Jisc webinar

1. Approaches to changing
assessment and feedback practice

2. Changing A&F in your institution
slide 2
 Where is your institution on the graph?

3. About the programme
slide 3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/khalidalbaih/5653817859

4. slide 4

5. slide 5

6. slide 6

7. slide 7
A&F Principles
National Union of Students: 10 Feedback Principles:
• Should be for learning, not just of learning
• Should be a continuous process
• Should be timely
• Objectives for assessment and grade criteria need to be clearly
communicated to, and fully understood by, students
• Should be constructive
• Should be legible and clear
• Should be provided on exams
• Should include self-assessment and peer-to-peer feedback
• Should be accessible to all students
• Should be flexible and suited to students’ needs

8. Approaches to change
 Bath Spa/Winchester
Concept of how change happens has altered: approach
bottom-up, participative
 QUB
Started with overarching model of AI: approach building on
what already works
 MMU
Had a philosophy of change but no formal model: approach
top down, process-led (committee structures/documentation)
slide 8

9. FASTECH: Bath Spa and Winchester
03/06/2013 slide 9
• TESTA project
• Programme focus
• Evidence
• A & F principles
• Participatory
• Change-oriented
• Systemic change

10. Shifting gears on FASTECH
03/06/2013 slide 10
The
Programme
A&F
Principles
and
evidence
Technology
The Student
Lever
A&F
Principles
and
evidence
Technology
The original plan The shift in gear

11. Queen’s University Belfast e-AFFECT
 HEA Change Academy
 Web resources of good practice based on REAP
 Feedback Campaign with SU
slide 11

12. QUB e-AFFECT: Approach to change
Over arching methodology –Appreciative Inquiry
Educational principles
A phased approach to
institutional change
slide 12
Assessment
and
Feedback
Discover
Dream
Design
Deliver

13. QUB e-AFFECT: Principles
slide 13

14. QUB e-AFFECT: Appreciative Inquiry
slide 14

15. MMU TRAFFIC
03/06/2013 slide 15
Aim
 To improve student experience of
assessment and feedback
Objectives
 To improve assessment and feedback
practice
 To provide business intelligence
 To select and pilot appropriate
technologies
 To build on previous change initiatives
to enhance student success and
satisfaction
 To provide rich case study material
and reusable resources
ImagebyFreekz0ronFlickr,CClicensed

16. MMU TRAFFIC: Key Strategies
03/06/2013 slide 16
 Building on previous project - EQAL
 Getting baseline report to committees that matter
 Reviewing core principles and processes
 Listening & learning from academic and admin staff and
students
 Carefully reviewing assessment data & appeals
information

17.  What is the main driver for A&F change where you are?
–A – Educational Principles
–B – Student Feedback
–C – Departmental Policy
–D – Inspiration from other staff
–E – Other (please type your answer in chat box)
slide 17
Drivers for changing A&F in your institution

18. What worked on FASTECH?
Small, low risk pilot phase
The model:
discuss, support, pilot, eviden
ce, revise
Formative evaluation
Specific techs for A&F issues
Rewards: short-term wins
Student fellows
‘Alchemy of relationships’
(Barber, 2011)
03/06/2013 slide 18

19. The Challenges
 First principles: focus on A&F
evidence & principles
 Technology distracts from first
principles
 Choosing the right technology for
the right issue
 Ensuring appropriate pedagogic
scaffolding for technology
 Persuading the reluctant
 Diversity of technology
approaches
 Collecting compelling evidence
03/06/2013 slide 19

20. Lessons learned
 Change is about the whole learning environment
 Work with many stakeholders to maximise change efforts –
students, lecturers, modules, programmes, committees, IT, senior
managers
 Communicate and disseminate locally and externally
 Build communities of students and lecturers
 Conversations work
 Students powerful agents of enhancement
03/06/2013 Changing the Learning Landscape slide 20
Insiders Innovators Researchers Voices

21. QUB e-AFFECT: Phased approach
slide 21
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
DISSEMINATION
Phase1Phase2Phase3
2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014
Baseline Plan Develop
Baseline Plan Develop
Baseline Plan Develop
Evaluation/refinement
Evaluation/refinement
Evaluation/refinement
Intervention 1 Intervention 2
Intervention 1 Intervention 2
Evaluation Evaluation
Evaluation Evaluation
On going activity
EVALUATION
EMBEDDING

22. QUB e-AFFECT: What we did
slide 22
A remembered that as a 2nd year PhD
student being treated for the first time as an
intellectual equal. Although he left the
supervision with pretty much nothing left of
the chapter he had submitted to his
supervisor he was happy because of the
level of interaction and discussion. He sees
giving feedback on formative assessment as
a means of getting to know the student as a
whole person.
...Being able to see
feedback provided by
markers within a
module and also to
individual students
across modules
Lit review
On-screen
marking of draft
sketch
Opportunity to act
on feedback

23. QUB e-AFFECT
slide 23
Changing Together
Senior
Management
Students
Admin
Support
Teachers
Senior
management
endorsement
Compelling
hooks
Promotion of
value to
students
Evidence-based
approach/process
Evidence-based
approach/process
Institutional
Principles
Dialogue
Positive
focus
Relationships
Enabling
Supporting
Sharing
Expertise
Developing
Collaborating
Evaluating
Growing
Investing
Endorsing

24. QUB e-AFFECT: What worked well
 Involving academics in putting bid together
 Working within existing governance structures
 The AI approach
 Early adopters – champions of change
 Show casing
 Financial incentives for programmes
 Working with students to develop activities
 Timelines
slide 24

25. QUB e-AFFECT: Challenges and lessons learned
Challenges: Don’t assume
 Engaging students
 An original intention was to have students help staff develop their
experience with technology – staff wanted to do this themselves!
 Embedding principles into institutional processes
 Engaging ALL Schools
Lessons learned: Changing together
 Work within existing structures
 Need senior School staff to endorse activities
 Provide recognition for taking part
 Staff talking to their colleagues about benefits of working with project
 Work with recent graduates on programme to develop materials
slide 25

26. MMU TRAFFIC: What’s worked?
 Simple message: trying to make things work better for students and staff
 Always linking processes to academic practice
 Small, systematic changes to processes
 Using data
 Listening
03/06/2013 slide 26

27. MMU TRAFFIC: Challenges
03/06/2013 slide 27
Technology
‘To select and pilot
appropriate technologies’ –
still work in progress

28. MMU TRAFFIC: Lessons learned
 For institutional change, we needed simple top-down principles
 Everyone needs to be involved, and that takes time
 Need to relate everything back to academic practice
 Big tech systems don’t (yet) do what we want
03/06/2013 slide 28

29.  What is the main challenge to enhancing A&F where you are?
–A – Pedagogic Approach
–B – Student Numbers
–C – Staff Time
–D – Local Policies
–E – Other (please type your answer in chat box)
slide 29
Challenges to changing A&F in your institution

30.  What is the main idea you will take away and try to apply in your
institution?
–Raise your hand to speak or type your answer in chat box
slide 30
Ideas to take away

31. slide 31
Resources

32. http://bitly/jiscdsaf

33. © HEFCE 2012
The Higher Education Funding Council for England, on behalf of JISC, permits reuse
of this presentation and its contents under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK England & Wales Licence.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/uk
03/06/2013 slide 33Changing the Learning Landscape