Dr. Cath Jones and Alice Lau

Putting Assessment at the Heart of Learning – The Story at The University of Glamorgan

The Story Begins late 2007

Developing new policies and procedures to introduce a standard

and consistent idea across the University and a focal point to

implement change.

The seed of change was being sowed…

Assessment Policy

• Emphasis on “ Assessment For Learning”

• Enable the development of “a learning environment which promotes the

student learning experience, facilitates the acquisition of competence in a

range of relevant skills and leads to increased learner autonomy.”

Assessment Tariff

• An advisory document to be read in relation to the Assessment Policy

• Promote a level of consistency between modules with equal weightings across faculties.

Assessment Frontsheet

• Combined assessment cover sheet and feedback form.

• Including Mandatory information such as Administrative information, the module’s learning outcomes being assessed in this assignment, The

marking criteria and Lecturer’s feedback.

• Good practice information

Assessment Policy

Assessment Tariff

Assessment Frontsheet

Policies and Procedures

Senior Management

Faculties

Consultation and feedback

Change is slowly happening…

• Provoked much needed discussion on assessment and feedback

• Identified pockets of good practice

• Growing interest in innovative assessment

To nurture the growth…

Policies and Procedures

Senior Management

Faculties

Consultation and feedback

Seminars, workshops, case studies and good practice, ELTA awards, and innovation grand

How can we embed Change? • We need to give faculties more

ownership.

• Create a Bottom-up approach to complement the top-down approach.

• Provide time and resources for faculties to experiment.

The answer?

THE CHANGE ACADEMY!

What do we do next to embed change?

Policies and Procedures

Senior Management

Faculties

Consultation and feedback

Seminars, workshops, case studies and good practice, ELTA awards, and innovation grand Change

Academy

How we went about it?

• Focused on two of the five faculties…

Our objectives of the Change Academy project Develop and implement a revised

approach to curriculum design so that assessment is at the heart of learningImprove the quality of the student experience so that assessment helps student learning

Reduce assessment workload for students and staff

What next?

Gather existing good practice on assessment and feedback including innovative methods and assessment process as a whole!

Engage staff in reviewing, changing and sharing their modules’ assessment and feedback strategy by providing staff development funds

What next?

Gather students’ view on assessment and feedback and what they considered as good practice in assessment and feedback

Providing incentives such as Wii and USB sticks

Focus Groups, Online

Survey and social

networking sites, student

voice reps

Progress to Date I• Captured and enable us to share with

colleagues students’ view on what they consider as good practice and challenged our beliefs in what we think students want.

– Assessment process– Learning experience – Feedback

For example: We thought providing students with multiple methods of communicating and submitting assessment would give students more flexibility but students actually found that confusing.

For example: Students would like:• choice in how they can

present their work. • Diverse assessment

methods• Collaboration with other

students outside their course (especially for CCI students)

For example: Students are not concerned with the ‘20 days rules’, as long as they are given a date when they can expect feedback and as long as it is before their next piece of work.

Process to Date II

• Revitalised discussions on assessment at THE HEART of faculties and departments

• Produced a ‘living’ good practice guide that includes both good practice identified by students and staff, and the guide will ‘grow’ as the project progress

• Identified existing good practice including the use of ‘Assessment Diary’ in one department that is now being implement across the University.

Discussion at the Heart of

faculties

A ‘ living’ Good Practice

Guide

Assessment Diaries

Progress to Date III

• Staff from both faculties have volunteered to review and modify their assessment and feedback strategies (over 30 modules)

• Many of what our staff are looking to change reflects our students’ concerns highlighted in student focus groups and survey.

Including the following:

Replacing essays to new assessment methods, including: digital story board, introduce peer assessment, peer marking, online assessment, reflective log (via blogging), audio files and audio feedback.

Develop holistic assessment across a number of modules in order to reduce assessment workload and provide opportunities for student to collaborate.

Unexpected Outcomes

• The project has already had institutional impact! • The adaptation of assessment diary to all faculties!

Student LifeCycle Project

Technology Enhanced Learning Group

• Contributing to institutional wide projects!

Lesson learntAssessment is a process! – more than

changing the assessment method.

Review the entire process, identified that even simple steps such as the assessment diary can make a huge difference to both staff and student

Important to engage administrative teams in each faculty as well as academic staff

Bottom up approach.

Summary

Policies and Procedures

Senior Management

Faculties (3)

Consultation and feedback

Seminars, workshops, case studies and good practice guides, ELTA awards, and innovation grand

Change Academy

Faculties (2)

Faculties

Students