Managing assessment : student and staff perspectives

‘I never realised assessment was for learning’ Laura Ludman BSc (Hons) Nursing, University of Central England Managing Assessment: Student and Staff Perspectives is a practical tool developed by the Managing Effective Student Assessment (MESA) benchmarking club. It aims to give senior management, staff and educational developers, teachers, and support staff insight into assessment issues along with ideas and tools to enable them to improve student learning and reduce the burden on staff. It is hoped that, as well as enriching the learning experience, the case studies will also encourage students to reflect on their experiences of assessment and promote student and staff dialogue around assessment practices. The underlying principle of the Managing Effective Student Assessment (MESA) benchmarking club was the emphasis and value placed on the student perspective. However, it was recognised that assessment is complex and needs careful management. This includes appropriate strategies, structures and support to ensure effective student learning. The initiative was led by the Higher Education Academy (formerly the Learning and Teaching Support Network Generic Centre) and University of Central England (UCE) with the aim of refocusing staff time into providing better support for students and making student learning more effective. The MESA group comprised of a senior manager at departmental level, a member of the educational/faculty development staff and up to three students from each of eight institutions: the UCE, University of Brighton, Coventry University, De Montfort University, University of Glamorgan, Northumbria University, University of Sussex, and York St John College. The students and staff involved were from a range of different discipline areas and diverse institutions. The aims of the MESA group were to: • Share effective practices and issues in assessment; • Use assessment to enrich the student learning experience and seek to demystify assessment; • Enhance assessment practice to improve student retention and progression; • Manage change effectively and embed within institutions. The active involvement of students was facilitated through a student discussion forum which ran parallel to the inputs made by academic managers. The students were invited to discuss experiences of good assessment practice and identify assessment related issues that impacted on their experiences. The group then worked together to seek effective resolutions to the issues raised, which led to the creation of the case studies presented in this publication. The MESA project encouraged students and staff to learn from one another, as well as learning across subject boundaries and types of institutions. Managing Assessment: Student and Staff Perspectives was created in order to share this learning and to help others develop their understanding of what students need from assessment. It also considers how change can be managed and embedded within institutions

Students with dyslexia: research projects at Northumbria University

Northumbria University has about 700 registered disabled students, the majority of whom (around 58 per cent) are registered as having dyslexia and account for approximately two per cent of the total student population. Therefore dyslexic students represent the largest single group of disabled students and are those with whom most staff are likely to come into contact. The research authors were keen to ascertain whether there was a difference in academic performance between dyslexic and non-dyslexic students in respect of degree classification and assignment marks and to investigate whether dyslexic students generally felt supported in their academic studies. Research involved both qualitative and quantitative strands and the areas explored include pre expectations; general support throughout study; methods, flexibility and clarity of learning tasks, in particular assessment and levels of performance throughout and at the end of their study. This research is ongoing, however, findings have proved invaluable as a basis in the construction of good practice guidelines in dealing with the pedagogic needs of this diverse student grou

Peer mentoring in assisting retention – is a virtual form of support a viable alternative?

Support systems are vital for university entrants and one established means of support is peer mentoring, which has the potential to improve student engagement and retention. Peer mentoring models are generally based on face-to-face contact. However, given the increasing number of higher education institutions using social media, might online models be beneficial in a peer mentoring context? This article describes a literature review and case study that considers the advantages and disadvantages of three potential virtual models to facilitate a peer mentoring scheme. The case study, undertaken at Northumbria University, UK, involved an investigation of mentoring needs and current usage of electronic media where special attention is afforded to a diverse student body. The three models discussed are virtual learning environments (VLE), social networking sites and virtual worlds. We find that the VLE is established within institutions but lacks excitement; social networking is popular particularly with younger students but there may be resentment if this appears to be appropriated by the institution; whilst virtual worlds are unfamiliar to many students and require advanced skills to use successfully. Based on these findings the social networking model is now being run as a pilot study by business programmes at Northumbria University

From English to undergraduate: the international student experience

Over 3,000 international students study at Northumbria, of whom over 70% originating from the Pacific Rim region choose to study programmes within Newcastle Business School (NBS). On a regular basis, large and small scale learning and teaching experience - based studies have been undertaken by Northumbria with all students. Demographic information, collected in all cases, allowed data extraction for both UK and international NBS students. Studies included questionnaires, distributed to students studying English Language (ELAN) courses followed up once students started their chosen programme, which drew upon established research outlining issues relating to international student adjustment to UK study. These research findings led to recommendations on adapting practice to make teaching more inclusive, which were distributed to lecturers. Following a suitable bedding- in period, an additional study was undertaken to establish whether students concurred with the recommendations made and to assess the extent they believed these were now being practiced. This paper presents the most significant findings from the studies outlined above

Student communities of practice: what virtual models can engage and address the needs of a diverse student environment

A report commissioned by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC 2008) found that the two most regular activities undertaken by students are, firstly, use of university systems which support their learning and, secondly, accessing social networking sites. Kirremuir ‘s (2008) EduServ Foundation study highlights the increasing number of UK universities which have a presence in the virtual world Second Life. University Systems are aware of student engagement with their own in-house technologies, such as virtual learning environments (VLEs), but knowledge of student engagement with social networking and virtual worlds is often derived from anecdotal evidence. This paper seeks to redress this by trying to increase understanding of three technological models for enhancing learning and student engagement: “established” technologies, e.g., VLEs; “populist” technologies, e.g., Facebook; and “emerging” technologies such as Second Life. This paper takes as its premise the notion that universities should strive to design peer support systems for students to engage in, and focuses its investigation on the potential use of virtual communities of practice (CoPs) to support peer-based student interactions. Evidence to substantiate this premise is derived from the literature which has explored areas of student diversity such as students from lower-income families, older students, first-generation students and international students. The work of Harvey et al. (2006) indicates that students from lower-income families have less peer support to draw on and suggests that there is some correlation between socio-economic groups, first-year grades and probability of withdrawing from study (especially where family problems intervene). Farmer et al (2008) found that older students perceived peer support as less supportive, with similar findings found for first-generation students – an alternative measure of socio-economic status. The study also found that international students experienced difficulty integrating into the university community. These studies, taken in conjunction with the findings of Eggens et al. (2007) that personal networks affect student attainment and Farmer et al. (2008) that academic marks achieved correlate positively both with degree of satisfaction and of supportive peer activity, provide evidence that substantiates the premise of this paper; in addition it endorses Smith and Bath’s (2006) suggestion that, since peer interactions (including social interactions) are essential determinants of graduate outcome, the notion of a learning community or a CoP should be reinforced within any innovations for supporting student learning. This suggestion prompted this investigation of the potential use of virtual CoPs to support peer-based student interactions. The approach taken includes a consideration of the relevant literature combined with analysis of primary data designed to gain more definitive evidence of student activity in different technological domains. In the light of this evidence, the advantages and disadvantages of the three virtual models in respect of supporting peer based student interactions within a CoP are considered

Red Guide Paper 42: Managing a Module Part 1: Delivering a Module

This revised guide covers various aspects of the process for developing a new module and provides an overview of the general principles of module development