Building learning communities to enhance assessment

Hill, Jennifer; West, Harry

Abstract

In this paper we will encourage you to reimagine assessment and feedback, supported by the latest research and evidence-informed practice, enabling you to deliver assessment that helps your students to learn, improves their performance, enhances their satisfaction, motivates them in their studies and improves their self-confidence. We will work through a series of questions accompanied by directed group discussion, asking:

1. Why should we reconsider assessment and feedback in higher education?
2. What is the purpose of assessment and feedback, and what does this mean for your practice?
3. How can you improve your assessment literacy and that of your students?
4. How does programme-focussed assessment support and enhance your practice?

We will demonstrate that an ‘optimum’ assessment approach comes from building learning communities of staff and students that deliver authentic assessment; situating learning in the context of immediate and future academic utility and prospective ‘real-world’ practice. Authentic assessment is achieved through active student engagement in a sustainable assessment process, which establishes relevant activity and student-staff dialogue, and which encourages learner responsibility, self-regulation and self-efficacy. We will offer case studies from UWE and more widely to exemplify how this approach to assessment has enhanced the student learning experience and provided information that can help shape teaching. We will conclude by offering recommendations for practice if we are to rise to the challenge of delivering authentic assessment for life-long learning going forward.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: UWE Teaching & Learning Conference
• Start Date: Jun 1, 2018
• End Date: Jun 1, 2018
• Acceptance Date: Mar 1, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 7, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/866950
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : UWE Teaching & Learning Conference