“Not another bloomin ’ essay” Assessment by negotiation aka students’ taking control of LTA?

1. “Not another bloomin’ essay” Assessment by negotiation aka students’ taking control of LTA? Contact person Jenny Eland Birmingham City University [jenny.eland@bcu.ac.uk ] If as Brown and Knight (1994) tell us assessment is at the heart of the student experience and if we agree with Ramsden (1992) that from our students’ point of view, assessment always defines the actual curriculum how can we motivate them to take a deeper approach and take more control? The answer may lie in letting them decide their own method of assessment. This example built on an “experiment” carried out with HE in FE students who did just that. After a group of Foundation Degree Early Years students complained when given “another bloomin essay” they were asked to design their own assessment within the parameters of the learning outcome and grading criteria. The Foundation Degree Early Years (FdA) is a three year part time programme offered at a partner FE College. The participants are all experienced child care workers who are attending the course either to gain promotion or to access the top up degree and then teacher training. The programme requires them to make links between theory and practice and is built up around the (perceived) needs of their employers and is therefore felt to be of relevance to their personal and professional development but also embedding an academic element. This case study is based on two groups of students one group at level four, but in their second year, and a level five third year group. The case study is based on two groups of students designing the assessment for three modules, and in one module also deciding the content and methods of learning (with tutor input and support) • Brown, S. & Knight, P. (1994) Assessing Learners in Higher Education. London: Kogan Page. • Ramsden, P. (1992) Learning to Teach in Higher Education. London: Routledge.