QAA Good Practice Knowledgebase case study
University of Reading: Web-based support for assessment
Theme
Assessment and feedback
Sub-themes
Web-based support
Feature of good practice as identified by Institutional Review
November 2012 (quoted directly from the review report)
The University offers excellent web-based multimedia support for staff in relation to
assessment and feedback.
Context
Providing quality feedback in relation to coursework is seen as a cornerstone of learning and
has been the subject of much educational research. It is also recognised that many students
are concerned about the quality of the assessment-related feedback they receive and this
has been reflected in successive National Student Surveys. The University of Reading has
been working to improve its practices in assessment and feedback for a number of years,
using a range of approaches. One such approach involved the development of two online
resources for staff: 'Engage in Feedback' (launched in 2009) and 'Engage in Assessment'
(launched in 2011). The websites have been designed to support the needs of busy
academic staff to enhance assessment and feedback practices through the provision of
engaging, pragmatic, evidence-based resources focusing on each of these areas. Each
website focuses on a suite of key topics and provides staff with a range of generic and
discipline-specific practical resources and information. The websites have provided an
opportunity to showcase the work of staff at Reading but are freely accessible outside the
University, since many of the assessment/feedback issues faced by our staff are common
across the sector. The websites have been widely disseminated at Reading, as well as
nationally, and have positively impacted on staff practices in these areas at the University.
Description of good practice
The 'Engage in Feedback' Project
From the staff perspective, the provision of high quality and timely feedback can be a difficult
process, usually competing with other demands on their time and sometimes receiving low
priority because it can be a tedious task and seen as unrewarding if students appear not to
have made use of the feedback provided. The aim of the first web-based
assessment/feedback project at the University of Reading (funded by an individual Teaching
Fellowship award to Professor Julian Park) was therefore to enhance the quality and
timeliness of feedback provided to students at the University by raising staff awareness of
the alternative mechanisms available for providing feedback and by encouraging the
provision of 'feed-forward' for improving students' future performance. These mechanisms
can help address issues such as the time constraints of staff and the effectiveness of the
feedback itself. At a broad level, they range from designing more appropriate assessments;
making use of new learning technologies; encouraging use of peer and self-assessment;
using online feedback via the BlackBoard virtual learning environment (VLE); and more
effective delegation of the provision of feedback by academic staff. The aim of the project
was therefore to bring these ideas together into an open-access web-based resource for
staff: 'Engage in Feedback'.
Engage in Feedback was designed to meet at least three of the specific actions outlined in
the University's Teaching and Learning plan at the time, namely:
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to further develop mechanisms to encourage the enhancement and sharing of
effective practice
to continue to adapt the curricula, assessment and feedback to promote active
learning
to strengthen the alignment between academic provision and student needs and
expectations, learning resources and the tools required.
The Engage in Feedback website was developed over a two-year period. The project had
the following objectives.
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To review and collate good practice experience on the provision of feedback
to students: a review of existing literature and 'good practice' at Reading.
This research formed the basis for the website and included a quick tips guide and
'how do I' information on the main mechanisms of providing effective feedback,
alongside tips on how to provide 'feed-forward' and how to get students to engage
with the feedback they receive. This information formed the basis for the
development of an open access website for staff, Engage in Feedback, which was
designed and developed to align with best practice in relation to accessibility.
To produce a feedback audit tool for staff. There are a variety of good examples
of online audit tools; for the Engage in Feedback website an audit tool was
developed for use by module convenors and programme directors. The aims of the
tool are to provide a resource for reflection on current feedback practices and to
encourage consideration of new or alternative methods of providing feedback.
The audit tool was piloted with members of academic staff before it was made
available on the website, and it is now a core resource in the University's
HEA-accredited Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP).
To provide 'Engage in Feedback' workshops. The project team of Professor
Julian Park and Dr Anne Crook worked with the University's Centre for Staff
Training and Development to provide additional workshops for staff to raise
awareness of the Engage in Feedback website resources and to encourage a
reflective approach to feedback practices.
To disseminate and evaluate the project outputs. A key part of the latter stages
of the project was to raise awareness at the University about the Engage in
Feedback website and to encourage staff to engage with it. The University's Centre
for the Development of Teaching and Learning (CDoTL) played a key role in
supporting the dissemination and evaluation of the website. The project team also
worked with the HEA (including the former Centre for Bioscience) to disseminate
the resource to a national audience.
The 'Engage in Assessment' Project
Assessment is one of the most important aspects of the education process and, in one form
or another, will often determine a considerable proportion of the work students undertake
during their undergraduate degree. At the same time, assessment (and its associated
feedback) consumes a significant proportion of staff time and effort, and this was evidenced
from research conducted by the University's Centre for the Development of Teaching and
Learning (CDoTL). The Engage in Assessment project, funded by an individual Teaching
Fellowship award to Dr Anne Crook in 2010, aimed to showcase the range of assessment
methods currently being used in different disciplines at Reading and to explore new
evidence-based approaches to support and enhance students' active learning through a
diversification of assessment practices. Designing and implementing new methods of
assessment is, however, a time-consuming process, so the project brought together a suite
of resources online to enable staff to review their existing assessment practices and to
support them in the design, delivery and evaluation of alternative methods of assessment.
One of the core aims of the project was therefore to support staff in developing more
diverse, student-centred methods of assessment based on sound pedagogy and evidence
from a range of disciplines across the sector. Importantly, like the Engage in Feedback
project, the aim was to develop a resource that would provide staff with a realistic and
practical suite of resources that they could make use of and/or adapt for their own
assessment practices.
The design of the open-access Engage in Assessment website was informed by the Engage
in Feedback project and it complemented the University's Learning and Teaching
Enhancement Priorities (2011-13), specifically in the following two areas:
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'continue to adapt the curriculum, assessment and feedback to promote active
student learning'
'develop a clearer understanding of the changing needs of learners and how they
are challenged'.
Research for the Engage in Assessment project showed that staff wanted easily digestible
'need to know' information and practical resources about the most common issues they face
with assessment, for example assessing large numbers of students. Staff feedback was
used to inform the development of multimedia sections within the website, comprising video
clips of 'real' teachers talking about their assessment experiences alongside a
comprehensive range of searchable generic and subject-specific resources.
The Engage in Assessment website was developed over a two-year period with the
following objectives.
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To collate examples of different methods of assessment being used at
Reading. This built on the suite of mini assessment case studies that had been
collated across the University in 2008-9 and which were hosted on the CDoTL
website. The aim was to expand the range of disciplines represented within the
Engage in Assessment website, with the principal focus of showcasing the diversity
of assessment methods being used across the University. The case studies are
presented in a range of media on the Engage in Assessment website, including
written, audio and video.
To compare disciplinary approaches to assessment across the HE sector.
This part of the project involved a review of the methods of assessment being used
in different disciplines across the sector, and drew on resources within the HEA's
(former) Subject Centres in addition to contacts within other higher education
institutions. The aim was to share practical ideas and practices from across the
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sector (for example through case studies and staff videos) with a particular
emphasis on the use of student-centred, 'authentic' assessment methods, such as
enquiry-based learning, simulations and so on, which can actively engage students
in the learning process.
To collate the outputs of the project into a new 'Engage in Assessment'
website, to complement the existing Engage in Feedback site. As for Engage in
Feedback, the new website was developed using the University's Content
Management System and was designed to be an engaging, informative and
up-to-date resource providing practical tips, case studies and other resources to
showcase the central importance of assessment in influencing students'
approaches to learning. Colleagues, including University Teaching Fellows and
School Directors for Teaching and Learning, were invited to contribute to the
development of resources hosted on the website. The website was designed to
align with best practice principles relating to accessibility.
To disseminate the Engage in Assessment project both within the University
and externally. To raise awareness of the project and the final website resource,
the project leader (Dr Crook) led staff development sessions, alongside writing
articles for teaching and learning communities across the University. Externally,
the project was disseminated alongside Engage in Feedback through presentations
at national teaching and learning events, through active engagement with the HEA
and through invited presentations at other higher education institutions.
Both Engage websites are hosted on the University server and are regularly managed and
updated as part of the work of the University's Centre for the Development of Teaching and
Learning. A suite of publicity materials including pull-up banners and flyers are used to
promote the websites at the regular teaching and learning events that take place at
the University.
Key features ensuring success
Both Engage in Feedback and Engage in Assessment websites have been designed to
provide staff with practical, evidence-based support for enhancing practices across these
two interlinked areas. By having experienced first-hand the challenges of assessing and
providing feedback to students themselves, combined with years of pedagogic research in
these areas at the University, the project leaders were able to readily identify those
resources that were most likely to offer pragmatic support for staff. As combined with
extensive feedback from staff as the websites were developed, we believe that this informed
approach helped to maximise the success of the websites, which is evidenced by staff
making use of the resources therein to enhance their assessment and feedback practices.
Recent feedback from University staff on the Engage websites includes:
I used these websites extensively for my PGCAP project to address issues of
assessing large numbers of students. This led me to change assessment and
feedback methods, opening up learning opportunities for my students.
Both Engage websites encourage reflective practice, an approach that has
definitely informed my teaching.
The University's unique 'Engage' websites are invaluable resources for me as a
busy academic looking for practical support. I've used the Engage in Assessment
group assessment resources to develop an assessment regime for a new
undergraduate module. Thanks to these excellent resources my students have
benefited from me knowing about and offering them an enhanced range of
assessment learning experiences.
Evaluation
The websites are regularly reviewed by the project leaders to ensure that latest research and
resources are available to staff through the sites. It is important that the websites remain
current and we are aware that ensuring the sites' usefulness to staff is dependent on this.
A monthly review of each site's web traffic statistics is undertaken to monitor the number of
individuals accessing the site (and their place of origin). The numbers accessing both sites
has remained high, with an annual number of visits exceeding 16,000. Both project leaders
regularly contribute to University staff development training sessions in assessment and
feedback and use these opportunities to seek feedback from staff on areas of the website
that could be further enhanced.
Further information
Engage in Feedback: www.reading.ac.uk/engageinfeedback
Engage in Assessment: www.reading.ac.uk/engageinassessment
www.qaa.ac.uk/InstitutionReports/Reports/Pages/IR-Reading-12.aspx
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