D4A Curriculum Design Workshop: Assessment and Attainment Discover - Dream - Design - Deliver Bennett & Folley (2016)

Format of the session Intro and Aims of Session Task 1: Discover Task 2: Dream Task 3: Design Coffee break Task 4: Deliver Evaluation Bennett & Folley (2016)

Aims of the session To provide a starting point for discussions of your course development To introduce you to a range of curriculum design tools (Appreciative Inquiry and ViewPoints resources) To identify support available from the School and the University. To create an action plan for your course team to take forward Bennett & Folley (2016)

Appreciative Inquiry is a theory of organization development management or research approach that focuses on the “best of what is” instead of focusing on problems. What is Appreciative Inquiry? Bennett & Folley (2016) From: (p.16)

DiscoverDreamDesignDeliver Appreciative Inquiry The best of what has been Best that might be What it might truly look like What we will commit to Bennett & Folley (2016)

TEF and Attainment The Higher Education Funding Council for England has commissioned a number of pilots of projects to measure “learning gain”, the results of which will be considered in planning for the TEF. (THE, 2015) The themes for the HEA’s new Strategic Enhancement Programme initiative - embedding employability into the curriculum; internationalising the curriculum; engaged student learning; flexible learning; retention and attainment, and assessment and feedback are all core to any institution’s learning and teaching strategy and are highly pertinent to the TEF. (HEA, 2016) HEA (2016) THE (2015) The VC’s talk on the TEF, March 2016 highlighted the importance of attainment Bennett & Folley (2016)

Split into groups as instructed. In your groups, think of learning experience that you found particularly motivating educational or transformed your thinking. Think about: o What happened? o What did you do to make that happen? o What did others do to contribute to that experience o How did that experience feel? Share your stories and write down some of the generic elements/characteristics that made it a successful piece of assessment. Feed these elements/characteristics back to the whole group Task 1 – the Discover Stage DiscoverDreamDesignDeliver Bennett & Folley (2016)

In your small groups, discuss the elements of good assessment practice on the front of the Assessment and Feedback cards and sort them into three piles: a)The elements of assessment you feel you do really well b)The elements of assessment you feel you do reasonably well c)The elements of assessment you feel you could develop further to raise attainment Task 2 – the Dream Stage DiscoverDreamDesignDeliver Bennett & Folley (2016)

Task 3 – the Design Stage DiscoverDreamDesignDeliver In your course team: a)Write out on the sheet provided the modules that make up your programme. b)Add in the assessments for all the modules on the sheet c)Use the coloured stickers to colour code your assessment to identify the types of assessment (e.g. one colour for written essays, another for presentations, other for portfolios/case studies etc, or develop a coding system that would be most useful to your team). Have a look at the overall picture of assessment: discuss/note down anything that jumps out at you based on your discussions so far and on what the holistic picture of assessment looks like. Bennett & Folley (2016)

Task 3 – the Design Stage (cont) DiscoverDreamDesignDeliver In your course team: From the pile of cards you identified as the elements of assessment you could develop to raise attainment, discuss the choices and between your whole team and choose three to focus on. Then, using the suggestions on the back of those three cards, identify one approach or strategy that you could use from each card in one assessment that you don’t do already, that would help raise attainment. Bennett & Folley (2016)

Bennett & Folley (2016)

Task 4 – the Deliver Stage DiscoverDreamDesignDeliver Using what you have done in all the previous task(s) to decide how to improve your assessments to raise attainment. Complete the first three boxes on the front of template form to capture your discussions. Following this create a team action plan of what action needs to take place in the short/medium/long term to make the changes you need. Agree on who is taking responsibility for each of these changes and complete the second page of the template form provided. Bennett & Folley (2016)

To Conclude Please complete the evaluation forms Thanks very much for taking part… Any feedback on the workshop you are happy to share? When would be a good time to follow this up? Bennett & Folley (2016)