Dr. Cath Jones and Alice Lau

1. Putting Assessment at the Heart of Learning – The Story at The University of Glamorgan Dr. Cath Jones and Alice Lau

2. 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.

3. The seed of change was being sowed… Senior Management • 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. Policies and Procedures • 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 andLecturer’s feedback. • Good practice information Consultation and feedback Faculties

4. Change is slowly happening… • Provoked much needed discussion on assessment and feedback • Identified pockets of good practice • Growing interest in innovative assessment

5. To nurture the growth… Senior Management Policies and Procedures Consultation and feedback Faculties Seminars, workshops, case studies and good practice, ELTA awards, and innovation grand

6. 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!

7. What do we do next to embed change? Senior Management Policies and Procedures Consultation and feedback Faculties Seminars, workshops, case studies and good practice, ELTA awards, and innovation grand Change Academy

8. How we went about it? Focused on two of the five faculties…

9. Our objectives of the Change Academy project

10. 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

11. 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 Focus Groups, Online Survey and social networking sites, student voice reps

12. Progress to Date I 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. • 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: 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.

13. Process to Date II • Identified existing good practice including the use of ‘Assessment Diary’ in one department that is now being implement across the University. • 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 Assessment Diaries A ‘ living’ Good Practice Guide • Revitalised discussions on assessment at THE HEART of faculties and departments Discussion at the Heart of faculties

14. Progress to Date III 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. • 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.

15. Unexpected Outcomes • The project has already had institutional impact! • The adaptation of assessment diary to all faculties! • Contributing to institutional wide projects!

16. 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.

17. Summary Senior Management Policies and Procedures Faculties (3) Consultation and feedback Faculties Faculties (2) Seminars, workshops, case studies and good practice guides, ELTA awards, and innovation grand Students Change Academy