing an appropriate assessment method: How many different assessment methods are used on the programmes you are familiar with? Please respond with a number in the chat box
- 10. Assessment & Feedback Toolkit Headings
- 11. 50 ways - 4 types
- 12. 50 ways - 4 types in more detail
- 13. Aligned assessment Matching learning outcomes (graduate attributes) to innovative assessment options are emphasised at curriculum design and review phases
- 14. Academic dilemma 2: Students don’t always understand how to use feedback What ideas do you use to help address this? Please respond in the chat box
- 15. ‘Flipping’ feedback • A shift from retrospective feedback to prospective feedforward • Reconfiguring teaching and learning activities to create more opportunities for ‘real-time’ or ‘just-in-time’ feedback for learning • Embed opportunities for giving, receiving and responding to feedback These approaches emphasise feedback as a dialogue and an exchange of ideas, not only the comments on summative assignments.
- 16. ‘Real-time’ feedback – online or on campus • ‘Boot-grit’ feedback at the end of session: what didn’t you understand; what needs more explanation. Responses, explanations, clarification can be posted in the VLE • In class quizzes and activities can provide rapid feedback on learning. Breaking into pairs or groups for ‘peer instruction’ can be used to discuss then revise answers. Team-based learning works well. • Adopt the ‘flipped classroom’. In-class time for engagement, collaboration, understanding is maximised.
- 17. Feedback information for students (REAP project www.reap.ac.uk)
- 19. Exploring Peer Feedback in depth (Hounsell 2020) Triggers for reflection…… Choose one of the headings from the Peer Feedback Resource and note your response The headings include: • How do students benefit from peer feedback? • Does peer feedback have to involve giving a grade? • What forms does peer feedback take?
- 20. Authentic Assessments designed to prepare students for what they do next, using technology they will use in their careers Accessible Assessments designed with an accessibility-first principle Appropriately automated A balance found of automated and human marking to deliver maximum benefit to students Continuous Assessment data used to explore opportunities for continuous assessment to improve the learning experience Secure Authoring detection and biometric authentication adopted for identification and remote proctoring JISC 2020 Harnessing the power of new technologies technologies
- 21. How might you use technology to support this? Please respond in the chat box Academic dilemma 3: How to adopt authentic learning experiences?
- 22. Response: Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality • Heidi Singleton: doctoral work with a simulated diabetic patient • Virtual Technologies in Nurse Education : • Results from her Randomised Control Trial demonstrated that students retain the knowledge longer using technology! There is a youtube clip demo here
- 23. Reflections on transforming pedagogic policy and practice Underpinned by a collaborative and trans-disciplinary approach Used the triple helix model of educational innovation (Hutchings and Quinney 2015, Quinney et al 2017) But…. Not everyone will embrace change and some will actively resist Our solution was a shared vision, a robust team approach, the need for ongoing horizon scanning and the application of soft skills to deliver ‘optimal disruption’
- 24. Ball S et al (2012) A marked improvement: transforming assessment in higher education. York: HEA Boud D and Falkinov N. (2006) Aligning assessment with long term learning. Assessment and evaluationin higher education. 38(6) p698-712 Hounsell D. Flipping feedback. Undated. Wise Assessment Briefing 12. University of Hong Kong. https://www.cetl.hku.hk/teaching-learning-cop/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/wise-assessment-briefing12.pdf Hutchings M and Quinney A, (2015). The flipped classroom, disruptive pedagogies, enabling technologies and wicked problems: responding to the ‘bomb in the basement’. Electronic Journal of E-learning. 13(2) p106-119 Jessop T. (2017). Inspiring transformation through TESTA’s programme approach. In Carless D et al eds. Scaling up assessment for learning in higher education. Springer. Nicol D and McFarlane D (2006) Formative assessment and self-regulated learning; a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education. 32(2) p199-21. Nordmann E, Horlin C, Hutchison J, Murray J-A, Robson L, Seery MK, and MacKay JRD. (2020). 10 simple rules for supporting a temporary online pivot in higher education. PsyArXiv Preprints https://psyarxiv.com/qdh25 Price M. undated. Promoting student assessment literacy. Wise Assessment Briefing 7. University of Hong Kong. https://www.cetl.hku.hk/teaching-learning-cop/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/wise-assessment-briefing7.pdf Quinney A, Lamont C, Biggins D and Holley D. (2017). Optimising disruptive approaches: extending academic roles and identities in higher education. Journal of Learning ~Development in Higher Education. Issue 12. Sambell K, McDowell L, and Montgomery, C. (2012). Assessment for learning in higher education. Routledge.
- 25. Useful resources • The Bournemouth University Assessment and Feedback toolkit. (This externally facing version is incomplete as work halted to prioritise developments for the internal Toolkit). • Sally Brown’s blog https://sally-brown.net • FLIE blog https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/flie/ • Winstone N and Carless D. 2019. Designing effective feedback processes in Higher Education: A learning- focused approach.