Overview
As the higher education sector continues to navigate through the equality impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on teaching and learning, our Student Partnerships in Assessment programme offers members an opportunity to participate in synchronous and asynchronous online events offering contemporary and diverse thought leadership about embedding the student voice in the design of assessment strategies.
International understanding of assessment differs but this programme takes the view of assessment as a systematic method of gathering and interpreting evidence of students’ learning, directly related to established, clear and measurable learning outcomes. Examples of such assessment processes include marking or grading students’ assignments and the provision of feedback from staff to students.
There has been a growing emphasis on student engagement more broadly over the last decade and particularly on students as co-creators within teaching and learning. Around the globe, educators are recognising the powerful impact that supporting their students’ self-efficacy and agency is having on their engagement and their educational outcomes. It is important that we appreciate the different stages that higher education institutions around the world are at with involving students as active decision makers in the design of their assessments. This programme takes into consideration that while some institutions champion a ‘students as partners’ approach to assessment, many are instigating the process and others are new to building student partnerships in assessment.
Cognisant of the complex landscapes of higher education globally, Advance HE is offering its member institutions a unique opportunity to share international practice about developing assessments with students as partners across different contexts of educational provision and qualifications/awards. Delegates will discuss contemporary benefits, pitfalls and challenges for embedding equitable student partnerships in assessments and will have opportunity to share practice of co-creating assessments with students.
The format:
- Our first live session is being led by Dr Cathy Bovill, University of Edinburgh on 21 April. To facilitate maximum opportunity for global participation the session will be delivered at 7:30am BST and again at 3:00pm BST.
- The second session at the start of May is a two-week discussion forum moderated by sector representative bodies such as sparqs, RAISE, NStEP and Student Voice Australia and will offer member institutions synchronous and asynchronous opportunities to engage with international perspectives on the benefits and challenges of supporting student involvement in developing assessment strategies.
- Prof Kelly Matthews, University of Queensland is leading our final live session on 24 June, again offered twice, at 7:00am BST and 9:30am BST.
The two live sessions will comprise a plenary introduction, breakout groups (under Chatham House rules), a panel discussion, followed by closing remarks and next steps. Colleagues from member institutions will be supported to devise an action plan for their own institution or department to engage students in the assessment discourse and procedures. An overview of the programme is provided below.
Outputs
The programme outputs comprise a series of bite-size resources such as podcasts and a brief guidebook informed by student representatives and senior colleagues across the sector globally engaging in the SPiA sessions.
The outputs include:
- Recorded live sessions: The 90-minute live webinars hosted by Cathy Bovill in April and Kelly Matthews in June will be recorded. While breakouts will be hosted under Chatham House rules and therefore not recorded, the content of the video will include the opening, introductory plenary, an international panel discussion and closing remarks with next steps.
- Executive Summary: We will publish a high-level report of the programme summarising the primary focus and outcomes of discussion over the three-month member benefit. The report will contain an overview of the programme, the most salient discussion points that members engaged in and a concluding remarks.
- Podcasts: We will produce ‘In Conversation’ podcasts featuring Dr Cathy Bovill and Prof Kelly Matthews discussing the theme of student partnerships in assessment with expert voices internationally. Colleagues from member institutions can access the podcasts in their own time and listen to rich, globally-informed thought leadership on the theme.
- Guidebook: We will publish a brief guidebook detailing a set of core principles and practices for getting started with SPiA, informend by the global programme. This guidebook will include linked resources collated from our partner stakeholders’ work in SPiA.
Nominations
All 370+ Advance HE member institutions for 2020-21 are offered three free places per session.
This member benefit is targeted at senior colleagues with responsibility for programmes leadership for 21-22 academic year and senior student representatives in an advocate role within institutions.
While each institution has discretion in their nominated delegates, we are proposing the following model for nominations:
- Place 1: A nominated senior colleague, in a programme leader role, who consistently attends all three sessions of the programme in order to maximise the potential institutional benefit gained from the initiative.
- Place 2: A nominated senior colleague in an executive role with overall responsibility for quality assurance.
- Place 3: A nominated student representative in an advocate role, e.g. a sabbatical officer with responsibility for education affairs or equivalent.
Programme of Events
Session 1 – SPiA: Introduction, examples and a provocation, Dr Cathy Bovill, University of Edinburgh, 21 April 2021, 7:30am BST & 3:00pm BST
This session will provide an introduction to both the theme of students as partners and assessment, including provocations for delegates about embedding the synergic approach.
The intended outcomes for this session are to:
- Engage with thought leadership about the theme of SPiA.
- Respond to provocations around the themes of assessment and students as partners.
- Share planning steps for your own institution to co-create assessments with students.
Session 2 – SPiA: Challenges, benefits and practices, Partners: sparqs, NStEP, RAISE, Student Voice Australia, w/c 3 & 10 May 2021
Hosted via Advance HE Connect, this session offers members a unique opportunity to engage in cross-institutional and cross-nations dialogue about the benefits and challenges to supporting the student voice on the design of assessment strategies.
In the first week each nation or international region will be hosted within a separate discussion room on Connect to facilitate delegates to share practice, focusing on the challenges, pitfalls and benefits of working with students as partners in assessment, within their specific local context and regulatory landscape.
In the second week, we will branch out these regional exchanges into a global conversation where delegates can engage in rich dialogue about the core principles for engaging students as partners in assessment. Advance HE is partnering with sector agencies such as sparqs, RAISE, NStEP and Student Voice Australia to stimulate discussion that is grounded in championing the student voice on assessment.
The intended outcomes for this session are to:
- Engage in asynchronous cross-institutional and cross-nations conversations around the theme.
- Share practice, pitfalls and benefits of engaging students as partners in assessment.
- Respond to provocations around embedding and sustaining student partnerships in assessment.
- Start to devise an action plan for your own institution to embed student partnerships in assessment
Session 3 – SPiA: Principles, practices and next steps, Prof. Kelly Matthews, University of Queensland, 24 June, 7:00am BST & 9:30am BST.
This final session will draw together a set of core principles for supporting students to become involved in the design of their assessments, informed by global discourse over the course of the programme.
The intended outcomes for this session are to:
- Engage in synchronous cross-institutional and cross-nations conversations around the theme.
- Respond to provocations about action planning for embedding student partnerships in assessment.
- Share a sample action plan for your own institution to embed student partnerships in assessment.
- Start conversations at your own institution about engaging students as partners in assessment strategies