UTL40140

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this module, you should be able to:

1. Critically reflect, on the advantages and disadvantages, of the assessment and feedback approaches in your own and other modules, programmes and/or learning activities
2. Engage in peer discussion and peer review of your colleagues assessment and feedback strategies and ideas
3. Analyse and synthesise the relationship between the key assessment principles in the context of higher education, i.e. validity, reliability, diversity, academic integrity, transparency, etc.
4. Evaluate the application of assessment and feedback approaches in your current and future practices, having experienced a variety of assessments of‚ for and as learning
5. Explore inclusive assessment and feedback approaches to support diverse student cohorts
6. Explore the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on assessment approaches
7. Debate the role of different stakeholders in the assessment process, i.e. staff, students, peers, self and/or group assessment.
8. Critically reflect on your own and other approaches to assessment and feedback based on the scholarly literature

Indicative Module Content:

The themes in the module commence with the common purposes of assessment and feedback (National Forum 2017) and is then organised around the principles of assessment in higher education, for example, Bloxham and Boyd (2008), UCD T&L (2019).

It explores, therefore, assessment equity and diversity, inclusive assessment, assessment load, feedback approaches, context of assessment, academic integrity, grading, programmatic approach to assessment.

In addition, the module will explore online assessment and feedback approaches.

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

The module, this academic year, is face to face.

The seminars explore the different practices in assessment and feedback and encourage dialogue around the students’ experiences, drawing on the required readings for the different assignments.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Learning Requirements:

This is an in-service module for teachers in higher education. A condition of enrolment is that students have a significant teaching commitment during the academic year in which they undertake this module. (The definition of “significant teaching commitment” will vary with context; but, as a general rule, a minimum of 50 hours would be expected.)

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students engage in a peer review as part of their first assignment. There will also be group feedback after the first assignment. This will feedforward to the second (final assignment). There will be an opportunity to self-assess the final draft assignment prior to its submission. The final assignment will use rubric feedback

Dawson, P. , Henderson, M., Mahoney, P., Phillips, M., Ryan, T. Boud, D & Molloy. E. (2018): What makes for effective feedback: staff and student perspectives, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1467877

Evering, L.C. , Moorman, G. (2012) Rethinking Plagiarism in the Digital Age Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 56, 1, p35-44.

Medland, E. (2016). Assessment in higher education: Drivers, barriers and directions for change in the UK. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(1), 81–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 02602938.2014.982072

NAIN (National Academic Integrity Network (2023) Generative Artificial Intelligence: Guidelines for Educators, QQI: Dublin

National Forum (2017) Expanding our Understanding of Assessment and Feedback in Irish Higher Education, Author: Dublin. https://www.teachingandlearning.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Sectoral-insight-web-ready.pdf

O’Neill G. and L. Padden (2022). “Diversifying assessment methods: Barriers, benefits and enablers”, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 59:4, 398-409, DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2021.1880462

Reinholz , D. (2015): The assessment cycle: a model for learning through peer assessment, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, DOI:10.1080/02602938.2015.1008982

Sadler, D. R. (2010) Beyond feedback: developing student capability in complex appraisal, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35:5, 535-550, DOI: 10.1080/02602930903541015

Tai, J., Ajjawi, R & A. Umarova (2021): How do students experience inclusive assessment? A critical review of contemporary literature, International Journal of Inclusive Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2021.2011441

Tomas C. & Jessop, T (2018): Struggling and juggling: a comparison of student assessment loads across research and teaching-intensive universities, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1463355