Assessment, Learning and teaching at Leeds Met: hearing the student voice

1. Assessment, Learning and teaching at Leeds Met: hearing the student voice Sally Brown Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of HE Diversity in Learning and Teaching Leeds Metropolitan University 23 March 2007

2. Leeds Met’s ALT approach builds on 8 core areas • Fostering a supportive learning environment to enhance learning and teaching. • Rebalancing assessment practices to improve formative assessment and feedback to students. • Targeting, recruiting, supporting and retaining diverse students. • Supporting, rewarding and developing teaching staff.

3. Core areas continued • Fostering research that supports teaching. • Fostering creativity in curriculum design. • Promoting student Employability throughout the curriculum and engaging our students in work-related learning. • Broadening staff and student horizons within the curriculum.

4. What do students tell us they want: • More and better formative assessment; • Rapid turnaround of assessed work; • Up to date equipment, resources and library services; • Blended learning opportunities that make best use of available technologies; • An inclusive approach; • Accessible, knowledgeable staff with enthusiasm for student learning.

5. This year’s ALT priorities • Increasing the amount and quality of formative assessment, especially for finalists in the period February to April and for the first six weeks of the first semester of the first year when we can impact significantly on student retention and achievement.  • Embedding E-learning  and in particular, making sure that the implementation of Web CT Vista went beyond simply putting up lecture note slides on Web CT • Significantly increasing the  extent of usage of Computer-Assisted assessment (in line with the ALT strategy goal of having CAA in every programme somewhere)

6. Further priorities • Ensuring that each programme addresses the requirements for Cross cultural capability (particularly in relation to our cross cultural capability and global perspectives guidelines for curriculum review); • Exploring how best to embed Research Informed Teaching, particularly increasing the amount of pedagogic research by staff who are not engaging significantly in subject-based research (making good use of RSA time) • Building on existing good practice in Key skills provision to enhance student learning skills and to improve employability

7. Some contextual issues for ALT in HE • Central importance of student retention (balanced with maintaining quality) • The unknown impact of fees generally and variable fees in particular • Impacts of the National Student Survey and various league tables on student recruitment; • The Disability Discrimination Act and SENDA; • The RAE now and in the future; • International competition and GATS.

8. Student recruitment at Leeds Met • National data published from UCAS shows that applications to the University have increased by 12.3% this year, compared with a national average increase of 6.4%. • Last year our increase in applications at the same point was 8.3%, compared to a national decline of 3%. • Over two years, the University has seen an increase in applications of 21.6%, the highest growth in an institution with a large number of applications (i.e. over 25,000).

9. What are students getting like? • More value-conscious; • More vocal? • More litigious? • Blurred distinction between part-time and full-time students; • The impact of different approaches to study used in schools; • Increased expectations of student support.

10. What kinds of student do we want here? • High achievers? • International students? • Those from disadvantaged backgrounds including disabled students? • Students with ‘stickability’/stamina/ resourcefulness ? • Rounded individuals with interests beyond academic study?

11. Trends in current HE design, delivery and assessment at Leeds Met • Blended learning (as opposed to e-learning or traditional face-t-face approaches) e.g. Steve Jones’ video lectures; • Introduction of ‘teaching smarter’ initiatives, led by our Carnegie faculty; • Recognition of the centrality of assessment to learning (stop marking, start assessing); • Review of the Academic year and Accelerated degree projects.

12. Some innovatory approaches to assessment • Assessment of learning in practice settings e.g. Jill Taylor’s use of PDAs on site in clinical settings; • Use of blogs as an element of reflective practice; • Self-assessed tutor dialogues, where the student reflects on submitted work as part of the assignment and receives feedback (Phil Race); • Exploratory work on computer-based assessment of short answer questions (Elizabeth Guest)

13. Some developments in curriculum delivery • Communicating with students mobile phones, Podcasting, SMS and other forms of communication; • Increased use of Re-usable Learning Objects; • Rethinking the delivery contexts: lecture theatres or what? • The cross-cultural curriculum and other aspects of cultural inclusivity.

14. So where do we go next at Leeds Met? • Increasing focus on e-learning, particularly using Vista; • Maturation of the CETL initiatives; • Growing on of the ALT-resource project • Quality enhancement audits, one on added value, one on the disabled student experience, These will give us base-line information on good practice to share and areas for enhancement.

15. Hearing the student voice • Making more opportunities for student voices to heard formally and informally (course committees, Academic Board, Board of Governors etc); • NSS and other student surveys. • The student wiki; • Invited inputs at key staff events (SET, the Staff Development Festival); • Research projects like those being explored today.