Putting Assessment at the Heart
of Learning – The Story at The
University of Glamorgan
Professor Norah Jones and Alice Lau
The Story Begins at late 2007 deep
in the S. Wales Valleys…
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
Senior
sowed…
Management
Assessment Policy
Assessment Tariff
Assessment
Frontsheet
Assessment
Policy
•Emphasis on “ Assessment For
•An advisory document
Learning” to be read in
•Combined
assessment
cover sheet
and
relation to
the Assessment
Policy
feedback form.
•Enable
the
development
of “a learning
Assessment
Tariff
•Promotewhich
a level
of consistency
environment
promotes
the student
Faculties
•Including
Mandatory
information
such as
between
modules
with
equal
learning experience, facilitates the
Administrative
information,
the module’s
weightings
across faculties.
Assessment
acquisition
of competence
in a range of
learning
outcomes being assessed in this
Frontsheet
relevant skills and leads to increased
assignment, The marking criteria and
learner autonomy.”
Lecturer’s feedback.
•Good practice information
Change is slowly happening…
• Provoked much needed
discussion on assessment and
feedback
• Identified pockets of good
practice
• Growing interest in innovative
assessment
Initial challenges…
 These policies and procedures are seen
as top-down ‘control’, therefore resist
changes to their current practices
 “I
Staff
have
yet to
gain
a clear
worry
about
the
‘centralisation’
understanding on the concept and of
thedecision
surrounding
principles
for
making in areas
such on
as assessment
this [assessment].
learning.
There are different expectations and
academic
associated
 There
is a traditions
perceptionthat
fromare
lecturers
that with
assessment
for learning
isand
just scope
‘ideal for local
particular
groups
of
staff
thinking’ that would not work in practice
modification is therefore needed”
 There is a perception from lecturers that
such policies are ‘dumbing down’
assessment and give weak students ‘the
advantage’
To nurture the growth…
Senior
Management
Faculties
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?
Senior
Management
Faculties
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 learning
Improve 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?
Providing
incentives such
as Wii and
USB sticks
Gather students’ view on
assessment and
feedback and what they
considered as good
practice in assessment
and feedback
“The focus group enabled me to
portray my own views regarding the
learning experience here at
Glamorgan. As a mature student, it is
interesting to note the changes that
are taking place since I was at
University in the 1980s…however,
this also leads to new challenges for
both students and staff which I feel
needs a joint approach to overcome.
The use of the focus group within the
University environment is vital for
progress…”
Progress to Date I
Forus
example:
We thought
• Captured and enable
to share
with
students
colleagues students’providing
view on
whatwith
they
multiple
methods
of
For
example:
Students
would
consider as good practice
and challenged
communicating
and
like:
assessment
would
our beliefs in what we
think
students
•submitting
choice
in how
they canwant.
give students
more flexibility
present
their work.
For
Studentsfound
are
but example:
students
actually
•Diverse
assessment
not
thatconcerned
confusing.with the ‘20
methods
– Assessment process
days
rules’, as with
long other
as they
•Collaboration
– Learning experience
are
given outside
a date when
they
students
their course
– Feedback
can
expect for
feedback
and as
(especially
CCI students)
long as it is before their next
piece of work.
Process to Date II
• •
Identified aexisting
good practice
practice guide
including
the
Assessment
Produced
‘living’
good
that
A
‘
living’
Revitalised
Discussion atdiscussions on assessment at THE
use of ‘Assessment
Diary’ inidentified
one department
Good
Practice
includes
both
good
practice
by
the Heartof
of faculties and departments Diaries
HEART
that
is now
across
Guide
faculties
students
andbeing
staff, implement
and
the guide
will the
‘grow’ as
University.
the
project progress
•
Progress to Date III
•Including
Staff from
both faculties have volunteered
the following:
to review and modify their assessment and
Replacing essays to new assessment methods,
feedback strategies (over 30 modules)
including: digital story board, introduce peer
assessment, peer marking, online assessment,
•reflective
Many log
of what
our staff
are
to
(via blogging),
audio
fileslooking
and audio
feedback.
change reflects our students’ concerns
highlighted
in studentacross
focus
groups
Develop
holistic assessment
a number
of and
survey.
modules
in order to reduce assessment workload
and provide opportunities for student to collaborate.
Unexpected Outcomes
Student LifeCycle
Project
Technology
Enhanced
Learning Group
•The project has already had institutional impact!
•The adaptation of assessment diary to all faculties!
•Contributing to institutional wide projects!
Lesson learnt
Assessment 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
Senior
Management
Faculties (3)
Faculties
Seminars, workshops, case studies
and good practice guides, ELTA
awards, and innovation grand
Students
Faculties (2)
Change
Academy
Contact details
http://celt.glam.ac.uk/Welcome
njones2@glam.ac.uk
amlau@glam.ac.uk