Building capacity for assessment leadership via professional development and mentoring of course coordinators Merrilyn Goos

Core Values and Principles Assessment is what matters most to students. Implementing good assessment is a challenge for university teachers. There are different but equally valuable ways to implement good assessment practices that align with university policies. Local teaching cultures and disciplinary contexts matter when planning and implementing assessment.

Aims Build the capacity of course coordinators to understand and implement good assessment practice Develop course coordinators capacity to exercise assessment leadership

Intended Outcomes Processes Profile of current assessment issues and practices Model of professional learning and mentoring Evidence to inform assessment policy and practice Phase 1: Mapping the territory Phase 2: Building a community of assessment practice Phase 3: Embedding good assessment practice

Teaching/ Consultancy/ Management Research/ Scholarship Policy advice/ Advocacy Phase 1: Mapping the territory Conduct literature review Interview senior university managers for views on current assessment policies Survey course coordinators to identify assessment needs Analyse existing evaluation data to capture student perspectives on assessment Phase 3: Embedding good assessment practice Conduct staff capacity building workshops Write and present conference papers Synthesise evaluation data Make recommendations for university assessment policies and staff development practices Phase 2: Building a community of assessment practice Design and deliver professional development programs and resources for seven pairs of course coordinators Mentor course coordinators in discipline-specific action research projects Establish a UQ Assessment Network Building capacity for assessment leadership via professional development and mentoring of course coordinators

Evaluation Framework Intended outcomes ProcessesEvaluation questions Evaluation data sources

Intended outcomeProcessesEvaluation questions Profile of current assessment issues and practices Main evaluation question: How appropriate and effective are the mapping processes used to profile current practices? How valid are the interpretations of data that inform the following phases of the project? Conduct lit. review: cultural change, mentoring, assessment (in higher education) How well does the lit. review inform planning for professional development and embedding of good assessment practice? * Interview senior university managers *How closely are assessment practices aligned with policies? *How useful are current T&L performance indicators relating to assessment? *What strategies are used to reward good assessment practice? *Survey all course coordinators (CCs) *How well prepared are CCs to carry out their assessment responsibilities? *How confident are they in their knowledge of assessment policies and understanding of how to implement these? *How confident are CCs in being able to identify sources of assistance? *Analyse existing student evaluation data *How well do students rate the quality of their assessment experiences at UQ? Phase 1 Evaluation

Intended outcomeProcessesEvaluation questions Model of professional development and mentoring Main evaluation question: How effective are the PD/mentoring model and the UQ Assessment Network in building a community of assessment practice? (mutual engagement, joint enterprise, shared repertoire) Design & deliver pilot professional development program for 6 pairs of course coordinators How well does the PD program meet CC needs? Mentor course coordinators in action research projects How effective was the action research process? How effective was the mentoring process? What was the impact on CCs assessment knowledge and assessment practices? What was the impact on students assessment experiences? Establish UQ Assessment Network How many people are members; how does membership grow over time? What disciplines are represented? What is the substance and nature of discussions and activities? Who is responsible for sustaining discussions and activities? What is the impact of participation on members and non-members assessment practices? Phase 2 Evaluation

Intended outcomeProcessesEvaluation questions Research based evidence to inform assessment policies and staff development practices Main evaluation question: How effective are the processes for embedding and institutionalising good assessment practice? Conduct capacity building workshops How do other CCs in participating schools respond to action research outcomes? How effective are participating CCs in engaging colleagues to mentor in subsequent projects? Present conference papers & workshops How relevant are the project processes and outcomes to colleagues within and beyond UQ? Synthesise and report on evaluation data How useful is the evaluation data for informing refinement of assessment policies? How useful is the evaluation data for informing design of course coordinator induction programs and other staff development? How useful is the evaluation data for informing future monitoring of assessment practice and alignment with policy, T&L indicators, rewards? Phase 3 Evaluation

Phase 1: Course Coordinator Survey Administered online via electronic course profile system Response rate 33% (308/930) from all schools and faculties Demographic information (gender, academic level), years teaching (at UQ and elsewhere), years as course coordinator, number of courses coordinated, class size

Course Coordinator Confidence Course coordinators were least confident in: Knowledge of policies & use of instruments to evaluate assessment practice; Combining tasks into an assessment plan; Wording course learning objectives; Planning ways of giving feedback; Managing moderation processes; Making judgments consistent with judgments of other academics Dealing with plagiarism; Locating responsive people to assist with assessment issues; Addressing needs of students from diverse backgrounds.

Course Coordinator Assessment Influences What factors influence course coordinators assessment practice? What sources of influence do course coordinators find most helpful in carrying out their assessment roles?

Sources of influence on course coordinator assessment practice self students school (colleagues, examples, policies) university (resources, policies, professional development) external (other resources and professional development, professional associations/industry)

Phase 2: Carrick Assessment Community and UQ Assessment Network (UQAN) Coming up in the next session …