Reflective practice is a key skill in many professions including education. but is particularly relevant to students in the context of work placement. We as ...

"This seminar focused on developing feedback literacy in both staff and students and redesigning assessment to build on this new-found understanding. It drew on student and staff expertise across two main strands. Strand 1 took a ‘deep dive’ to explore what learner-focused feedback means and how staff and students can enable impacts from different feedback approaches. Particular emphasis was placed on feedback literacy: the capacities of teachers and students to make the most of feedback opportunities. What capabilities do teachers and students need in order to take up their complementary roles in feedback processes? Strand 2 looked at disentangling assessment and feedback and explored the various forms of feedback used in assessment and in the absence of assessment. Assessment design was highlighted so that opportunities to provide feedback to inform future work are intentionally embedded at the development phase."

This seminar focused on developing feedback literacy in both staff and students and redesigning assessment to build on this new-found understanding. It drew on student and staff expertise across two main strands. Strand 1 took a ‘deep dive’ to explore what learner-focused feedback means and how staff and students can enable impacts from different feedback approaches. Particular emphasis was placed on feedback literacy: the capacities of teachers and students to make the most of feedback opportunities. What capabilities do teachers and students need in order to take up their complementary roles in feedback processes? Strand 2 looked at disentangling assessment and feedback and explored the various forms of feedback used in assessment and in the absence of assessment. Assessment design was highlighted so that opportunities to provide feedback to inform future work are intentionally embedded at the development phase.

"The assessment design decisions framework consists of six categories: • Purposes of assessment • Context of assessment • Learner outcomes • Tasks • Feedback processes • Interactions Each category in the framework is explored in this guide, with a series of assessment considerations. • Explanatory text • Key questions for educators to consider • Links to online and print resources • Links to other relevant parts of the guide • Short vignettes of educator experiences. Educator experiences have been drawn from both interview data and our own experiences. Direct quotes have been edited to enhance clarity of meaning and ease of reading"

This Framework helps university teachers make good decisions about assessment design. The six categories draw from existing evidence on good assessment, and data from a study of Australian university assessment practices. The Framework identifies the key considerations in assessment design, including the effects of assessment on learning

"This seminar explored concerns around academic integrity in Higher Education and how assessment redesign can eliminate many of these concerns. The seminar was divided into two elements. The first session explored why, how and when students cheat in Higher Education. It opened up discussion and debate on academic integrity, plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating and the role we play in it as educators. The second part of the seminar focused on re-thinking how we assess and redesigning assessment approaches. The presenter discussed strategies that include encouraging students to see assessment, both, as an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to demonstrate their excellence and skills. Redesigning and rethinking the tasks we ask our students to complete in order to demonstrate attainment of the desired life-long skills in tandem with module and programme learning outcomes can effectively eliminate both the desire and the opportunity to ‘cheat’. Across the two sessions participants were asked to self-reflect, to consider their values and establish why they assess as they do. Traditions and assumptions were challenged & participants were supported in the redesigning of assessment approaches."

This seminar explored concerns around academic integrity in Higher Education and how assessment redesign can eliminate many of these concerns. The seminar was divided into two elements. The first session explored why, how and when students cheat in Higher Education. It opened up discussion and debate on academic integrity, plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating and the role we play in it as educators. The second part of the seminar focused on re-thinking how we assess and redesigning assessment approaches. The presenter discussed strategies that include encouraging students to see assessment, both, as an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to demonstrate their excellence and skills. Redesigning and rethinking the tasks we ask our students to complete in order to demonstrate attainment of the desired life-long skills in tandem with module and programme learning outcomes can effectively eliminate both the desire and the opportunity to ‘cheat’. Across the two sessions participants were asked to self-reflect, to consider their values and establish why they assess as they do. Traditions and assumptions were challenged & participants were supported in the redesigning of assessment approaches.

"This seminar explored concerns around academic integrity in Higher Education and how assessment redesign can eliminate many of these concerns. The seminar was divided into two elements. The first session explored why, how and when students cheat in Higher Education. It opened up discussion and debate on academic integrity, plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating and the role we play in it as educators. The second part of the seminar focused on re-thinking how we assess and redesigning assessment approaches. The presenter discussed strategies that include encouraging students to see assessment, both, as an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to demonstrate their excellence and skills. Redesigning and rethinking the tasks we ask our students to complete in order to demonstrate attainment of the desired life-long skills in tandem with module and programme learning outcomes can effectively eliminate both the desire and the opportunity to ‘cheat’. Across the two sessions participants were asked to self-reflect, to consider their values and establish why they assess as they do. Traditions and assumptions were challenged & participants were supported in the redesigning of assessment approaches."

"While we as educators might hate to admit it, assessment does drive student learning and is probably the one most important thing we can do to help our students learn. Formative assessment can help us as educators identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that we can make adjustments to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. If we wish to use assessment as a tool to enhance student learning the provision of formative feedback is crucial. We need to help students understand not only where they have gone wrong, but also what they need to do to improve and when they have done well, we need to help them understand what is good about their work and how they can build on it and develop further. This seminar focussed on how the Department of Mathematics and the Academic Learning Centre use Numbas, a free online platform aimed at numerate disciplines, to provide students with the opportunity to practice particular types of mathematical problems, receive instant feedback and advice on where they may have gone wrong, and to attempt other similar auto-generated questions. This seminar was aimed at academic staff who teach in a numerate discipline who would like to explore how they too can provide formative assessment opportunities to their students in an efficient and effective manner. Those who attended this session: Got an overview of some of the capabilities of Numbas Learned how Numbas can be used to enhance student learning Learned how a Numbas learning resource can be uploaded to Canvas."

While we as educators might hate to admit it, assessment does drive student learning and is probably the one most important thing we can do to help our students learn. Formative assessment can help us as educators identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that we can make adjustments to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. If we wish to use assessment as a tool to enhance student learning the provision of formative feedback is crucial. We need to help students understand not only where they have gone wrong, but also what they need to do to improve and when they have done well, we need to help them understand what is good about their work and how they can build on it and develop further. This seminar focussed on how the Department of Mathematics and the Academic Learning Centre use Numbas, a free online platform aimed at numerate disciplines, to provide students with the opportunity to practice particular types of mathematical problems, receive instant feedback and advice on where they may have gone wrong, and to attempt other similar auto-generated questions. This seminar was aimed at academic staff who teach in a numerate discipline who would like to explore how they too can provide formative assessment opportunities to their students in an efficient and effective manner. Those who attended this session: Got an overview of some of the capabilities of Numbas Learned how Numbas can be used to enhance student learning Learned how a Numbas learning resource can be uploaded to Canvas.

Student engagement is a central concept in the literature on teaching and learning in higher education. Research has shown that students’ active engagement in their learning is central to their academic success and that students who engage deeply with learning are better equipped for life-long learning. However, encouraging student engagement can be challenging. So, what can be done - how can we encourage students to engage in their learning in what, for many of us, are quite challenging times? One way of achieving this is through assessment. Assessment is probably the most important thing we can do to engage students in their learning. Traditionally, assessment practices have tended to focus on progression and completion rather than focus on enhancing student learning. If we wish to use assessment as a tool to enhance student learning the provision of feedback is crucial. We need to help students understand not only where they have gone wrong, but also what they need to do to improve and when they have done well, we need to help them understand what is good about their work and how they can build on it and develop further. This seminar outlined how staff from different discipline areas have developed their assessment practices to integrate feedback as a central component of their practice. Three different case-studies were presented and discussed with the intention of providing participants with a range of practical options that they might choose from and integrate into their own practice. The seminar was aimed at all academic staff, whether new to the whole notion of assessment and feedback, or those who wanted to improve their feedback practice with students, or those looking for ideas on how to enhance their current practice.