Assessment and Feedback

Thinking about the assessment strategy at the start of the design process will aid the design of learning activities that help students to not only achieve the learning outcomes, but stretch them academically in order to demonstrate their mastery of the topic or subject matter. There are plenty of novel methods of assessment that might also be used; don’t feel constrained to use written, timed, closed book assessments at all times of this doesn’t help to test students in an effective manner.

• Alternative assessment techniques - along with examples of staff from around the University describing their assessment techniques and regimes

Feedback is one of the areas of teaching most commonly singled out by students for criticism. The University of Aberdeen has developed a Feedback Framework, containing helpful ideas along with examples of feedback proformas in use from around the University, whilst we also have examples of feedback from staff from around the University.

One of the largest studies in recent years on feedback was the Re-engineering Assessment Practices (REAP) project, (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2007).