Learning and Teaching Day 2013

Effective and inclusive assessment design in the context of art and design

  • Sally Brown: Emerita Professor of Higher Education Diversity in Teaching and Learning at Leeds Metropolitan University

If we want to improve students’ engagement with learning, a key locus of enhancement can be refreshing our approaches to assessment. Sometimes we need to take a fresh look at our current practice to make sure assessment is for rather than just of learning. This keynote will include discussion of issues including:

  • methodology: which methods and approaches are most appropriate and efficient for the arts and design context?
  • agency: who should be undertaking assessment? Tutors, peers, students themselves, employers and clients can all participate in student assessment to good effect, but
  • which is right for particular assessment activities?
  • timing: end point and continuous assessment can both be valuable, when should we assess students to maximise impact on student learning?
  • orientation: to what extent in each task would we wish to focus particularly on process or outcomes, or both?
  • inclusivity: how can we enable all students to achieve their highest personal potential?
  • efficiency: what can we do to make assessment fully embedded in learning for students, while at the same time making it manageable for the staff undertaking the assessment?

The audience will be invited to review their own practices in the light of some suggestions for enhancement.