Assessment and feedback follow a similar pattern and structure across the units that I teach on at UAL. My experience of the assessment and feedback loop is often an onerous one as these important responsibilities tend to happen alongside the delivery of other projects and units presenting a challenging balancing act to fulfil commitments and meet deadlines.
Further to this, I am currently teaching on three courses at different universities which presents its own unique set of challenges as the timetables do not always align. Assessment for ALs and fractional positions is not a straightforward task, which I feel is not recognised by those who are employed within full time roles at this institution.
Feedback both written and verbal is an important aid to support the student learning journey. It is evident that ongoing holistic verbal feedback is not always fully understood by the student. Formative assessment points should be used more clearly within a project structure, that could be reinforced as a recorded registration point which always helps student attendance. This could also be a useful way to record and capture those students earlier who need more help and guidance.
In support of the OAT grades bespoke feedback is extremely important as an aid to inform and help the student understand how their work can be improved, where work has been successful and points of reference to move forward with. This written feedback whilst important takes a large chunk of time to deliver on up to 30 students within a larger cohort.
There is normally a minimum of three tutor assessing at a summative submission point that will also include benchmarking and the moderation process which can be challenging with increased student numbers being assessed within a same three week turn around for this process.
More recently content from unit briefs is being included in easy-to-use handbooks created by the GDC team to help students navigate the challenging nature of academic language. It also contains all the key dates and supporting information. This information is also available on moodle, however as we know not all students regularly check their moodle page despite being encouraged to do so.
Tomris Tangaz (BA Interiors Course Leader at Chelsea) has effectively implemented the use padlet for the students to use on a weekly basis for projects, developing, content delivery, schedules, mapping and such like. Perhaps within this context, it can be used as part of the formative assessment process. Students can refer back to this and use a tool to map their development and progress in advance of assessment submission points.
Recommendations — At the project briefing, assessment and feedback is discussed however it could be broken down more clearly and rigorously. — Using padlet as a tool for formative assessment. This platform can also be used by the cohort for peer assessment. With students having access to this padlet throughout the duration of the project. — A consideration for embedded support for those students who have an EC or ISA in the days after the submission date. — A better understanding OAT prompts for grades. For example, an A is excellent and a B very good. I often struggle to explain in an obvious way what this means to a student within the context of what is required for submission. — Increased transparency around summative assessment and how written feedback is generated. This could be addressed within a short workshop at the beginning of a project.
Despite talking through the finer points of the unit brief including the learning outcomes and assessment criteria it would be benefit student welfare if it were signposted more clearly from the outset of a project.
