JISC

Summary

This project will evaluate two assessment and feedback related innovations currently being used at the University of Glamorgan, aimed at addressing the issue of assessment bunching and the issue of poor feedback to students. The two innovations are 1) Assessment Diaries and 2) GradeMark.

Both assessment bunching and poor feedback have been frequently highlighted in the literature and at our institution as major challenges towards improving students’and staffs’ assessment and learning experiences. For example, the NUS, Bloxham and Boyd (2007) and the REAP project stressed the need for time on task and speedy and detailed feedback. We believe that the key to resolving these two issues lies with using technology to enable and enhance dialogue not only between students and staff, but also amongst staff. 

The assessment diary is essentially a simple list of module codes and titles, with dates for assessment submission and return. This information is posted on the institution’s VLE, Blackboard. In a parallel process, an electronic task list of all hand-back dates is posted into staff Outlook calendars to alert staff to impending deadlines. The diary uses an in house web-based front end which is provided within Blackboard. The diary can be personalised by selecting modules from a drop-down menu, giving students and tutors clear, easily accessible information about when assignments are to be submitted and returned.

GradeMark is an online marking tool that is part of the Turnitin plagiarism software. The use of GradeMark is about more than simply improving the quality of feedback, it is seen as a tool that could significantly improve the assessment experience of academic staff by offering a tool to enable better management of the feedback process and maintaining a meaningful dialogue with students.

Interviews and focus groups will be used to capture the views and experience of students and staff (academic, technical and administrative staff) on the two innovations. The evaluation of the two innovations focusing on tackling the two issues would therefore be of great benefit to the wider sector in improving the assessment and feedback experience for both staff and students.

Objectives

Identify baseline data on the assessment and feedback context before the introduction of the assessment diaries and GradeMark.

• Evaluate the impact of Assessment Diaries and GradeMark on the student experience from the student perspective.
• Evaluate the perceived benefits of Assessment Diaries and GradeMark on the experience of staff undertaking assessment and feedback.

Anticipated Outputs and Outcomes

• Project Website and Project Blog
• Videos of interviews with students and staff as case study
• Case studies
• Reports
• Publications
• Seminars

Project Blog

http://assessdiariesgrademark.wordpress.com/