Assessment Flexibility to Embed Real-professional practice (AFTER)

Assessment Flexibility to Embed Real-professional practice (AFTER)

Manoj Ravi (School of Chemical & Process Engineering) and Mohsen Besharat (School of Civil Engineering)

Project overview

The AFTER project aims to explore embedding ‘authenticity’ in the ‘delivery’ of assessments, since considerations of authenticity are currently confined to the technical ‘design’ of assessment tasks. Under current assessment practice, students are driven to perfect a piece of work against a marking rubric, often right until the submission deadline. This is in contrast to actual professional practice, which tends to value the pursuit of multiple creative outputs over perfection and incentivises early submissions. Hence, AFTER will research how students work towards their assessment deliverables and how this process can be modified to resemble actual professional practice.

The research approach

The AFTER project will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. An explanatory mixed-method design will be used to capture student voice on the flexible assessment model using surveys and focus group discussions. Semi-structured interviews will be used to collate academic staff and student education service staff opinion. Flexible assessments will be piloted in two course modules with data being collected and analysed on student performance (assessment marks) and experience (surveys and journaling exercise).

If you want to find out more details about this fellowship or what the next steps were upon completion please read the Full Snapshot or contact Manoj Ravi or Mohsen Besharat 

Project start date: September 2023